New Owner

Any DA40 related topics

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Flyairth
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New Owner

Post by Flyairth »

Brought N732DS home in September and the smiles just keep coming. But, I've never owned a plane before so the questions keep coming too. I've answered many by reading this forum, but could use some help with these 4 more:

1) Based on the maintenance summary from the great mechanic who inspected it pre-purchase, I've put together a spreadsheet to keep track of scheduled maintenance. Would really appreciate feedback on what I'm missing, or examples of how you track maintenance!

2) On the G1000, the "Checklist" soft-key is greyed out. Is it possible and/or useful to enable it and add checklists?

3) From where can I order very DA40 specific stuff, like a replacement control lock?

4) The only dissatisfaction I have with the DA40 (and I knew this going in), is the impossibility of taking 4 adult passengers anywhere. With the 50 gallon tanks, 823 lbs useful load, but the empty CG at 98" there's no configuration with me (145 lbs) in the front seat that accepts 3 adult passengers and any fuel. Is my empty CG unusual, and is there anything I can do about it?
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Boatguy
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Re: New Owner

Post by Boatguy »

2) It's probably grayed out because it's not there. Check the databases page. You can download them from Diamond in Austria and you can find another thread on that. Personally I think they're not very useful and you'd need to spend time with them to learn the UI before you actually need them. I have them in MiraCheck on my iPad (without the audio features), and hard copy in the pocket.

3) Mostly from Diamond who will charge you exorbitant prices. When possible, look for a generic at your favorite aircraft supply store.
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pietromarx
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Re: New Owner

Post by pietromarx »

Flyairth wrote: Fri Jun 19, 2020 10:04 pm Brought N732DS home in September and the smiles just keep coming. But, I've never owned a plane before so the questions keep coming too. I've answered many by reading this forum, but could use some help with these 4 more:
Enjoy! Having an airplane is an unusual joy in the world.
Flyairth wrote: Fri Jun 19, 2020 10:04 pm 1) Based on the maintenance summary from the great mechanic who inspected it pre-purchase, I've put together a spreadsheet to keep track of scheduled maintenance. Would really appreciate feedback on what I'm missing, or examples of how you track maintenance!
Cool. Generally, the A&P doing your annual will handle this automatically. Just keep your logbooks somewhere safe (not with the airplane) and have them available at the annuals and other maintenance.
Flyairth wrote: Fri Jun 19, 2020 10:04 pm 2) On the G1000, the "Checklist" soft-key is greyed out. Is it possible and/or useful to enable it and add checklists?
Get the chklist.ace file from Diamond. Put it on to the top SD card in the MFD and leave it there. This will also enable engine data logging.
Flyairth wrote: Fri Jun 19, 2020 10:04 pm 3) From where can I order very DA40 specific stuff, like a replacement control lock?
Diamond is the place to get these, but generally people buy them through their A&P. Note that things come from Canada, so they take a little longer and pricing is variable.
Flyairth wrote: Fri Jun 19, 2020 10:04 pm 4) The only dissatisfaction I have with the DA40 (and I knew this going in), is the impossibility of taking 4 adult passengers anywhere. With the 50 gallon tanks, 823 lbs useful load, but the empty CG at 98" there's no configuration with me (145 lbs) in the front seat that accepts 3 adult passengers and any fuel. Is my empty CG unusual, and is there anything I can do about it?
It is not unusual on airplanes, including the DA40. You always get a choice of fuel, load, range, ... I have the issue that we can't fit our 3-person family and dog with any amount of luggage, especially going into high density altitude airports around the West. That said, only the dog generally wants to go as far as 50 gallons will take you (he seems to really enjoy looking out the window for the errant sheep, being a border collie).

You could put some ballast in front on the engine mount (this is what's done with composite props, for example). Generally, people do not fly with full fuel, too, as you will not want to fly as far as 50 gallons will take you (people need bathroom breaks, etc.). In addition, you will want to put heavier folks in front, too.
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Re: New Owner

Post by blsewardjr »

I've had excellent service, pricing and timing ordering DA40 parts from Premier in Ft. Lauderdale.
Bernie Seward, IR, AGI
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KCHO Charlottesville, VA
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Flyairth
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Re: New Owner

Post by Flyairth »

pietromarx wrote: Sat Jun 20, 2020 2:29 am You could put some ballast in front on the engine mount (this is what's done with composite props, for example).
The original MT composite prop was replaced with a HC-C2YR-1BFP, but I see no mention of ballast. Where would you see/confirm its presence or absence? Now that I see the W&B table in the wiki, I’m wondering why my 2006 is on the beefy side at 1823 lbs...
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Re: New Owner

Post by pietromarx »

Flyairth wrote: Sat Jun 20, 2020 3:00 pm
pietromarx wrote: Sat Jun 20, 2020 2:29 am You could put some ballast in front on the engine mount (this is what's done with composite props, for example).
The original MT composite prop was replaced with a HC-C2YR-1BFP, but I see no mention of ballast. Where would you see/confirm its presence or absence? Now that I see the W&B table in the wiki, I’m wondering why my 2006 is on the beefy side at 1823 lbs...
The propeller you have is a metal one, which weighs more. The airplane weight is normal (they always get heavier as the model continues to get new stuff ... and we can expect a comment from Rich in a moment on this).

You would notice a ballast hanging on the front of the engine. It will be a stack of metal bars attached to an accessory mounting point. I doubt there is one on your airplane given that you usually see them with composite props. That said, it sounds like you would be a candidate.
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Flyairth
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Re: New Owner

Post by Flyairth »

pietromarx wrote: Sat Jun 20, 2020 4:25 pm You would notice a ballast hanging on the front of the engine. It will be a stack of metal bars attached to an accessory mounting point. I doubt there is one on your airplane given that you usually see them with composite props.
Appears you are correct! Interesting, lose 17# to gain .6 inches...

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Rich
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Re: New Owner

Post by Rich »

The Hartzell HC-C2YR-1BFP is the composite prop, which is almost identical in weight to the original MT. Were it the Aluminum version, your empty weight would go up by something like 16 lb. (bad), but your empty CG would likely move forward by close to an inch (good). You can see that effect looking through the Wiki.

Reserve filling the tanks for when you don't have a heavier load in the cabin. This does not relieve the aft CG limit, but your overall moment for that flight will be less. Experiment with different scenarios like 30 gallons and 40 gallons.
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Rich
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Re: New Owner

Post by Rich »

Rich wrote: Sat Jun 20, 2020 5:41 pm The Hartzell HC-C2YR-1BFP is the composite prop, which is almost identical in weight to the original MT. Were it the Aluminum version, your empty weight would go up by something like 16 lb. (bad), but your empty CG would likely move forward by close to an inch (good). You can see that effect looking through the Wiki.

Reserve filling the tanks for when you don't have a heavier load in the cabin. This does not relieve the aft CG limit, but your overall moment for that flight will be less. Experiment with different scenarios like 30 gallons and 40 gallons.
I should have included the obvious fact that adding the nose ballast would have a similar impact on empty weight/CG as the hypothetical presence of the aluminum Hartzell.
2002 DA40-180: MT, PowerFlow, 530W/430W, KAP140, ext. baggage, 1090 ES out, 2646 MTOW, 40gal., Surefly, Flightstream 210, Orion 600 LED, XeVision, Aspen E5
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Re: New Owner

Post by pietromarx »

When I type HC-C2YR-1BFP I get listings for the metal prop. See https://hartzellprop.com/pilots/kit-bui ... -standard/

On my DA-40 ... with the Hartzell composite prop (of which I have had to replace for $$$, so quite aware) ... the part number is HC-C2YR-1N/N7605.

So @Flyairth: do you have a composite (Kevlar) prop or a metal (aluminum) prop?

Seems most likely that they replaced your MT composite prop with a metal Hartzell and removed the ballast at the same time, thereby keeping your total weight more or less the same.

(And told ya that Rich would chime in!)
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