Does heat damage composite on DA40?

Any DA40 related topics

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Quinn1
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Does heat damage composite on DA40?

Post by Quinn1 »

I am moving my 2003 DA 40 to Houston. Due to the long wing span I can’t find a shade or T-hangar. I have been told that leaving the exposed Diamond in the summer sun/ heat will damage the plane. Any suggestions?
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austropilot
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Re: Does heat damage composite on DA40?

Post by austropilot »

For the sun part: Covers for all surfaces, with UV protected fabric (apparently the best material is "Sunbrella".

Regarding heat, AFM is more about low temperatures, but someone else might have anecdotal references as well.

2.16.1 TEMPERATURE
The airplane may only be operated when its temperature prior to operation is not less

than -40 °C (-40 °F).
With the airplane cold soaked and its temperature below -20 °C (-4 °F) the use of an external pre-heater for the engine and pilot compartment prior to operation is mandatory.
The airplane may only be operated with the fuel cooler inlet baffle installed when the outside air temperature at take-off does not exceed 20 EC (68 EF).

If the outside air temperature at take-off is below -30°C (-22°F) the coolant radiator

inlet baffle (OÄM 40-364) must be installed. The airplane may only be operated with

the coolant radiator inlet baffle, if the outside air temperature at take-off does not

exceed 0°C (32°F).

With the airplane cold soaked and its temperature below -30°C (-22°F) the batterries

must be pre-heated (OÄM 40-363) prior to operation.

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pietromarx
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Re: Does heat damage composite on DA40?

Post by pietromarx »

I've had DA-40s parked outside in the SoCal sunshine for long periods of time with no damage. This said, I use the full set of Bruce's covers and love them. They're a nice company with excellent support.
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Steve
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Re: Does heat damage composite on DA40?

Post by Steve »

Mine is based in South TX, and in summer, the temperature inside the hangar can be >120 degrees F. No problems that I have noticed, but then again, no UV inside the hangar. When I park it away from home, I also use a Bruces's cover.
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Re: Does heat damage composite on DA40?

Post by CFIDave »

I'd worry about making sure you have a canopy cover to protect the interior from solar heat gain. Otherwise the DA40 airframe is only going to suffer from UV slowly degrading the paint -- not from the heat. It helps that all DA40s are painted white, and most buff out nicely if the paint gets a little bit oxidized.
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Quinn1
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Re: Does heat damage composite on DA40?

Post by Quinn1 »

Thank you all and I agree on the Bruce Covers.
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Boatguy
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Re: Does heat damage composite on DA40?

Post by Boatguy »

I recently allowed Bruce to measure my plane to produce full covers, including wings and winglets, for a school in Australia.
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Re: Does heat damage composite on DA40?

Post by greg »

My DA40 is parked outside in the Australian sun (Hmmm, can a country really own the sun?) . After about three years the decals were badly damaged - the silver lettering on the tail is almost invisible, and the coloured stripes on the sides are badly cracked. I now use full covers. But as Dave said, the paint itself is pretty good - polishing (by hand) annually brings it back to new.

Russ - I don't suppose you know which school those covers were for? I'd be interested in trying an NG to see what the differences are.
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Re: Does heat damage composite on DA40?

Post by Boatguy »

greg wrote: Sat Feb 27, 2021 8:42 pm Russ - I don't suppose you know which school those covers were for? I'd be interested in trying an NG to see what the differences are.
No, but an email might get you the answer. Kevin Yuris is the sales manager at Bruces, try him at bruce @ aircraftcovers.com
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Re: Does heat damage composite on DA40?

Post by vontresc »

I would think UV is more of a worry than temps. IIRC the resins in the Diamond are autoclave cured, and thus have a much higher glass transition temperature.

An interesting side note though. The very first "series produced" composite aircraft, the FS-24 Phönix glider in 1957, used polyester resins. Those had a limitation that the fuselage had to be below a certain temperature due to the low glass transition temps of polyester resins
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