Advice for a (soon to be) DA42-NG owner

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michael.g.miller
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Advice for a (soon to be) DA42-NG owner

Post by michael.g.miller »

I've been eyeing a DA42-NG, and am looking to buy in the next few months. My primary goal is to fly around the world. I previously owned an SR22-G1 and did two roundtrip Europe trips (via Iqaluit - Kangerlussuaq - Reykjavik - Wick). I am excited about the prospect of a widely available fuel, at nearly any airport in the world. I'm also excited about a modern powerplant.

I'm also a bit nervous. While the powerplant excites me, it's also nerve wrecking. Specialized diesel engines with limited expertise. New systems to learn. A multi engine rating. There are a lot of questions running through my head now, and I'm curious what the DA community has to say:
  1. What is the service network like for Austro engines, both in the US and international?
  2. What are the most likely components to fail on a cross country trip? As a non-A&P owner, can I do anything to make unscheduled stops less painful?
  3. In Europe, there are a lot of runways in the 700 meter range. Is this realistic for a DA42-NG to land on, for someone new to the type? Is grass/gravel reasonable?
  4. Any recommended CFIs on the east coast, potentially that would be willing to travel to me?
  5. Are there any absolute things to know specific to the DA42? (examples: in the Cirrus, you never jump start the plane with a dead battery, always carry a jack pad adapter)?
Would also generally appreciate any advice y'all have. As I'm new to the type (and class...) of aircraft, there's a lot to learn. I'm sure there's a lot of important questions I forgot to ask.

Thanks!
Mike
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ememic99
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Re: Advice for a (soon to be) DA42-NG owner

Post by ememic99 »

3. Tarmac 700m is not a problem but I would avoid short grass runways. E.g. LDPV (in Croatia) is 700m tarmac runway and I land there regularly; LIPV (in Italy) is 1000m grass runway and I would always go there because of good drainage and short grass (once I took off from there in heavy rain after some 400m). I don't like much grass runways and I wouldn't go to any shorter than 800m. I would avoid gravel at any price.
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Re: Advice for a (soon to be) DA42-NG owner

Post by CFIDave »

Mike:

You should talk to Wolfgang who completed his round-the-world DA42NG trip in 2019. You can view his large number of YouTube videos documenting the trip: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9qzBT ... iFm5wdgguA

If you send me a private message, I can give you his contact info.
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Chris
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Re: Advice for a (soon to be) DA42-NG owner

Post by Chris »

Not sure why a PM would be needed. Wolfgang can be easily found on DAN as well as his thread about his round-the-world trip.
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Chris
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Re: Advice for a (soon to be) DA42-NG owner

Post by Chris »

As somebody who just (literally, closed this morning) purchased a DA42-NG myself, I had many of the same questions during my search. I'm not sure I have any useful answers yet, but here's my take on a couple of things:

1. The service network for Austro is pretty sparse at this time. I expect that if I every need to go to a "normal" shop for engine work then it'll take much longer and be much more expensive than going to one of the handful of service centers or shops with Austro experience. You have more options on the East Coast, and Europe seems reasonably well covered, according to Diamond's service center map.

2. No experience here yet, so hopefully others will chime in as I'm interested in this answer as well.

3. I'm pretty sure 700m is going to be below my personal minimums in the DA42 for the next few months. Easy peasy in the DA40.

As the number of DA42/62 aircraft continues to increase, I expect more shops to come up to speed on servicing them. I think (hope) the engines are reliable enough that unscheduled maintenance will be a rare event and that other "generic" things are more likely to require a trip to the shop, but we'll see if that pans out.

I don't have enough experience in it yet to know for sure, but I don't think the "new systems to learn" should be a big hurdle. From what I've seen, anybody who flies a Cirrus or DA40 would find it an easy transition, unless they are new to the G1000.
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Re: Advice for a (soon to be) DA42-NG owner

Post by wolfvoador »

Hello all, and in the meantime Michael reached me directly. My quick and general answers on Michael's good questions are:
1. On the RWT trip, I had 100hs services at LOAN Wr. Neustadt (turned around in 3 working days, incl. minor other issues, as all spare parts readily available across the road!), and NZAR (Oceania Aviation, Auckland, NZ). In Japan, I had a ECU FAIL, identified with AE300 Wizard (always carry that adaptor!) as oil temp sensor issue, fixed by a DA-trained mechanic in Osaka within hours (wiring issue). Only "0ff-beaten-track issue" was in Samoa (a prop strike), and Sam from Premier volunteered to fly 20 hs airline from Florida to sort me out, thanks!
2. I had twice issues with prop governor, carried a spare since (and since then, no more issues ....)
3. 700m=2300ft, look at AFM, I have flown out of such places, but no full load...And surely not grass, you need much more length.
4. no, 5., I couldn't think of any "strange" issue with that airplane. But as DA42 electronically controlled, same warning as Cirrus
Any other, we can continue to PM
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Henrik
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Re: Advice for a (soon to be) DA42-NG owner

Post by Henrik »

michael.g.miller wrote: Wed Dec 30, 2020 6:34 am I'm also a bit nervous. While the powerplant excites me, it's also nerve wrecking. Specialized diesel engines with limited expertise. New systems to learn. A multi engine rating. There are a lot of questions running through my head now, and I'm curious what the DA community has to say:
  1. What are the most likely components to fail on a cross country trip? As a non-A&P owner, can I do anything to make unscheduled stops less painful?
Mike, your apprehension is completely understandable, but I really wouldn't be so concerned.

I've put 7 years and 900 hrs on my DA42-VI - taken it all over Asia, Aus, NZ & Pac, and never been stuck anywhere.

1. The DA42/62 are great for world touring; modern, safe, reliable, twin engine across the sea & remote regions, Jet A/A1 available worldwide & you can even substitute w/diesel if necessary.

2. I've only had a few snags; both prop governors locked up at high RPM at separate occasions & had to be replaced (I see a pattern here btw); had an engine coolant valve vent some excess blue liquid with a Jackson Pollock painting across the cowling while 250nm off shore, but didn't impact engine temps. An alternator wire came loose in flight once, took 5 mins to reattach. A flat tire while sitting in the hangar. That's more or less it.

3. AOG can happen in *any* aircraft *anytime*. I've seen plenty of factory new Cirrus & legacy Cessna's stuck in various places. So you always need to be prepared - nothing particular bad about Diamonds.

4. Mechanics. Sometimes they're right next door. Sometimes you'll need them flown in overseas (doesn't matter if you're AOG in a Cirrus, Cessna or Diamond) & it can be a serious cost and hassle, but you can always get things fixed eventually.

5. When flying in remote regions or places with limited infrastructure, you simply have to be adaptable & roll with the punches; doesn't matter what you fly. Luckily most things can be solved.

Best advice I can give is probably to adopt an absolute zero squawk policy on your aircraft & follow all recommended maintenance to a tee. Don't skimp on anything.

The DA42/62 is a great airplane. It's just such an enjoyable and approachable aircraft type, with no bad habits. (by design)

I haven't regretted buying mine for a second, and while I also loved my previous avgas DA40, I would never go back to avgas or non-FADEC piston.

So go ahead & fly your DA42NG across the World, have fun & take the inevitable challenges as they come along.
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Re: Advice for a (soon to be) DA42-NG owner

Post by dgger »

I put about 500 hours on my DA42NG traveling across the Atlantic a couple of times, cruising the Caribbean and criss-crossing Africa. The worst that ever happened to me was that I had to have a mechanic out fly from Johannesburg to a bush strip in the Okavango delta in Botswana to fix a broken solenoid. But even that worked out well.

I can only second Wolfgang‘s suggestion: bring a laptop and one of those cables to read out your engines. That way you won‘t need to fly out a mechanic to a remote location just to do the read-out for you. Plus, if someone actually needs to fly out because you cannot fix the issue otherwise, they are more likely to bring the spare parts you actually need.

Diamond suggested I carry a front and a main wheel tire. I ended up not needing them, but I am fairly sure I would have, had I not brought them.

You did not say where you are based out of, but if you had an EASA-registered aircraft, I would like to suggest you get a CAMO. They can authorize anyone licensed by a third country aviation authority to legally carry out work for you. I had someone rip off one of my winglets in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania and that helped tremendously as I could get that fixed locally.

As for the 700m runway: at MTOM that would be too short for my taste. I would want to shed weight, if I ever had to depart from such a strip.
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Re: Advice for a (soon to be) DA42-NG owner

Post by D-GCOB »

Dear Mike,

Sound like a great plan - I love my DA42 and can highly recommend this plane. I flew it from 2014 till now for more than 500h and had no issues at all during this time – but it is also the TDI version with CD-135 engines.
During my flights I also landed on a grass strip op 600m which was in not so good condition. I would definitely not do that again – even though it worked out as I am still writing… We had 160l of fuel, and 250kg Pax and luggage weight, hardly any wind. There is a very nice tool for the IPAD called “GYRONIMO” for aviators. You can do very quickly calculations on takeoff and landing with every condition.
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The 700m hard surface is also the minimum for my airport selection – depending on the configuration.
I am also planning to fly around the world starting in September 2021 – if Corona will allow. I just renewed the CD-135 engines and installed the new MT Scimitar Props which have a 10% performance increase (and 10% less ground roll) – absolutely to recommend since they can be uses on any available engine configuration.
Did you also consider buying a TDI? – or why do you want the Austro engine?

Michael
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