Part 91 condition based maintenance in a DA42NG

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michael.g.miller
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Part 91 condition based maintenance in a DA42NG

Post by michael.g.miller »

I'm in the process of buying a new-to-me DA42NG (2006 model converted to NG). I previously owned a Cirrus, for which the maintenance pretty much consisted of oil changes, fixing stuff when it broke, and annual inspections. The advice of the CIrrus community was on condition based maintenance.

As owners, what do y'all recommend as the best path to do condition based maintenance? I fly 350 hours per year, so should I focus on oil changes every 100h? What about gearbox oil / filters? Any other owner recommended inspections to watch out for?
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ememic99
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Re: Part 91 condition based maintenance in a DA42NG

Post by ememic99 »

One recommendation non-related to the questions you asked: be sure that the aircraft you buy has GFC700 autopilot.
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neema
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Re: Part 91 condition based maintenance in a DA42NG

Post by neema »

I have a -VI/NG.

Obviously you take care of mandatory AMM and engine mx manual chapter 4 items (which aren't much). I also follow most of the engine related chapter 5 mx manual items and sprinkle in some of the airframe chapter 5 items. Big picture items:

An annual every year.
100 hour: oil changes, gearbox oil check. We buy oil and fuel filters on our own rather than the austro 100 hour kit
300 hour: gearbox oil change, alternator check (I'd probably pass on this next time, they broke the alternator removing it once)
600 hour: TVD inspection, high pressure fuel pumps - $6k
900 hour: injector AD. got a discount last time, but normal price was $1200 each, so plan on 11k+

There's a more in depth airframe inspection at 1000 hours if you want to do it.

I buy these parts myself:
air filters (K&N part numbers)
all backup batteries EECU, alternator excitation batteries, and I think standby battery (Panasonic part numbers)
Castrol Edge 0W-40 A3/B4 oil from Walmart or Amazon

Be ready for the following:
failed TVD inspection needing new flywheels $5k each
failed gearbox inspection. a new gearbox is $10k


If you don't know, look into CAA fuel. For me, membership pays for itself in 3 fill ups. Fuel savings have kept me in the plane despite some big costs listed above
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wolfvoador
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Re: Part 91 condition based maintenance in a DA42NG

Post by wolfvoador »

ememic99 wrote: Sun Mar 07, 2021 7:20 pm One recommendation non-related to the questions you asked: be sure that the aircraft you buy has GFC700 autopilot.
The aircraft I sell (sorry, maybe I am conflicted....) has KAP140 which I used on my around-the-world, 3 Atlantic crossings and more, and it does the job! I guess 99.9% of the time you fly straight, and don't need the yaw damper... And it does approaches flawlessly...
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Re: Part 91 condition based maintenance in a DA42NG

Post by brian5x5 »

wolfvoador wrote: Tue Mar 09, 2021 6:09 pm
ememic99 wrote: Sun Mar 07, 2021 7:20 pm One recommendation non-related to the questions you asked: be sure that the aircraft you buy has GFC700 autopilot.
The aircraft I sell (sorry, maybe I am conflicted....) has KAP140 which I used on my around-the-world, 3 Atlantic crossings and more, and it does the job! I guess 99.9% of the time you fly straight, and don't need the yaw damper... And it does approaches flawlessly...
I think the main reason for the recommendation is for future upgrade paths. Upgrading to NXi or beyond will require the GFC700 and installing that will be pretty expensive. The KAP140 does a great job, you are just more limited on future upgrades.
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Re: Part 91 condition based maintenance in a DA42NG

Post by Jroseund »

I definitely go with Neema on the CAA fuel. Depending where you fly AvFuel could be helpful too, but you get the bigger discounts with CAA. It might not seem much at first, but over time the savings add up that can be used for the aircraft instead of being burned into the atmosphere.
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Re: Part 91 condition based maintenance in a DA42NG

Post by ememic99 »

wolfvoador wrote: Tue Mar 09, 2021 6:09 pm
ememic99 wrote: Sun Mar 07, 2021 7:20 pm One recommendation non-related to the questions you asked: be sure that the aircraft you buy has GFC700 autopilot.
The aircraft I sell (sorry, maybe I am conflicted....) has KAP140 which I used on my around-the-world, 3 Atlantic crossings and more, and it does the job! I guess 99.9% of the time you fly straight, and don't need the yaw damper... And it does approaches flawlessly...
Yaw damper is the least concern, I couldn't care less about it in DA42. Main concerns are: upgrade path, KAP140 servos and parts and service availability in future.
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