What a great airplane!

Ken Ibold

Ken Ibold

Final Approach
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Feb 21, 2005
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Ken Ibold
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Today I flew a particular model of airplane for the first time. It was, I think, the best all-round flying airplane I've ever been in. Smmmmooooooooth, with perfect control harmony -- responsive and stable at the same time. Fun and useful at the same time! Not terribly fast, but good fuel economy. Once again, I leave a flight test saying to myself "I gotta get me one of THESE!!!"

Any guesses? (Yes, it's new production, certified, 4 seats.)
 
Was it piston or turbine? With only four seats, I'm guessing piston.
Single or Twin?

I'm guessing a DA-42 Twinstar with diesel engines. It fits the "Not terribly fast, but good fuel economy" comment pretty well along with four seats.
 
based on my 5 minutes in a DA20 with jesse at gastons, im guessing it has to be either a 40 or 42. i really thought it was a nice honest airframe that flew the way airplanes are supposed to fly.
 
After my flight today, I'd guess the DA40.
 
yes! yes!

Ken Ibold said:
Today I flew a particular model of airplane for the first time. It was, I think, the best all-round flying airplane I've ever been in. Smmmmooooooooth, with perfect control harmony -- responsive and stable at the same time. Fun and useful at the same time!
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oh well, sounded like the Bellanca til you got to this point.
Ken Ibold said:
Not terribly fast,
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Tell us, tell us!
 
I'll vote DA40.

I've never flown one, but the only negative I've heard is how it handles turbulence. I assume the low wing loading contributes to that. I'd like to fly one some day and see for myself.
 
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Well?????
lurker.gif
 
KennyFlys said:
I don't think it quite qualifies for "new" where certification is concerned. Even if it were, yours would still be defective. :D
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Hey! It is the pilot that is defective, not the plane. I just need to work out my defects! :D
 
Ok, seriously...it's been four days! Aren't you going to fill us in? :D
 
FlyNE said:
Ok, seriously...it's been four days! Aren't you going to fill us in? :D
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I'm beginning to think the flight was all in his mind and the OP was during a sleep walk. :)

Or, his experience was on MSFS. :D
 
Don Jones said:
Just kept in the dark and fed BS!!
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Conan O'Brien: "Do you want to become the vice president?"
John McCain: "I spent five years in a North Vietnamese POW camp, kept in the dark, fed with scraps. Do you think I want to do that all over again?"
in Dr. Mardy 8/28/04
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Don, you're in good company! :D
 
Such impatience! I took the kids up to grandma's house in rural TN, where the internet connection is, uh, not.

The answer was shrewdly guessed. DA 42.

Yeah, it could be faster. Yeah it could be bigger. I have it on good authority Diamond is already working on both, in that the DA 50 might beget the DA 52. And I was also told the -50 (and by extension the -52) were designed from the get go for pressurization. It's gonna boil down to diesel engine technology and how quickly it shapes up. The diesels in the -42 are excellent, and a large part of what makes flying the airplane so satisfying.
 
Ken Ibold said:
Such impatience! I took the kids up to grandma's house in rural TN, where the internet connection is, uh, not.

The answer was shrewdly guessed. DA 42.

Yeah, it could be faster. Yeah it could be bigger. I have it on good authority Diamond is already working on both, in that the DA 50 might beget the DA 52. And I was also told the -50 (and by extension the -52) were designed from the get go for pressurization. It's gonna boil down to diesel engine technology and how quickly it shapes up. The diesels in the -42 are excellent, and a large part of what makes flying the airplane so satisfying.
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TA-DA !!!!!

Now we know what Bruce's next plane will be, if he doesn't find a VLJ that works.
 
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mikea said:
TA-DA !!!!!

Now we know what Bruce's next plane will be, if he doesn't find a VLJ that
works.
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He's looked at the DA-42 (in fact I have a picture of him sitting in it.) IIRC, he wasn't jumping out saying he just had to buy one. I'll let him give his own opinion, though.
 
gprellwitz said:
He's looked at the DA-42 (in fact I have a picture of him sitting in it.) IIRC, he wasn't jumping out saying he just had to buy one. I'll let him give his own opinion, though.
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There are several reasons not to buy one, first among them being the long-term reliability/viability of Thielert -- both the engine and the company. Although I hear Dreis has invested a bunch of money into maybe making the engines in house. Dunno.
 
Ken Ibold said:
The answer was shrewdly guessed. DA 42.
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It was an educated guess given diesel performance. I figured it had to be piston with only four seats. Speed isn't great but it sure pays for itself. I'd love to have the DA-42 but would settle for the DA-40.

I do hope they do something about isolating the FADEC from the rest of the electrical system. The accident that did happen was a result of not following published procedure but we all know sometimes you have to provide for some level of idiot proofing.
 
KennyFlys said:
I do hope they do something about isolating the FADEC from the rest of the electrical system. The accident that did happen was a result of not following published procedure but we all know sometimes you have to provide for some level of idiot proofing.
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The cause of the accident that happened has already been fixed and certified in Europe, but the FAA is a bit slower. Essentially there is a backup battery attached to each engine to handle transient low voltages. Goes back to the old saying (Einstein?): The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has limits.
 
Ken Ibold said:
The answer was shrewdly guessed. DA 42.

Yeah, it could be faster. Yeah it could be bigger. I have it on good authority Diamond is already working on both, in that the DA 50 might beget the DA 52. And I was also told the -50 (and by extension the -52) were designed from the get go for pressurization. It's gonna boil down to diesel engine technology and how quickly it shapes up. The diesels in the -42 are excellent, and a large part of what makes flying the airplane so satisfying.
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I knew by your description it would be a Diamond something. They are great airplanes. Not perfect, but what is?

I've really enjoyed my time in the DA40, I'm looking forward to flying the 42.

I also think that if they came out with a DA52, with 6 seats and a good-sized cargo door in the back, with Thielert 4.0's or something of that nature, they'd have a real winner. Roughly 20gph total fuel burn and probably well north of 200 knots. Piper would probably never sell another Seneca...
 
flyingcheesehead said:
I also think that if they came out with a DA52, with 6 seats and a good-sized cargo door in the back, with Thielert 4.0's or something of that nature, they'd have a real winner. Roughly 20gph total fuel burn and probably well north of 200 knots. Piper would probably never sell another Seneca...
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The -52 would be a knockoff of the -50, which means only 5 seats -- a 3-person bench in back. So the cabin would not be Seneca like. But I agree it would make it very, very tough to buy a Seneca. Or Baron.
 
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