Polar742
All the responsibility none of the authority
Thanks Martin :buck: ..... although I have gotten stronger from lifting the Remos around the hangar. I wonder how many of those suckers you could fit in a 74
I don't even know what that is.
Seminole VS Seneca
- Thread starter popaviator
- Start date
I don't even know what that is.
popaviator
Well-Known Member
KSCessnaDriver
Well-Known Member
That sir, is an awesome airplane to fly. Lots and lots of fun. Especially when you leave a class C airport, and they say, "well, you comm's aren't really work, but your free to leave."
20 minutes later, trying to get back with approach, i've got nothing. "Aircraft calling, unreadable."
So, we'll just climb over the airspace, get over the airport, call tower, and hope. It worked.
R
Roger, Roger
Guest
I can tell you anything you want to know about instructing in the DA-42. I have about 200 hours in it and just sent 2 more students for their commercial MEL rides in the plane.We also have a DA-42....but I don't really know what think about the Single Lever operation. Seems like a cool airplane but I'd rather stick with the Seneca for now.
It's actually flown for 200 hours? Wow. I bet you guys have the highest time DA42 in the world. :rotfl:
...you know I'm just busting your balls, right?
-mini
R
Roger, Roger
Guest
Don't even get me started.
Srsly.
Well. You could get me started.
But you might regret it...
R
Roger, Roger
Guest
2 in-flight engine shutdowns. One uncommanded, the other precautionary when it went haywire in IMC.
300 hour gearbox changes at $15K PER ENGINE.
A burned up connector that necessitated changing THE ENTIRE WIRING HARNESS for an engine (a lot of money and 2 full days of shop work).
Repeated gearbox oil leaks due to poorly-machined gearboxes.
Engine seals leaking oil onto the turbo.
One new turbo at who-knows-how-many dollars.
An airplane that's been down for a week because one engine won't make full rated power (lots of fun when running on one engine that only makes 80% power). Thielert can't tell us why, but the latest theory is a slipping clutch in the gearbox.
Seats that are about as comfortable as a park bench.
An airplane with 135 horses a side and Vmc rudder force of 130 lbs (this straight from the Diamond Canada test pilot).
A rudder pedal design that might work for a glider, but is horrid for a twin.
Lousy cockpit visibility.
The airframe has actually been ok. Not great, but ok. The engines on the other hand...
300 hour gearbox changes at $15K PER ENGINE.
A burned up connector that necessitated changing THE ENTIRE WIRING HARNESS for an engine (a lot of money and 2 full days of shop work).
Repeated gearbox oil leaks due to poorly-machined gearboxes.
Engine seals leaking oil onto the turbo.
One new turbo at who-knows-how-many dollars.
An airplane that's been down for a week because one engine won't make full rated power (lots of fun when running on one engine that only makes 80% power). Thielert can't tell us why, but the latest theory is a slipping clutch in the gearbox.
Seats that are about as comfortable as a park bench.
An airplane with 135 horses a side and Vmc rudder force of 130 lbs (this straight from the Diamond Canada test pilot).
A rudder pedal design that might work for a glider, but is horrid for a twin.
Lousy cockpit visibility.
The airframe has actually been ok. Not great, but ok. The engines on the other hand...
R
Roger, Roger
Guest
Diamond Canada had a Lycoming powered Twinstar at the NIFA competition a few weeks ago. It is supposed to be certificated by the end of this month.
My understanding is that my Skool o' Flite is going to sell our airframes back to Diamond, who will then convert, re-furbish, and re-sell them. We will be buying newly-built DA42L360s.
From talking to the Diamond test pilot, the IO-360s make the airplane perform the way it was originally supposed to. 1800+ fpm on takeoff, 170 KTAS in cruise, etc. However fuel burn with the Twinstar's tiny tanks might make range a bit of an issue.
That was a concern of ours also. Any thoughts from Diamond on how to address that? Is there room in the wings to make the tanks bigger without having to dump the TKS panels/tank? (that's assuming the TKS tank is somewhere near the wings)
-mini
R
Roger, Roger
Guest
I've seen the tanks pulled out of the wing (we had a tank crack at a spot weld and had to pull the outer wing panel to get the tank out). There's not really any extra room in there, at least without re-designing a lot of the wing interior structure. I think the aux tanks will be standard with the IO-360s. That gives 76 gallons usable. I would guess about 18 gph total in cruise soo...that's 3.2 hours and an hour reserve. Not too shabby.
Now, our aux tanks have been deferred inop almost since we got the airplanes. Hopefully Diamond has resolved that issue now and the aux tanks will work properly. Also, filling the aux tanks tends to make weight and balance an issue, especially if you're trying to carry more than a CFI and a student.
Exactly. Kind of removes it from the "rich guy transport twin" category and places it firmly in the "Very short haul or training" category.
-mini
R
Roger, Roger
Guest
Yeah. It'll be a lot of fun to fly though. The Diamond test pilot said there are some W&B envelope changes. Also the IO-360 installation is substantially lighter than the Thielert, and avgas is lighter than Jet A. It will be interesting to see the actual numbers though.
popaviator
Well-Known Member
Eh quick question about the Seneca....Maybe it's way too early, but...the fuel selectors inside the airplane say 47.5 for each side. Now in the POH it says 98 total with 5 unusable gallons. WTF? :insane: These numbers don't seem to match up...