Even eight hours after the end of my first DA42 lesson I can’t remove the smile from my face. I can’t say that I flew perfectly but it was not as negative as I expected. As Dave suggested, I remembered that it has to be fun. I did stay relaxed (almost) all the time, and it went fine. My instructor started the session with a thorough pre-flight inspection, which was full of lessons.

The vague idea that the DA42 is a twin DA40 like the Seneca is a twin Saratoga went away rapidly. The wing is very different because of the engine and retractable gear. The rudder is larger and higher than the DA40’s one, and the nose is obviously different. I had the impression that the DA42 is much larger, much imposing than the DA40. This was confirmed during taxi and in flight. The required control forces are much larger than what I expected. The DA42 has a directional nose wheel – a big advantage over the DA40 – and the pressure in turns seemed even higher than for a Saratoga. Roll control in flight also requires more force than when flying a DA40 and I sometimes had the feeling that I was pulling so hard that the stick could break. Flying the DA42 also requires a lot of rudder work. The rudder is efficient, but I fought a lot to keep the G1000’s virtual ball centered. Rudder work is also vital during take-off roll and initial climb, and after each power change, because both props are turning in the same direction.

Beside being heavy, the DA42 is also easy to operate. Thanks to FADECs and G1000, cockpit preparation and startup were a breeze. Nothing new compared to the DA40, except that all engine instruments are duplicated. The alternator load is always asymmetric, but this is apparently the case on al DA42s. Knowing which alternator is more loaded helps to decide which engine to start first – on this particular aircraft, it’s the right hand one. Engine start is as simple as switching the engine master to on, wait for the glow indicator to go off, and turn the starter key. Sitting beside and above the engine gives an unusual perspective in comparison with a single engine aircraft and I like it much. Single engine pilots are not used to see all that smoke during startup. Not having a prop in front of me while flying made no difference and I like to better see the engines in flight.

I suffered kind of a “brain freeze” during the first take-off. Flying a new aircraft, in a new airport, after months without flying was simply too much. Instead of completely taking over the take-off, my instructor did a great job of walking me through the steps: rudder, speed check, rotation, attitude, brakes, gear, right turn… I somehow “recovered” while on downwind, flying towards our exit point. I started by enjoying the feeling of being airborne again. We flew below Frankfurt airspace and then climbed to 3′000 feet. The only things I felt familiar with were the stick and the G1000. Apart for a few details like gear and rudder trim, the cockpit is identical to the DA40’s one. I’m sure that being used to the G1000 will make any transition to any other G1000 equipped aircraft much easier.

We flew all the standard maneuvers for a new type familiarization: normal and steep turns, climbs, descents, stalls in various configurations. There’s not a lot to say about that because the DA42 has really good handling characteristics, like the DA40. Stalls are non-events, the only trick in recovery is about the flaps and gear retraction. If flaps are in LDG position, they have to  be retracted to APP before setting gear UP. If the flaps are already in the APP position, the gear comes up first. My problem in turns was again to keep the ball centered. As with all Diamond planes, keeping stable altitude is also demanding, but as I did not fly during the last 8 months this was no surprise. More practice will re-sharpen my flying skills – no doubts about it.

After completing the standard exercises, we flew back to the airport to fly some circuits. The runway is long engough – 1400 meters – but because of obstructions the APAPI angle is 4.5°, one and a half times the standard 3.0°. I’ll try to take a couple of photos on final later on. To my great surprise, my approaches and flares were all good. I did not had to look at the power indicator too much, my settings and speeds were instinctively correct. I don’t know if this comes from my experience with the DA40 or with other high-performance SEPs which approach at the same speed. I was ahead of the aircraft during the circuit work and this made me smile. My skills were not so deteriorated after all.

1h23 minutes, one go-around and 3 landings later, I inaugurated the “MEP” column of my logbook. The goal of getting my MEP rating and renewing my IFR within the imposed time and budget seems feasible. The next sessions will focus on flying with one engine only and polishing my flying skills. I can’t wait for it, now that I restarted flying. Stay on this frequency…