Flying the DA42 TwinStar

The Diamond DA42 TwinStar was one of the latest light twins to reach the market. Its Thielert Diesel engines (soon to be replaced by AustroEngine AE300…), Garmin G1000 glass cockpit and composite fuselage make it a truely modern light twin. I got my MEP rating flying one, the good D-GGWB by the Motorflugschule Egelsbach, near Frankfurt. This page is all about learning to fly the Twinstar.

As a good student pilot, I started with by reading the Aircraft Flight Manual and study the TwinStar perfomance and systems:

  • V-Speeds – Very similar to those of a high performance single engine.
  • Take-off and landing performance – ditto.
  • Fuel system – A must, particularly if you’re not familiar with the concept of “return fuel” of diesel engines
  • Electrical system – The DA42 is an all electrical plane: Glass cockpit, FADEC, flaps, the hydraulic pump for the gear all need electrical power. Knowledge of the many busses and how power is distributed is really important.
  • De-icing and landing gear – The landing gear is similar to the Piper hydraulic / gravity system and the de-icing is a TKS system sending anti-ice fluid on the leading edges and the windshield.
  • Variable elevator backstop – This system limits the elevator deflection in landing configuration with high power setting, to match the FAA certification standards.

I also blogged about my training for the DA42 and the MEP class rating:

  • Lesson 1: heavy and easy – The amount of control forces required was a big surprise to me, compared to the DA40. Apart from that, flying the DA42 in normal conditions is really easy.
  • Lessons 2 & 3: Identify, verify, feather – All about engine failure management in the DA42. Drills, and assymetric flying… in the FNPT-II.
  • Lesson 4: the killer one – Back from the simulator to the real aircraft, flying with an engine out, and practicing the drills again and again. Hard work.
  • Lesson 5: getting close – Where all what I learned slowly comes in place. And also a new item on the final check: which engine is running, to help with rudder on go-around.

After that came the training for the extension of my instrument privileges to the MEP class:

  • Lesson 1&2: getting all of it together – How to integrate MEP flying and IFR, particularly managing engine failure in a high-workload environment like single pilot IFR.
  • Lesson 3: No brain day – The third lesson was not exactly a good one. It felt like I did all possible mistakes, but in the end I was ready for the test flight. A great learning experience.

You can read here about how I passed my MEP / IR skill test on the DA42 and read my transition tips.