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Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 1259.PDF
"into wind" wing down. I was kicking off drift in the flare a few feet too high, giving the delayed roll with rudder effect time to kick in, and requiring me to compensate. By waiting until the final flare phase before kicking off drift, I could arrive neatly. The final full-stop landing required my first touch on the wheel brakes. As we rolled along the runway after touchdown, at about 60kt, I applied the toe brakes lightly and the aircraft suddenly deceler ated sharply and veered towards the side of the runway. I kept it under control but the aircraft's reaction was slightly disturbing - until we understood the problem. During the test flight we had moved the three identical centre-console levers backwards - and one of them was the parking brake. But we had forgotten because the brake lever's design and position are not unique. The brake remained dormant until ener gised by application of the toe brakes. I rec ommend Diamond redesign the parking brake lever to make it more distinctive. We had been airborne for lh 20min and used 55 litres of fuel. Diamond has taken a bold and successful step in combining so many new technologies in such a fine air craft. It provided its prototype at short notice and many of the shortcomings I noted will be rectified in production. I found the aircraft a delight to fly and easy to operate, combined with high per formance, modern technology, excellent economy and the latest and highest levels of passive safety. The DA42 has no natural competitors in its class and sets a bench mark for European general aviation. • DIAMOND DA42 GENERAL ARRANGEMENT Length Height Wingspan Empty weight Maximum gross weight Cruise speed (TAS) Max fuel standard 8.5m 2.6m 13.4m 1,090kg 1,650kg 180kt 230 litres Maximum fuel long range 330 litres Take-off distance 470m Landing distance 500 Powerplant 2 x Thielert Centurion 1.7 diesel @ 135hp Range, no reserve, standard 1,850km Range, no reserve, long range 2,670k Maximum operating altitude 18,000ft CONTINUED FROM P89 retracts inwards into the centre wing section, giving the DA42 a stable ground track of 3m (9.8ft). Hydraulically powered disc brakes on the main wheels are individually operated using a toe pedal at the top of each respective rudder pedal. The parking brake is hydraulically oper ated by pumping the pedals and is controlled by a small lever on the cen tre console. Nosewheel steering uses the rudder pedals: as the gear retracts, the nosewheel is automati cally centred and the steering disengaged. The jet-fuel/diesel-cycle engines each develop 135hp (100kW) at a normal maximum propeller RPM of 2,300. The Centurion 1.7 has a com mon-rail direct-injection, liquid-cooled, four-cylinder in-line layout, with turbo- intercooler and 1:1.69 propeller reduction gear. Optional additional exhaust noise suppression can be fit ted. Single-lever power controls set engine % load via the FADEC as well as setting the correct propeller RPM automatically. The two three-blade MTV-6 propellers are hydraulically regulated, variable-pitch, constant- speed and with autofeather protection if the engine fails when the propeller is above 1,100RPM. The blades are wood composite with a fibre-rein forced plastic coating and stainless-steel edge cladding. Fuel is carried in three intercon nected aluminium chambers in each wing, providing a total usable capacity of 190 litres (50USgal) of Jet A-1 fuel. Each tank group is filled through a large overwing filler cap close to each wing tip. The DA42 has a 28V DC elec trical system with two 60A alternators and a 24V, 10Ah lead-acid battery. An emergency battery is fitted to power the standby instruments in the event of a total electrical failure in IFR. Pitot-static values from a heated probe under the left wing are converted to digital signals by an air data com puter for use by the Garmin G1000 displays. Navigation is based on GPS and VOR. Options include traffic colli sion alert system and Stormscope lightning detection. The G1000 also provides a full crew alerting system (CAS). Stall and gear up at low power audio warnings are provided. There are large fresh-air vents either side of the main instrument panel. On the ground, the front canopy can be set slightly open to cre ate a cooling gap. Small windows on either side of the canopy can also be opened. The cabin is heated and canopy defrosted using an engine radiator heat exchanger. There are two baggage compartments - one in the nose, with upward-hingeing doors either side, and one in the rear fuse lage, accessible from the rear seats. The seats, with additional Kevlar reinforcement, are stressed to 26g and Diamond says drop tests show the cabin is able to withstand or even exceed this level of crash impact with out major deformation or damage. Production aircraft will be fitted witli the UK TKS anti-icing fluid system to protect the wing, tail and propellers against ice accretion. This was selected in preference to pneumatic boots or an electrically heated mat to reduce complexity and cost and to ensure the engine-driven electrical generator did not have to be modified from its present certificated and highly reliable status. The TKS system is cost-effective and uses small amounts of anti-icing fluid forced out of a porous membrane, on the protected leading edges, with about 600 micro scopic laser-drilled holes per square centimetre. \ 90 13-19 JULY 2004 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.coHl
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