AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2016 - 54

With the ship's weight and steering feel,
there's definitely a "big airplane"
sensation as the DA62 accelerates
to its 76-knot rotation speed.
Seosamh Somers, president of a Diamond Flight Center and flight
school based in Long Beach, California. During the walkaround
Somers explained the airplane's classy gray-and-silver paint job
by saying that Diamond had come up with a new ultraviolet-tolerant composite construction process that doesn't limit the exterior
to a plain white treatment.
As with any automotive diesel engine used in an airplane application (Austro engines use Mercedes-Benz crankcases, and top
ends designed to Diamond specifications), DA62 engine starts
involve turning on the engine master switches and then waiting
for the glow plug annunciators on the primary flight display to
extinguish. Then it's a matter of momentarily pressing an engine
start button. The engines instantly come to life; there are no coldor hot-start procedures with FADEC.
Runups consist mainly of FADEC checks. Hold down the
engine control unit switches for 30 seconds while a test cycle runs
the engines up to 45-percent power, and then check both the A
and B FADEC channels for each engine by moving a toggle switch
manually between the channels, then return it to the Auto position. You're looking for any caution or advisory system messages
on the G1000. No messages? Then it's time to taxi.
It takes firm rudder pressure to maneuver the DA62 while
taxiing. That's because the airplane is approved for operations on
unimproved runways, and thus has larger tires.
This turns out to be an advantage during takeoffs and landings, when the airplane seems more sure-footed. With the ship's
weight and steering feel, there's definitely a "big airplane" sensation as the DA62 accelerates to its 76-knot rotation speed. Then
it's a liftoff into a 90-knot initial climb doing 1,100 fpm. Initially we
used a 130-knot en route climb speed, and then went to 150 knots
once passing through 7,000 feet. This produced a 900-fpm rate
of climb. Density altitude at Las Vegas was 4,000 feet for takeoff.
The first cruising altitude of the 180-nm trip was 13,500 feet,
where I made a check of high-speed cruise performance. With
power set at 93 percent we trued out at 194 knots while burning
9.4 gph per side, with the FADEC giving us 2,200 propeller rpm.
With our optional 86 gallons of Jet-A, our endurOPPOSITE PAGE, clockwise from top
ance would have been around four hours with IFR
left: A new door latch is disengaged
fuel reserves, and our range approximately 770 nm.
when the door is locked, which
At a more reasonable setting of 60-percent
prevents the over-eager from
damaging the internal gears; the
power, we did a respectable 167 KTAS while realoverhead control panel for the
izing a 12 gph total fuel burn that would give us
optional, $34,684 air-conditioning
an endurance of seven hours. And at 40-percent
system; adding the optional two
rear seats-a $27,725 option-turns
power, fuel burn dropped to 4.2 gph per side, for a
the DA62 into a seven-seater;
whopping 11-hour endurance and 1,540-nm range
single-lever power controls,
at 140 KTAS. You'd need a relief tube (which is not
courtesy of the ship's full authority
digital engine controls (FADECs).
available, by the way) to take advantage of this kind
54 | AOPA PILOT April 2016

of performance, but it does demonstrate
the DA62's impressive fuel efficiency-
and confirms another reason for Diamond's
commitment to diesel power. (The scarcity
and price of avgas in Europe, and the virtual absence of avgas in Diamond's large
Russian and Asian markets are others).
Down at a more typical, nonoxygen
altitude of 9,500 feet, the DA62 gave us 173
KTAS on a 14-gph fuel burn for a range of
680 or so nautical miles. Ultimately, even
with all the climbing, descending, and
power changes, we reached the red rocks
and dramatic vistas of Sedona in just one
hour, 12 minutes. Not bad at all.
LANDING, PHOTOS, AND SINGLE-ENGINE

I wish I could tell you that landing the
DA62 gave me the chance to show off my
superb energy management in the pattern,
and my flawless judgment at the moment
of touchdown. But no. The airplane is completely conventional in its behavior, and if
you can land any complex single or light
twin, then you'll have little trouble.
Well, at Sedona, the landings are a tad
unusual. For our entry to the downwind
leg for Runway 3, we flew hard by the east
edges of Thunder Mountain for a closeup view of that dramatic checkpoint, then
reduced power. Then gear down abeam
the touchdown point, and at 130 knots the
first notch of flaps came out. On final, a
power setting of 37 percent and full flaps
produced a speed of 85 to 90 knots for
short final.
With the FADECs, there's no propeller or mixture controls to fool with, so it's
just fly to the threshold, adjusting power
and crosswind correction as necessary.
Runway 3 slopes uphill, so there's the illusion of being too high. Fall for it, and you'll
find yourself too low, so using the VASI is
the way to go. Power off at 20 feet or so,
hold your pitch attitude, and-erk-erk!-
you're down in style.
The next day was photo day. With
AOPA Senior Photographer Mike Fizer
leaning out the back of a Beech Bonanza
A36, Somers and I flew in formation over
the sun-drenched mesas and crag-lined
valleys as daylight cast ever-longer shadows. Of course, the DA62 had no trouble
matching the Bonanza's speed. Sometimes,

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2016