AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2016 - 57

for video shots, I did breakaway maneuvers where I banked sharply away from
the camera airplane. Then, when rejoining for more shots, I'd have to do steep
banks toward the Bonanza to quickly fall
into place. A couple of times, my banks
were 45 degrees, or maybe a little more.
That's when I felt the ESP kick in. Go past
30 degrees or so, and the ESP will begin to
fight your stick pressure; the steeper your
bank, the more resistance you feel. It's a flyby-wire-style method of keeping you safely
within the flight envelope, and there are
pitch limits as well. I can see where ESP
could keep you out of trouble, especially
when hand-flying in challenging instrument conditions.
The photo shoot finished, it was time
for some engine-out work. Again, the
FADECs help. Use standard dead foot/
dead engine identification (with a check
of engine gauges to verify a loss of power),
and then simply switch off the bad engine's
master switch. The engine stops-as in
instantaneously. Use a feathering switch to
complete prop feathering, and then retrim
for the new configuration. Thanks to the
turbos, single-engine climb rates at 7,000

feet came in at 350 fpm, but there were just two of us aboard.
Down low, at maximum takeoff weight, single-engine climb rates
run in the range of 200 fpm, depending on density altitude. Hey,
it's a 5,700-pound airplane climbing on 180 horsepower.
On the last day of the trip, we were joined by Michael Dubrow,
a local video producer. Now there were four in the cabin, with both
Fizer and Dubrow shooting video. They had plenty of room, so it
was an enjoyable half-hour doing steep turns and slow flight over
scenery that every pilot should experience at least once in a lifetime. We even saw a group balloon launch far below us.
Diamond sees a short-haul charter market for the seven-seat
version of the DA62. That may be, but baggage space is sharply curtailed by that aft two-seat option. And the GWX 70 takes up much of
the room in the nose baggage compartment. So the DA62 may have
stronger appeal to those wanting to fly four or five passengers in
comfort, style, and economy. True, its million-dollar price tag rivals
that of a competitor, the Textron/Beechcraft Baron G58. But the
DA62's fuel efficiency means that less fuel is needed to carry larger
loads over typical trip lengths. In models without TKS and air conditioning, that means five passengers and their bags theoretically
can fly 400 nm in 2.3 hours or so, with IFR reserves, depending on
winds and assuming 70-percent power at 9,500 feet. On the other
hand, if range is what you want, then two aboard with full fuel can
let you fly more than halfway across the nation.
Diamond announced in February that the DA62 had earned
FAA certification. We'll see how this new light twin is received.
Orders have been placed, Diamond says, but it doesn't say how
many. In the meantime, the company is selling its DA40 and DA42,
and remains ever focused on research and development. Diamond
continues its experiments with autonomous landing and other
concepts at its Wiener Neustadt, Austria, manufacturing site. The
autonomous landing idea is to bring an airplane in distress to a safe
landing by remote control using GPS and ground-based guidance.
Until that project comes to fruition, a second engine will have to
serve as the emergency backup.
AOPA

THE DUAL-PUMP

TKS control panel
is above the dualchannel FADEC's
engine control unit
test switches (left).
Nose baggage
compartment
(below) of the
demonstration
airplane is smallish
because of the
space required
for the optional,
$32,480 Garmin
GWX 70 radar
system hardware.

EMAIL tom.horne@aopa.org

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