The DA62 can burn Jet-A…Continental and Lycoming power planes cannot. The plane is nice, but too pricey for the average guy…looks like it’s headed toward the charter market.
Got lucky and flew a DA62 this morning.
A rock solid platform, quite heavy on the controls. In still air could trim the plane quickly and let go. Low over terrain with thermals building up the bumps were a non-event. Does not feel underpowered, although I must admit we were seriously under MTOM (full fuel, 2 POB).
I am very fond of the outward view of the DA42, so this bar up front is a bit of a negative for me. I’d say the visibility in a Cirrus is better (apart from the engines not being in the way of course), but from a Seneca it is a lot worse. Anyway, it is not a site-seeing machine, it’s a traveller.
The cabin is very roomy. I (1.91m) fitted in very comfortably up front and in the second row. Only very wide people would touch shoulders, up front and on the first row. The third row is a lot tighter, needed to bend my head towards my shoulder to fit, and it’s a lot narrower there. So calling it a seven-seater (apart from the 2.0 vs 2.3 ton issue) is technically true, but stretching it.
Fit and finish is excellent.
Shame there is no keypad on the G1000, to me it looked as if they could have squeezed one in.. Would be interested to find out why it’s not there.
All in all an impressive machine. I can see the use for a family and as a short haul air taxi. They seem to be selling rather well!
Assuming one goes for the 1999kg option, how do the payload figures look?
For example the Piper Meridian, with the 1999kg STC, is illegal even on the ground if you fill up the tanks (various threads in this) 
Post #12 says 470 kg, but that was based on the link provided by the OP.
Meanwhile, on the Diamond site it says that the 2300 kg version has a useful load of 710 kg, so that would suggest 409 kg for the 1999 kg version, assuming the empty weight of both versions is the same, which seems a reasonable assumption? However, Diamond suggests you contact them to obtain the ‘necessary information on the 1999 kg version’. Taking 409 kg, and subtracting 261 kg of full fuel, there is 148 kg left.. For that aircraft to carry 4 persons with bags (say 80 kg per person) you would just have 2,5 hours worth of fuel, if flown at 60% (around 155 KTAS at FL120 I guess) no reserves.
EDIT: Actually, my DA42 does that too..
Yes, the 2300 kg ‘version’ makes a lot more sense..
The 2300kg DA62 I am familiar with has a useful load of 615kg but there are some extras and specialist kit. If you bin air-conditioning and role equipment that would give you about an extra 75kg. I would suggest that Oxygen (16kg) and aux tanks (19kg) are seen as must-have options. Bearing in mind that there are a significant number additional antennas fitted to the extremities, the aircraft gives a TAS of 180kts at 10000ft with fuel burn of 56l/hr. It will go faster but you’re in diminishing return territory.
Why did you (your employer) choose air conditioning (flying mostly in the UK I guess) if you don’t consider it a must-have?
The clue is in my profile.
Well, obviously. Me, despite being based in Germany, I do fly all over the place as well. I am simply interested in views whether aircon (purchase, weight, maintenance) is generally worth it in a 1.5 million € aircraft (or maybe even in a 0.9 million € Cirrus) or not…
What make of aircon components is in the DA62?
The reliability history of aircon systems in piston GA is not all that great… however I am talking of the ancient piston twins which is all there was pre-Diamond.
The aircraft will be permanently based in the Middle East. The second aircraft, delivered in November, will spend much of the year in the Mediterranean, Portugal and the Azores. I don’t know where you got your €1.5M figure from, we paid nowhere close to that.
Peter, I don’t know but can find out.
