looks like more than 1900 MTOW aircraft
There is a little bit here, with a ludicrously useless and obviously inaccurate operating ceiling figure.
This says 4400lb for EASA, 4740lb for FAA, so they are obviously aiming for 1999kg for the European market.
Going above 1999kg would kill it in Europe, IMHO.
However it is not a big job to change the gearbox.
Sure, but the gearbox lists at €10133. Minus the €2000 core value, that translates to €13.55/hour which is more than my engine fund, and the DA42 has two of these to do. It's a significant cost, definitely.
I saw the DA52-VII at LOAN. Very impressive aircraft. I liked it. The DA42 looks tiny in comparison. However, I wouldn't even put the DA52-VII on the map at this time.
1) Final specs aren't done (the 12000 feet ceiling was an initial test flight limitation)
2) Certification not done
3) Putting beefed up 180hp Austros on the airframe still leaves this aircraft completely underpowered compared to the DA42. Indeed, I reckon their long term plans are the new 280hp Steyr diesel engines. (which aren't available yet either)
4) The price is going to end up on the wrong side of USD1m, and at this price point a used Meridian is a lot better deal.
Besides, as we've learned with the DA42 (and generally speaking), never buy version 1.0 unless you really need to.
Having said that, I gather that Diamond is quite eager to get this one on the market relatively soon...
Sure, but the gearbox lists at €10133. Minus the €2000 core value, that translates to €13.55/hour which is more than my engine fund, and the DA42 has two of these to do. It's a significant cost, definitely.
Peter, the price that I paid per gearbox was 4500 euro (core value already subtracted). Clutch (a 600 hr item) 900 euro.
Forgot: Yes, the parts expenditure during the lifetime of a Thielert are no doubt higher than an AVGAS engine. Roughly what happens is that this additional expenditure is off-set by the fuel savings, at least taking the prices of fuel here in Spain. Tough to make an exact comparison, because I don't know of a 135 HP Avgas engine though.. Thielert is working on reducing the parts costs/replacement interval of parts and increasing the TBR of the engine from 1500 to 1800. They 'd better do that to keep up with Austro's..
OK; I got those costs from a current (or very recent) Diamond price list for the 1.7 and 2.0 engines, which was emailed by a Diamond dealer. If you like I can email you the PDF.
Yes, please mail and I will investigate. It has been 2 yrs since changing them and I recall vaguely something about list prices for gearbox not applicable for periodic replacements. I can also post my calculations for the operating costs of the Thielert.
Emailed.
Obviously I have zero first-hand knowledge of the Diamond ownership scene, but on my TB20 I almost never pay the official price, because parts can be bought from the USA with an 8130-3, etc.
So a smart owner who is happy to get his fingers stuck into the detail can probably save a lot of money.
But this harder (or impossible) on a plane which uses lots of special parts. For example, while the French-made TB20 is "mostly American", there are some atrociously priced metric-thread hoses which are about 10x to 15x the "normal" cost. These can be made for "only" 3x the normal cost but it takes a lot of work, and planning the job ~6 months in advance.
I can also post my calculations for the operating costs of the Thielert.
Please do that. It would be nice to get clear comparison with the operating costs of the Austro's.
I believe they're aiming for 2000 hrs as the next step.
I got info that 2400 was their goal.
