Cobalt wrote:
If they were at bright daylight setting at night, they would be very distracting and also ruin whatever little night vision you have.
. I would agree, though, that dimming them so far that they are not visible at night is a bit too far, and certainly a flaw.
But that’s not the case. After some 80 night hours (and total over 500) in DA42 I believe I can say that.
AeroPlus wrote:
Seemingly the dimming of these 3 green lights is considered more important than the lack of certainty in having the gear down
If they were at bright daylight setting at night, they would be very distracting and also ruin whatever little night vision you have. I would agree, though, that dimming them so far that they are not visible at night is a bit too far, and certainly a flaw.
At OP: Congratulations!
Three greens are clearly visible day and night in DA42. If you’re unsure you can play with flood light and you have gear test switch to cofirm.
Usage of alternate air is clearly specified on checklist.
In-air stops can be hard for timing chain on AE300 engines in case of windmilling and that’s why key restars are specified as way to go.
Seemingly the dimming of these 3 green lights is considered more important than the lack of certainty in having the gear down. If I can’t see 3 green lights at night in the DA42 due to a dimmer switch set a certain way, there is in my view something very wrong with the design of that aircraft.
Airborne_Again wrote:
dim enough to not be visible in daylight.
I tried very hard on daylight that I did consider them off, need to re-check them during night hours 
Ibra wrote:
Same on Arrows, the green lights switches completely off when light panel is on
They don’t (if they did, you would never get a gear down indication when landing at night), but they dim enough to not be visible in daylight.
Engine shutdown was only demostrated in the sim and was avoided at all cost (only touch the controls with extended fingers!) during actual flight.
The DA42 has to be re started within two minutes if you demonstrate a shut down airborne.
Some national regulators (eg Poland) still require a full shutdown and re start as part of the MEP course, but not necessarily the check ride.
I was told for fuel injected engines to not worry about alt air and use it the same way as carb heats: infrequently pull it in normal flights and permanently pull it when flying in cold/humid air, this seems to be consistent with POHs
AeroPlus wrote:
Yes, I know it “all” and have been flying the Seneca 2 as well with this panel light issue
Same on Arrows, the green lights switches completely off when light panel is on, the latter is difficult to see/diagnostic during a good VFR day (you go for “gear troubleshooting” page, and on step 4 you get a reminder of what you already know and feel bellow )
From the DA42 AFM:
