taking a door off before flight

[BackPacker]

DX, I know the feeling. I heard a rumour at our club today that a flight school in France has now sued Diamond for a full refund of the aircrafts purchase price. Don't know the specifics, just a rumour, but since this is a rumour network I might as well pass it on here.

But I remember that you said a while ago that you had received an earnest promise that you would be back in the air (in a DA-40 TDI) by Christmas. I was already getting jealous. I now understand that that didn't happen?

[DX Wombat]

It was New Year, but with the possibility of Christmas. I am still waiting. The person I mentioned did manage to get things moving but sadly, things have ground to a halt again. I miss being able to fly it even though I'm still able to fly my favourite Cessna 152. I can't say I'm too surprised if a French FTO is indeed sueing Diamond, especially if they have lost a lot of revenue.The DA40 TDi is lovely to fly but Diamond(Austria) is in real danger of not being able to sell any more because of their appalling after sales service. That would be a great shame but they would have only themselves to blame, FP has now been grounded for five months.

[BackPacker]

What amazes me most about myself is that despite all of this, I still stay loyal to the DA-40 TDI. And apparently, so do you. Maybe it's the underdog thing: here's this new startup company who designs a very modern aircraft using state of the art engine technology. The aircraft turns out to be a fine flyer, the engine incredibly frugal, the combination a relief from the old spamcans, but they don't seem to be able to overcome the teething problems.

Or do you think it's just economics: the DA-40 was the cheapest plane to rent in our fleet, despite being the fastest and most modern. (Since then we've bought two DR200-135CDI Ecoflyers who are even cheaper to run. But they've got their share of problems too.)

On the other hand, I have to admit that if the DA-40 would have been operational in the last three months I probably would not have flown it anyway. I've been doing this aerobatics course, which is not exactly the DA-40s strength, and the one straight and level trip I did was to a field which had no fuel at all, and no Jet-A or Diesel was available on other fields in the vicinity. (Although - I seem to remember there was a gas station just outside the airfields gate. We could just have brought a couple of jerrycans...)

[DX Wombat]

No, I think it is because it is just so nice to fly and, in my case, it means I can take two friends with me instead of just the one I can manage in the 152.
Diamond don't seem to think logically. They issued a notice stating that a certain component was to be fitted to the DA42 by a certain date and BEFORE they had even manufactured it and were unable to give a date for its availability. It is really sad, they are losing so much goodwill and gaining a dreadful reputation which the aircraft doesn't warrant. I'm currently doing my IMC in the C152 so at least I haven't been sitting around waiting helplessly.

[BackPacker]

You can take two friends in a C172 or PA28 and yet I do not feel the same fondness for those aircraft as a DA-40.

Perhaps it's a guy thing. "Curves in all the right places" and all that.

[DX Wombat]

Perhaps it's a guy thing. "Curves in all the right places" and all that.

Errr, not in my case.

[Lasiorhinus]

Originally Posted by BackPacker

Anyway, I'm not checked out to fly from the RHS (nor do I want to) so it's either a 172 or photographing through perspex.

With apologies for thread drift - theres no such thing as an endorsement, rating, licence or anything relating to flying an aircraft such as a PA28 from the right hand seat.
Many flying schools will tell you that you need to be 'checked out' first - this is 10% concern that the swapping of hands will be a problem for you, and 90% an excuse to squeeze a few hundred pounds out of you.
The swapping hands is a non-event. It should take you about ten minutes to be completely used to it.

Next time you are going flying with a friend, sit in the right hand seat. Let the other pilot take off and climb, and hand over control for a bit of pootling around, which you can do from the right.
Try a landing, remembering you can always go around, and remember that theres another pilot there to whom you can always hand over control to.

The very first time I landed from the right hand seat, it felt a little odd, but not odd enough to misjudge the landing or anything. Once youve done it, youll realise just how much of a non-event it is, flying from the other seat.


Have you ever driven a left-hand-drive car? Flying from the other seat is no harder, no weirder, and no more dangerous than driving from the other seat.

[BackPacker]

Have you ever driven a left-hand-drive car?

See my location... But I get your point.

Anyway, our club requires a RHS check. Probably indeed a non-event like you mentioned but something I just haven't done. And to go through that just so that the photographer can sit LHS in a PA-28 to take pictures through the storm window just seems a waste of time and money right now.

[Pilot DAR]

Further to my previous post, it's amazing what you find, when you're looking for something else! Refer to FAA AC105-2C for an interesting list of aircraft, and Transport Canada ANB013 for Canada's view on that list.

I caution readers that there is still a reference to "Approved" operation, so you can't just go and take a door off, but there is some helpful information here.

Further caution: This is not a situation where if one is good, two is better. Do not fly with both doors off without a specific approval to do so!

Pilot DAR