March 15, 201511 yr Posting a few links to some of the initial reviews regarding the real plane, which was quite the technology beast when she came out in 2004. Not only the use of modern materials but also the one of the Diesel engines and single lever (+power percentage from the FADEC) setup while the G1000 of course is a milestone of its own. Other planes did come with such character traits but the combination of them all rendered the DA42 somehow special and maybe even risky from the investor's side. As a side note, the engines (actually, their manufacturer Thielert) later caused some trouble concerning the spare parts and warranty situation. So successors such as the 'NG' (for New Generation) not only added overall improvements but also switched the supplier to Austro Engine, still being the Diesel plus FADEC innovation already known but offering more power and efficiency. There also is a Lycoming option which would run normal Avgas (the Diesels go on jet fuel), add a few horsepower and come with a conventional rpm and mixture setup as opposed to the fancy FADEC single lever. Before the 'NG' model, the Thielert engines came as 1.7 litre and later 2.0 litre variants, the latter (named 125-02-99) being 'ours' in the Alabeo plane. "Unleashing" 135hp on each side. ^_^ FLIGHT TEST: Diamond Aircraft DA42 - Sparkling performer Flying Sports Sedan Check the dates, those are close to ten years old now. So that new stuff was really new. Since reading is a dry way to entertain one's mind, there's a video too. This one shows the latest and greatest, the 'VI' which followed the 'NG'. Comes with the 168hp Austro Diesels.
May 17, 201511 yr Of course, the fuel pump issues that came with operating Thielerts on JetA1 are not included by Alabeo... http://www.bea.aero/etudes/thielert.tae125.engines/thielert.tae125.engines.pdf
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