DA40NG Orientation Briefing

Full document text

DA40NG Orientation Briefing The AFM supersedes all information provided in this briefing. This is a summary of the key differences pilots who are transitioning to a Jet-A powered Diesel engine DA40NG should know about. • Fuels and fueling • Check both oil levels • Engine start • Runup • Engine shutdown • Single power lever operations • High altitude considerations • Maximum performance (e.g. takeoff) • Fuel management • Other comments Fuels & fueling Always supervise fueling operations in person and keep the fuel caps locked when the plane is unattended. Allowable fuels are Jet-A (negative PRIST preferred), Jet-A+ (with premix PRIST), and Jet-A1. Details are in the AFM. The grounding tabs are under the cockpit footsteps on either side of the airplane. Take care that the line service person doesn’t use the round OAT sensor on the co-pilot side of the airplane or the engine exhaust. Full fuel is just above the bottom of the tabs to which the wire rope that is connected to the fuel cap is attached. It is best to have line service point the nozzle toward the fuselage and fill slowly. The caps go on with the tabs toward the front of the plane, which is “backwards” compared to Lycoming DA40s. The sump kit is double wrapped in Ziploc bags (behind the pilot seat) to avoid getting Jet-A smell into the cockpit (where it will persist for a very long time). Vinyl gloves are provided. The wing sumps use the black “poke” extension; the gascolator sump uses a “Piper-style” pull mechanism. It’s best to do both wings first and then return the black extension to the inner Ziploc bag. In practice, we tend to sump “on condition”, i.e. when we have reason to be concerned about fuel contamination because of the plane being outside in the rain or the quality of the Jet-A storage, truck, or delivery system is suspect. Remember to seal both bags and orient the fuel sampler with the opening point up before returning it to the seat pocket. Check Both Oil Levels There are two oil levels to check, both are done through the access port on the pilot side of the airplane. The gearbox oil level is checked through the clear sight-gauge (it looks like a hex nut with a glass middle located ahead of the engine oil sump on the side of the gearbox). If you can DA40NG Orientation Briefing Page 2 of 4 8/29/20 4:42:00 PM see a yellowish tint or a line in the sight gauge, it’s good. The engine oil is checked with the gauge attached to the oil cap. Halfway between MAX and MIN is ideal, and I add a half-liter of the special Diesel engine oil when it gets down to about 1/4 remaining before minimum. Spare oil and a funnel are located in the storage cubby behind the rear seats. The Austro engine burns relatively little oil compared to the Lycoming version. Engine Start Follow the checklist. After turning on the Engine Master key switch, wait until the G1000 is fully powered up. Make sure the power lever is all the way back to minimum/idle. After turning on the guarded Engine Master switch, be sure to wait until the GLOW annunciator goes out before turning the key switch to START. The engine starts surprisingly easy. Be sure to re-guard the Engine Master switch. The Avionics master can be turned on after the correct idle RPM (710-730) is confirmed. The Aux Power can then be turned on if you’re planning to use the air conditioner. The RPM indicator shows the propeller RPM, not the engine RPM. Until the engine temperature gauges (oil temperature, gearbox temperature, coolant temperature) are in the green ranges, limit engine power to less than 40% (e.g. during taxi). It is normal for oil pressure to hover in the yellow range at low power settings. Run Up Follow the checklist. It’s very important to wait until the engine temperature gauges are all in the green before performing the runup. After checking the VOTER switch operation, the runup is automated. If you’re using the air conditioner, open the pilot vent window to normalize the cockpit pressure to ambient. Make sure the power lever is set to minimum/idle and hold the ECU TEST button in through the entire two cycles of runup. It is normal for the ECU error annunciations to show during the test and go out at the end. In practice, I perform the available power test as part of the takeoff roll, i.e. confirming the engine is producing the expected power level (typically 100% unless very high density altitude) as the airplane accelerates. Engine Shutdown The turbocharger needs to cool down prior to shutting down the engine. The minimum is to run the engine at less than 10% for one minute; in practice, I do this for two minutes. If you start a timer when pulling off the runway and taxi at 10% or less, you’ll likely get to your shutdown position after the required cool-down time. Follow the checklist. Make sure the power lever is at minimum/idle. Make sure to turn off the Avionics Master and Aux Power (air conditioner) before turning off the guarded Engine Master Page 3 of 4 8/29/20 4:42:00 PM DA40NG Orientation Briefing switch. Wait until the G1000 engine indications show all red Xes before turning off the Electric Master key switch. This give the G1000 the time it needs to store the flight data. Single Power Lever Operation The FADEC power lever provides the setpoint for engine power output and propeller RPM. The propeller RPM setpoint curve can be found on page 7-25 of the AFM. The propeller RPM is controlled by the power lever position setpoint, not by actual engine output. In an actual engine out emergency, best practice is to set the power lever to about 20% power for minimum RPM / maximum propeller pitch. The windmilling propeller generate the gearbox oil pressure that activates the servo controlled by the electrically set governor. A power setting of about 10% is a good emulation of an engine-out approach. At the power lever idle setting the propeller pitch generates much higher drag. High Altitude Considerations