Dusk and night flying in the Diamond DA40 - G1000

[DiamondPilotDan]

who's plane?

[goingtobeapilot]

Do you happen to know if this is the Textron Lycoming version of the plane or not?

[mikeydapilot]

@goingtobeapilot Yes, this has the Lycoming engine. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that all DA40s use the Lycoming engine.

[goingtobeapilot]

@mikeydapilot Yeah somebody told me that they have a "TDI" version which I guess is a diesel... But I just did a little bit of research and I guess the lycoming is much more common. Especially here in the USA. In my opinion you really can't beat the sound of a lycoming, especially the one in the da40, its so quiet...

[CathayGuy]

By the way Never got to mention to you that your night cruise back seemed really nice and peaceful : )

[mikeydapilot]

@CathayGuy Yea, night flights tend to be smoother. Winds are calmer, cooler air, less turbulence, etc.

[CathayGuy]

@mikeydapilot Well I know that, But all your videos tend to have nice flying! If I ever had to have a private pilot and I was really rich I would want you to be my private pilot haha

[CathayGuy]

Wonderful! The aircrafts instruments and GPS looked really nice! I'm guessing you couldn't have any drinks at the restaurant? Is it the same rule as for driving?

[mikeydapilot]

@CathayGuy Haha yea I didn't have any drinks at the restaurant, not only because I was flying but also because I'm 19. The regulations for pilots concerning alcohol are actually more stringent than for driving. The limit for the blood-alcohol content of a pilot is 0.04, half the limit for driving. The best rule of thumb, however, is "24 hours from bottle to throttle."

[CathayGuy]

@mikeydapilot I love that rule! haha

[ymmjR1221]

Awesome plane man, How is it flying with a stick as compared to the classic control yoke?

[mikeydapilot]

@ymmjR1221 I find the stick to be really responsive compared to the classic yoke. I guess it's a bit of a pain when you climb into the cockpit though, and my sister told me that it's not 'girl-friendly' when the girl is wearing a skirt. Anyway, I flew a few instrument approaches in IMC two weeks ago in the same plane and I barely touched the autopilot because the stick is so much fun to fly. It's also neat that the PTT button is on the back of the stick, like a trigger button in a fighter jet.

[ymmjR1221]

@mikeydapilot hey man i sent you a message, get back when you get the chance.  And one last question, what does the plane cruise at?

[mikeydapilot]

@ymmjR1221 At optimum cruise altitude (6000-8000ft) the DA40 will cruise at around 140TAS.