Austro engine reliability and safety

[Rich]

NTSB information on in-flight engine failures is only marginally useful. To start with an engine failure in itself is not considered an accident worthy of NTSB attention. There must be other substantial damage to the plane (for which it appears a chute-pull qualifies), damage to structures on the ground, or injury to persons. Hence many engine failures don't appear in the NTSB database. Even when they do, oftentimes they are unable to determine the cause of the engine failure.

[Soareyes]

"I'm mostly concerned about 1) what continues to remain unreported? For example, the incident of a low time DA40 NG engine failure in NY during training flight in IMC with the CFI happily landing successfully does not seem to now exist and 2) unless and until you're the statistic managing an engine failure all the data doesn't really amount to much.

Once Austro went ex-Mercedes I became nervous. It's so difficult to transition highly engineered technology that it may make sense to await real worl results for a long time before drawing a conclusion."

Not all engine failures become accidents. Those that are successfully landed won't show up in an NTSB report. Service difficulty reports (SDR) could theoretically provide information about engine failures and other mechanical problems but submitting those to the FAA is elective and often not done.

Mercedes sourced engines missed the high pressure fuel pump AD but are included in the piston MSB, so you never know. Good old Continental is currently inconveniencing a lot of pilots with crankshaft counterweights drama.

[MWC]

What was the follow-up on this ? Was the engine replacement $36K of $60k ??? (That's quite a w i d e delta ... )

Add our engine failure on a 42-VI to the mix. We had one let go on climb out earlier this week.

~1650 hours on the engine. Service center maintained. We’ve owned it since new. Ran at 75-85% in cruise it’s whole life. Engine wasn’t on the recent MSB

I’ll get more details when we can do a better post-mortem.

Interesting news I heard today is engine cost. Got a rough estimate at $36k for an OV exchange. I thought replacements were pushing $60k these days?

[mhoran]

https://diamondaviators.net/forum/viewt ... 925#p97925 -- he later found out there is indeed no overhaul option. $150k for two including labor and tax.

[MWC]

Thanks, I stumbled on his listing after posting that and clearly, that confirms the recent 100% increase for replacing Austros.

[Boatguy]

Last night I was reading the March 2023 Aviation Consumer (a little behind on my reading) and stumbled across an article on the Beechcraft Baron 58, a legacy twin comparable to the DA42/62. There are a variety of model/engine variants with Continental engines, both normally aspirated and turbocharged. I was surprised to read that the TBO's were in the range of 1,400-1,700hrs, at a cost of $50-$60K / engine.

It seems like that provides some context for the Austro.

[ememic99]

Last night I was reading the March 2023 Aviation Consumer (a little behind on my reading) and stumbled across an article on the Beechcraft Baron 58, a legacy twin comparable to the DA42/62. There are a variety of model/engine variants with Continental engines, both normally aspirated and turbocharged. I was surprised to read that the TBO's were in the range of 1,400-1,700hrs, at a cost of $50-$60K / engine.

It seems like that provides some context for the Austro.

300+ HP per engine… to add a bit more of context.

[Colin]

I'm on BeechTalk, which is an excellent aviation community.

A guy on there described losing one of the engines on his Baron. Even in cruise, I am uncertain of my chances of getting it right and making it down safely. I have never had the slightest doubt in the Twinstar. You can pick those planes up for what feels like a song these days, but my mechanic used to be all-Beech-all-the-time and he said it would eat me alive. "Worth it if you fly the hours, very painful if you don't."

If I lost one on takeoff I'm pretty sure it would not end well in a Baron. For me. I'm old and my reflexes are fading.

[mfdutra]

If I lost one on takeoff I'm pretty sure it would not end well in a Baron. For me. I'm old and my reflexes are fading.

300 hp asymmetric and a short wing. Yeah, good luck!

I agree with you. If I lost one engine power in the DA62 with decent height and I'm able to feather it, I wouldn't be concerned at all. Probably a bit anxious of losing the second one, if I couldn't determine the cause.

[Colin]

The salesman who sold my DA40 to us was in a DA42 over Santa Barbara and lost an engine. He turned around and flew back to Long Beach. I think that's flying over six perfectly good airports along the way. But it is nice to be back home when you know the plane might be sitting for a while.