New DA62 owner but not PPL yet

Any DA62 related topics

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renewdoit
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New DA62 owner but not PPL yet

Post by renewdoit »

I followed the discussions in this forum for a long time and eventually put an order on a new DA62 last year, and she arrived this May (N72RE). I was excited about it and wanted to fly immediately.

The major problem is that I am too new in flying: not a PPL yet, I trained in a 172 for a few hours, but since I already own this twin-engine, I decided to go directly to a MEL PPL.

I got an excellent instructor who holds FAA MEI/CFII to help me locally (in Singapore). We train every week in my new bird. I look forward to getting to the US to do the PPL checkride in a few months and also plan for an instrument rating as soon as possible.

It is a long trip from Singapore to the US trying to pass the tests, my goal is to maximize the efficiency of my time in the US, and I look forward to your kind pieces of advice for my plan.
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Re: New DA62 owner but not PPL yet

Post by photoSteveZ »

Congratulations on your DA62! Your plan to get a PPL and Instrument ratings in the 62 is quite an audacious undertaking but, given the DA62's simplicity of operation, quite doable. Do you know yet where you'll be able to rent a DA62 to take your check rides? Since you'll be coming a very long way, wouldn't it make sense to also earn your ASEL as well as AMEL? Should you ever want to rent an airplane in your travels, the ASEL will be important: there are very few places to rent a twin (even fewer to rent a Diamond twin), and no one will be eager to rent you their six-lever Apache or Seneca when all you have in your logbook is two-lever DA62 experience.
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Re: New DA62 owner but not PPL yet

Post by Boatguy »

Congratulations!

It sounds like you're going to go for the whole thing at once. PPL, instrument rating, AMEL and ASEL!

My suggestions for how to make your U.S. time most efficient are:

1) Read Max Trescott's G1000 Glass Cockpit book and practice at home on a PC using the Garmin G1000NXi simulator. Study at home until you know what everything on the screen is telling you, what happens when you push any button, and how you like the various options setup. That way you can make the same settings on a G1000 when you get to the U.S. and it will feel like home.

2) Since you have your plane, you can also do some familiarization sitting in the cockpit with a GPU.

3) In Singapore, log at least 20hrs in a certified simulator with your CFII towards your instrument rating. I would spend as many hours as possible in the simulator, though perhaps only 20 with the CFII, until you are a master of the G1000. Fly simulated VMC for the PPL and IMC for the instrument rating. The simulator is a much less expensive and more efficient (it has a pause button) place to do training than in the plane. There are DA42 simulators, as well as simulators for a C172.

4) Angel City Flyers in Long Beach has a DA62 in which you can train. At $675/hr, plus a CFII, training costs add up quickly; about $2,000 / day. There are other schools where you can rent a DA42 which will save you probably $200/hr.

Good luck!

PS: Please tell me where you are training in Singapore as I have a friend who recently moved there and needs to get back in the sky!
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Re: New DA62 owner but not PPL yet

Post by Colin »

City Flyers also has some DA42's as well.
Colin Summers, PP Multi-Engine IFR, ~3,000hrs
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http://www.flyingsummers.com
N972RD DA42 G1000 2.0 s/n 42.AC100 (sold!)
N971RD DA40 G1000 s/n 40.508 (traded)
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renewdoit
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Re: New DA62 owner but not PPL yet

Post by renewdoit »

photoSteveZ wrote: Mon Sep 26, 2022 1:33 pm Congratulations on your DA62! Your plan to get a PPL and Instrument ratings in the 62 is quite an audacious undertaking but, given the DA62's simplicity of operation, quite doable. Do you know yet where you'll be able to rent a DA62 to take your check rides? Since you'll be coming a very long way, wouldn't it make sense to also earn your ASEL as well as AMEL? Should you ever want to rent an airplane in your travels, the ASEL will be important: there are very few places to rent a twin (even fewer to rent a Diamond twin), and no one will be eager to rent you their six-lever Apache or Seneca when all you have in your logbook is two-lever DA62 experience.
Thanks for your advice!

About where to rent a DA62 to take check rides, I am not very sure yet. :(

I will primarily fly in Southeast Asia, and at least the first years with my plane, so the limitation of renting a plane might not be a big problem.
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renewdoit
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Re: New DA62 owner but not PPL yet

Post by renewdoit »

Boatguy wrote: Mon Sep 26, 2022 4:04 pm Congratulations!

It sounds like you're going to go for the whole thing at once. PPL, instrument rating, AMEL and ASEL!

My suggestions for how to make your U.S. time most efficient are:

1) Read Max Trescott's G1000 Glass Cockpit book and practice at home on a PC using the Garmin G1000NXi simulator. Study at home until you know what everything on the screen is telling you, what happens when you push any button, and how you like the various options setup. That way you can make the same settings on a G1000 when you get to the U.S. and it will feel like home.

2) Since you have your plane, you can also do some familiarization sitting in the cockpit with a GPU.

3) In Singapore, log at least 20hrs in a certified simulator with your CFII towards your instrument rating. I would spend as many hours as possible in the simulator, though perhaps only 20 with the CFII, until you are a master of the G1000. Fly simulated VMC for the PPL and IMC for the instrument rating. The simulator is a much less expensive and more efficient (it has a pause button) place to do training than in the plane. There are DA42 simulators, as well as simulators for a C172.

4) Angel City Flyers in Long Beach has a DA62 in which you can train. At $675/hr, plus a CFII, training costs add up quickly, about $2,000 / day. There are other schools where you can rent a DA42 which will save you probably $200/hr.

Good luck!

PS: Please tell me where you are training in Singapore as I have a friend who recently moved there and needs to get back in the sky!
Great advice; I appreciate it!

Since I can fly a lot in Singapore and will have more logged fly time than PPL minimum requirements before I go to the US for the check rides.

I plan to skip SEL, so the steps should only be MEL and Instrument rating because all my logbooks will be DA-62 entries.
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Re: New DA62 owner but not PPL yet

Post by TimS »

@renewdoit

The advice was to pick up an SEL, it should only be a few hours of training and the check ride. The advice comes due to the incremental cost is rather small, and avoids a second significant cost if at some point you wish to fly a single.
In the US and Europe, the market has been trending away from twins to singles (mostly with chutes and/or turbines).

Good luck,

Tim
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Re: New DA62 owner but not PPL yet

Post by Steve »

Tian:

Even though there are a small number of pilots who have done their initial training and received their initial pilot certificate in twins, I can't imagine that is the preferred route (even in your case, where you already own a twin). Even in the US Navy where aviators are advanced to flying jets off an aircraft carrier in 18-24 months of intensive, high tempo training - they start out in single engine, fixed wing aircraft.

I was already a Private pilot (SEL) when I went through Primary Flight training in the Navy, and it was to some degree like trying to drink from a firehose. There were two other guys in my class that were Private pilots, and we three had the best flight grades (expected), and struggled less than the others. I saved my FAM 1 (first flight) grading sheet because the instructor commented "Student flies better than instructor". Of course, that wasn't true, but I guarantee I wouldn't have been able to fly that complex, retractable, turbine aircraft (Beechcraft T34C) very well just jumping in without my prior experience.

One other point - I spent 23 years as a Navy Flight Surgeon, and investigated my share of aircraft accidents. Its not just the hours, its the years. Good luck with whatever route you pursue.
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Re: New DA62 owner but not PPL yet

Post by chili4way »

Tian, I flew a Socata TB-9 with the Republic of Singapore Flying Club out of WSSL/Seletar when I lived in Singapore. I remember that the training airspace was pretty small and sandwiched between several military aerodromes and Changi. (I also recall the landing fees on each touch-and-go.) What you propose will undoubtedly be challenging for both you and your instructor.

Your thinking ahead to your FAA practical test got me wondering if bringing an FAA examiner to Singapore would be a possible solution, especially if others in that part of the world need FAA DPE services. The folks at WOA might have an idea. (I'm guessing you know them, and that's your DA62 featured in some of their website photos.)

And per Russ' suggestions above, I see WOA has a Redbird MCX simulator for getting started on your instrument work.

Good luck, and I hope you'll keep us posted on your progress.
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Re: New DA62 owner but not PPL yet

Post by TimS »

I met a student pilot from Europe years ago. He found it was cheaper to come to the USA for a series of intensive/dedicated flying trips to complete his training than do it in Europe. If I recall correctly, he came over for three weeks stints for to get his PPL then IR. The MEL add-on was a one week trip.

Tim
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