DA42 low fin

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aviator8

DA42 low fin

Post by aviator8 »

Hello
Do you know what the part I marked in the low fin area of a DA42 plane is? It's not include in the flight manual.
https://ibb.co/d56jRTh
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Colin
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Re: DA42 low fin

Post by Colin »

I have wondered about that while cleaning my plane. I suspect it has something to do with icing. It looks a little like a stall fence, but I couldn't figure out how that would work on a vertical surface.
Colin Summers, PP Multi-Engine IFR, ~3,000hrs
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aviator8

Re: DA42 low fin

Post by aviator8 »

Colin wrote: Thu Jun 01, 2023 11:04 am I have wondered about that while cleaning my plane. I suspect it has something to do with icing. It looks a little like a stall fence, but I couldn't figure out how that would work on a vertical surface.
Some planes have it, some don't. When I looked through the maintenance manual, I couldn't find anything. In my opinion only tecnician know this.
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Steve
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Re: DA42 low fin

Post by Steve »

I would doubt that it has anything to do with icing prevention, as any protrusion into laminar airflow would be more likely to accumulate ice under favorable conditions. I think that Colin may have nailed it as a 'stall fence-like device". It could have been included to help prevent stall of the vertical tail, and rudder reversal.
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ememic99
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Re: DA42 low fin

Post by ememic99 »

Steve wrote: Thu Jun 01, 2023 12:34 pm I think that Colin may have nailed it as a 'stall fence-like device". It could have been included to help prevent stall of the vertical tail, and rudder reversal.
I believe it's intended to prevent vertical tail stall in case of OEI and more than 5 degrees of the bank towards live engine.
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Colin
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Re: DA42 low fin

Post by Colin »

stall of the vertical tail, and rudder reversal
I am uncomfortable enough with stalls, I have decided not to google what that is. It sounds unpleasant.
Colin Summers, PP Multi-Engine IFR, ~3,000hrs
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N972RD DA42 G1000 2.0 s/n 42.AC100 (sold!)
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Re: DA42 low fin

Post by 1qilaiba8 »

I was told that the strip is used as a vortex generator, and it's just installed in DA42NG.
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