LifeStyle Aviation Sponsors DA40 in Air Race Classic

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Flashback Event. LifeStyle Ambassador, Cynthia Lee is Flying the Diamond DA40 in the 2015 Air Race Classic.

This isn’t the first air race for LifeStyle Aviation Ambassador, Cynthia Lee.  In 2012 Cynthia and her teammate Nancy Rohr flew their first Annual Air Race Classic.  This year will be their second ARC for the team – ’10 Carat’ number 28 in this years race.  This Annual Air Race Classic (ARC) an all-women air race, will take place June 22-25, 2015.  Its 2529 statute mile race will begin in Fredericksburg, VA with stops in Hickory, NC, Connellsville, PA, Jeffersonville, IN, Kalamazoo, MI, Lawrenceville, IL, Kirksville, MO, Union City, TN, Gadsden, AL with terminus in Fairhope, AL.

The ARC is an annual VFR (good flying weather) cross-country event flown by airplanes with at least 100 horsepower (HP) and not more than 600 HP in either a competition or a non–competition class. Competition Class includes Stock and modified Stock, normally aspirated, piston powered airplanes, rated for continuous operation at maximum engine speed. Non-Competition Class includes airplanes not qualifying in Competition Class per ARC Rules, and those teams are not racing, but flying the event solely for education and experience. Both classes follow the same rules and enjoy similar flying adventures over the 2529 mile course.

All entered airplanes are flown for Handicap speed before the start. Teams then race their handicap speed, trying to best their own top speed from timing line to timing line. Once the first plane launches they have 4 days to fly all 9 race legs and to arrive and cross the Terminus finish line. Thorough knowledge of the rules and route are critical to successful completion of the race.

Two current licensed women pilots comprise a team. Passengers are allowed and they must be women pilots or student pilots. This year 53 teams are entered in the race with pilots ranging in age from 18 to 88 years and who come from a wide variety of back grounds. Included are 13 teams representing colleges who will vie for the perpetual trophy for the top college team as well as overall placement.

A little ARC history. The first race took place in 1929, originally called the Women’s Air Derby and included a field of 20 women pilots that included Amelia Earhart and was won by Louise Thaden. That race flew from Santa Monica, CA to the Cleveland Air Races in Ohio. The All Women’s TranscontinDA40ental Air Race (Powder Puff Derby) was formed in 1948 and ran until 1977. The ARC ran it’s first race in 1977 with a 2400 mile race from Santa Rosa, CA to Toledo, OH and is the longest running air race in the USA.

Louise Thaden who flew in the very first women’s air race in 1929 was quoted as saying “…added skills are developed, self confidence is increased and enduring friendships are made.” That still holds true today. Thirty-nine years later, over 100,000 statute miles later and 1500 teams later the Air Race Classic remains a venue for competitive flying.

Cynthia Lee is an instrument rated private pilot with 700 hours. Retired after 37 years of Operations and Engineering Management with DuPont anDA40d Axalta, is now an avid pilot and photographer.  LifeStyle Aviation first met Cynthia back in 2011 when she was trading in her Piper.  We helped Cynthia get into a beautiful brand-new Diamond DA40 with our DiamondShare program.  That DA40 is the plane being flown in this years ARC.  Since purchasing a modern aircraft Cynthia has been able to really enjoy the aviation lifestyle.  She has traveled to Martha’s Vineyard, the Bahamas, Key West, Texas, Arizona, New York and other places.  Cynthia became a LifeStyle Aviation Ambassador to share with others the freedom that the modern flying lifestyle creates.

LifeStyle Aviation is proud sponsor of Cynthia and Nancy #28 team ’10 Carat’ in the 2015 Air Race Classic.

 

An Impressive Performance in the 2015 Air Race Classic for Team 10 Carat!

LifeStyle Aviation Ambassador Cynthia Lee and her teammate Nancy Rohr, number 28, team 10 Carat finished the 2015 Air Race Classic yesterday at 3:05 pm with almost 2 hours to spare flying in a Diamond DA40.  LifeStyle Aviation was a proud sponsor of Cynthia and Nancy, team 10 Carat, in this years race.

The biggest challenges on Day 1 for team 10 Carat were the fly-bys across the timing lines.

They did fly-bys at 150 kts at 200′ AGL to start and stop our time for each leg.  The patterns were very congested with planes arriving, landing and departing.  They even had to do a dual fly-by, as they were overtaking a slower plane at the timing line.

Day 2: Cynthia and Nancy encountered Marginal VFR along most of the route, but they were able to safely fly across the flat lands of Indiana, Michigan and Illinois and stay below the scattered layer of clouds.

Day 3: They waited out the severe thunderstorms between Lawrenceville, IL and Kirksville, MO in the morning and finally departed about 11:15am CDT and easily completed legs 6 & 7.

With the handicap system, it is impossible to know how they are doing versus the other racers during the race but they are making safe decisions and having fun.  They had winds gusting to 28 knots at the Kirksville, MO, fly-by.  It’s quite a challenge to hold altitude at 200’AGL flying at 170 kts with winds gusting to 28kts.

Day 4:  The team had hoped, weather permitting to get up early and finish the final two legs, from Union City, TN to Gadsden, AL, then to the terminus in Fairhope, AL but they discovered a dead battery in the morning when they arrived at the KUCY airport, in Union City, TN, to fly their final two legs of the race.  Fortunately the wonderful crew at KUCY were able to recharge their battery in a few hours.  Six hours later they were in the air and were able to do a fly-by to continue at Gadsden, AL, KGAD, and then direct to the terminus at Fairhope, AL, KCQF.

Since they were the last team to leave KUCY and the last team to cross the finish line at KCQF, they had large crowds at both airports waving as we flew the timing lines.

They will not know their actual standings until later this weekend.  We are very impressed with their race performance.  Congratulations!  and excellent flying team 10 Carat!

What to learn more about the Diamond DA40 – the safest aircraft in its class.  An ideal traveler and trainer.  LifeStyle’s DiamondShare program revolutionizing buying and using modern aircraft.  LifeStyle Aviation Ambassadors and the freedom of the modern aviation lifestyle.  Click her for more ideas about how to enjoy the aviation lifestyle.

                 

Diamond DA62. Dawn A Second Chance for the Light Twin Market

  

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AOPA Article: The Diamond DA62. 

Dawn A Second Chance for the Light Twin Market

April 5, 2016 By Thomas A. Horne

Have a preconception of Diamond Aircraft as a manufacturer that dwells on modestly powered singles and twins, principally aimed at the entry-level market? Better rethink that. With the introduction of Diamond’s new DA62, the company has massively redesigned and upgraded its predecessor twin—the DA42-VI—and in the process created what might be called a re-imagining of the light-twin concept. Or at the very least, Diamond’s light-twin concept.

For more information, visit/click this Website Link. All specifications are based on manufacturer’s calculations. All performance figures are based on standard day, standard atmosphere, gross weight conditions unless otherwise noted.

At 40-percent power and 11,000 feet, range can extend to 1,540 nm.

With the Diamond DA62, Diamond has raised the bar in almost every aspect. First, the DA62 is physically larger, with a nearly 48-foot wingspan and a 30-foot length; that’s four feet and two feet more, respectively, than the DA42. The DA62 is some 660 pounds heavier, too, with a maximum takeoff weight of 5,071 pounds for those bound to the U.S. market. (Diamond posts a lighter, 4,407-pound weight for European DA62s—and the DA42, as well—in order to avoid user fees.)

Where the DA42 uses 168-horsepower Austro AE300 turbodiesel engines, the DA62 is fitted with more powerful Austro AE330 engines of 180 horsepower driving three-blade MT composite-construction propellers. The interior is wider, longer, and more luxurious than Diamond’s previous designs; dual gull-wing doors replace the forward-hinged single canopy of yore; and the extra cabin width permits three seats in the second row. An option for two more aft seats yields a total of seven seats, but aft baggage space is sacrificed.

A new door latch is disengaged when the door is locked, which
prevents the over-eager from damaging the internal gears.

And there’s upscale leather seating and trim details, complete with stitching along the glareshield, and a fancy center console and armrest. “Frankly, we haven’t been going for a luxury look in the past,” said one U.S. Diamond dealer. “But with the DA62 we made a conscious effort to go upscale. For example, we looked at what Cirrus does with its interiors and decided that we needed to up our game in order to stay competitive.” That said, the DA62 retains Diamond’s fixed-position, reclined, sailplane-style pilot seat design and central control-stick placement. If there have been any complaints, they’ve been about that control stick, because it can interfere with smooth boarding and get in the way of charts or iPads. Maybe there will be a sidestick in Diamond’s future?

The overhead control panel for the optional, 

$34,684 air-conditioning system.

The thigh-support portion of the Diamond DA62’s pilot seats folds down for easy boarding, meaning that you no longer have to step on the seat to get in. The seat-back position is adjustable, and the seats have inflatable lumbar support. And what’s this? Cup holders, and even customized fixtures on the forward sidewalls that are designed to hold water bottles. Meanwhile, the airplane’s monocoque cabin structure is designed for optimal crashworthiness. The airplane’s avionics and systems are exemplary. Full-authority digital engine controls (FADEC) mean virtually automatic engine starts under all conditions; single-lever power controls; and protection against engine exceedances. 

The Garmin G1000 avionics suite includes flight envelope protection—dubbed Electronic Stability and Protection (ESP)—offered by a function of Garmin’s excellent GFC 700 autopilot/flight control system. The airplane flown for this report was a European demonstrator that was on display at the 2015 National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) convention, and showed off the DA62’s many options: a TKS ice-protection system with flight-into-known-icing (FIKI) approval; Garmin’s GWX 70 weather radar; global datalink weather over the Iridium satellite network using Garmin’s GSR 56 datalink receiver; a Garmin GDL 69A receiver for SiriusXM datalink weather and music; Avidyne’s TAS 605 traffic advisory system; an oxygen system; and air conditioning.

A desert cross-country G1000 showing steep 

turns over the Arizona desert.

I flew the Austrian-registered DA62—OE-FGZ—from Las Vegas’ McCarran International Airport to Sedona, Arizona. With me was Seosamh Somers, president of a Diamond Flight Center and flight school based in Long Beach, California. During the walkaround Somers explained the airplane’s classy gray-and-silver paint job by saying that Diamond had come up with a new ultraviolet-tolerant composite construction process that doesn’t limit the exterior to a plain white treatment.

As with any automotive diesel engine used in an airplane application (Austro engines use Mercedes-Benz crankcases, and top ends designed to Diamond specifications), the Diamond DA62 engine starts involve turning on the engine master switches and then waiting for the glow plug annunciators on the primary flight display to extinguish. Then it’s a matter of momentarily pressing an engine start button. The engines instantly come to life; there are no cold- or hot-start procedures with FADEC. Runups consist mainly of FADEC checks. Hold down the engine control unit switches for 30 seconds while a test cycle runs the engines up to 45-percent power, and then check both the A and B FADEC channels for each engine by moving a toggle switch manually between the channels, then return it to the Auto position. You’re looking for any caution or advisory system messages on the G1000. No messages? Then it’s time to taxi.

Adding the optional two rear seats – a $27,725 option – 

turns the Diamond DA62 into a seven-seater.

It takes firm rudder pressure to maneuver the Diamond DA62 while taxiing. That’s because the airplane is approved for operations on unimproved runways, and thus has larger tires.This turns out to be an advantage during takeoffs and landings, when the airplane seems more sure-footed. With the ship’s weight and steering feel, there’s definitely a “big airplane” sensation as the DA62 accelerates to its 76-knot rotation speed. Then it’s a liftoff into a 90-knot initial climb doing 1,100 fpm. Initially we used a 130-knot en route climb speed, and then went to 150 knots once passing through 7,000 feet. This produced a 900-fpm rate of climb. Density altitude at Las Vegas was 4,000 feet for takeoff.

The first cruising altitude of the 180-nm trip was 13,500 feet, where I made a check of high-speed cruise performance. With power set at 93 percent we trued out at 194 knots while burning 9.4 gph per side, with the FADEC giving us 2,200 propeller rpm. With our optional 86 gallons of Jet-A, our endurance would have been around four hours with IFR fuel reserves, and our range approximately 770 nm.

At a more reasonable setting of 60-percent power, we did a respectable 167 KTAS while realizing a 12 gph total fuel burn that would give us an endurance of seven hours. And at 40-percent power, fuel burn dropped to 4.2 gph per side, for a whopping 11-hour endurance and 1,540-nm range at 140 KTAS. You’d need a relief tube (which is not available, by the way) to take advantage of this kind of performance, but it does demonstrate the DA62’s impressive fuel efficiency—and confirms another reason for Diamond’s commitment to diesel power. (The scarcity and price of avgas in Europe, and the virtual absence of avgas in Diamond’s large Russian and Asian markets are others).

Down at a more typical, nonoxygen altitude of 9,500 feet, the Diamond DA62 gave us 173 KTAS on a 14-gph fuel burn for a range of 680 or so nautical miles. Ultimately, even with all the climbing, descending, and power changes, we reached the red rocks and dramatic vistas of Sedona in just one hour, 12 minutes. Not bad at all.

Beefed-up landing gear allow operations 

off gravel and other unimproved runways.

I wish I could tell you that landing the DA62 gave me the chance to show off my superb energy management in the pattern, and my flawless judgment at the moment of touchdown. But no. The airplane is completely conventional in its behavior, and if you can land any complex single or light twin, then you’ll have little trouble.Well, at Sedona, the landings are a tad unusual. For our entry to the downwind leg for Runway 3, we flew hard by the east edges of Thunder Mountain for a close-up view of that dramatic checkpoint, then reduced power. Then gear down abeam the touchdown point, and at 130 knots the first notch of flaps came out. On final, a power setting of 37 percent and full flaps produced a speed of 85 to 90 knots for short final.

With the FADECs, there’s no propeller or mixture controls to fool with, so it’s just fly to the threshold, adjusting power and crosswind correction as necessary. Runway 3 slopes uphill, so there’s the illusion of being too high. Fall for it, and you’ll find yourself too low, so using the VASI is the way to go. Power off at 20 feet or so, hold your pitch attitude, and—erk-erk!—you’re down in style.

The next day was photo day. With AOPA Senior Photographer Mike Fizer leaning out the back of a Beech Bonanza A36, Somers and I flew in formation over the sun-drenched mesas and crag-lined valleys as daylight cast ever-longer shadows. Of course, the DA62 had no trouble matching the Bonanza’s speed. Sometimes, for video shots, I did breakaway maneuvers where I banked sharply away from the camera airplane. Then, when rejoining for more shots, I’d have to do steep banks toward the Bonanza to quickly fall into place. A couple of times, my banks were 45 degrees, or maybe a little more. That’s when I felt the ESP kick in. Go past 30 degrees or so, and the ESP will begin to fight your stick pressure; the steeper your bank, the more resistance you feel. It’s a fly-by-wire-style method of keeping you safely within the flight envelope, and there are pitch limits as well. I can see where ESP could keep you out of trouble, especially when hand-flying in challenging instrument conditions.

The photo shoot finished, it was time for some engine-out work. Again, the FADECs help. Use standard dead foot/dead engine identification (with a check of engine gauges to verify a loss of power), and then simply switch off the bad engine’s master switch. The engine stops—as in instantaneously. Use a feathering switch to complete prop feathering, and then retrim for the new configuration. Thanks to the turbos, single-engine climb rates at 7,000 feet came in at 350 fpm, but there were just two of us aboard. Down low, at maximum takeoff weight, single-engine climb rates run in the range of 200 fpm, depending on density altitude. Hey, it’s a 5,700-pound airplane climbing on 180 horsepower.

On the last day of the trip, we were joined by Michael Dubrow, a local video producer. Now there were four in the cabin, with both Fizer and Dubrow shooting video. They had plenty of room, so it was an enjoyable half-hour doing steep turns and slow flight over scenery that every pilot should experience at least once in a lifetime. We even saw a group balloon launch far below us.

Single-lever power controls, courtesy of the ship’s 

full authority digital engine controls (FADECs).

Diamond sees a short-haul charter market for the seven-seat version of the DA62. That may be, but baggage space is sharply curtailed by that aft two-seat option. And the GWX 70 takes up much of the room in the nose baggage compartment. So the Diamond DA62 may have stronger appeal to those wanting to fly four or five passengers in comfort, style, and economy. True, its million-dollar price tag rivals that of a competitor, the Textron/Beechcraft Baron G58. But the DA62’s fuel efficiency means that less fuel is needed to carry larger loads over typical trip lengths. In models without TKS and air conditioning, that means five passengers and their bags theoretically can fly 400 nm in 2.3 hours or so, with IFR reserves, depending on winds and assuming 70-percent power at 9,500 feet. On the other hand, if range is what you want, then two aboard with full fuel can let you fly more than halfway across the nation.

Diamond announced in February that the DA62 had earned FAA certification. We’ll see how this new light twin is received. Orders have been placed, Diamond says, but it doesn’t say how many. In the meantime, the company is selling its DA40 and DA42, and remains ever focused on research and development. Diamond continues its experiments with autonomous landing and other concepts at its Wiener Neustadt, Austria, manufacturing site. The autonomous landing idea is to bring an airplane in distress to a safe landing by remote control using GPS and ground-based guidance. Until that project comes to fruition, a second engine will have to serve as the emergency backup.

Flying a DA40 from North Carolina to Colorado

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A Fly and Ski Adventure

 North Carolina to Colrado in a DA40

In our business we help many people from all parts of the world acquire aircrafts. The most enjoyable parts of our business are building long term relationships that allow us to help clients each time they are ready for different aircraft and then of course we like to make the process of delivering planes fun. This story combines these elements perfectly.

Rod Lusk started out in the family Piper Tri-Pacer and 182. He went on to get 350 hours in gliders and his first aircraft was a steam gauge Diamond DA40. As a physician he is world renown in his specialty. He flies mostly for pleasure and personal transportation.

We helped Rod make the move from steam gauges to glass in the DA40 line and even trade up to a late model DA40 and then on to a twin DA42. When he retired last year to Colorado he decided the Diamond DA42 was bit more plane than he needed now and he wanted to trade back to a DA40 as it had served him so well for many years. We arranged the trade of his DA42 for a lovely DA40. Rod said now that he was retired he might like to come to the east coast to take delivery and fly the plane back to Colorado where he and his wife Connie had just moved. He asked if I would accompany him as he’d feel more comfortable with another pilot along. The suggestion we’d get in a day of skiing in Colorado sealed the deal for me.

Most pilots would not think it practical to use a 145KT aircraft to go to Colorado for skiing so I was keen to see how the trip worked out and compare it to airline travel in my never ending pursuit of illustrating the efficiency of private air travel.  Rod said he was free the next week so the plan was set; he would fly to Raleigh NC on aWednesday afternoon in early January and we’d have dinner and get up and launch early Thursday morning. When Rod arrived we noted that his airline trip from west to east with an hour drive to the Denver airport, strong tailwinds for the airliner and a stop in Chicago took about 11 hours door to door. As we reviewed our flight plans over dinner at my favorite Greek Restaurant’s fare we noted that the flying time in our flight plan was only about 9 hours with no winds.

As many of you know there are usually larger headwinds in the winter. Head winds are hard to predict until the day of flight so we guessed that it might take us 10-12 hours to make the same trip back to his home base 1262 miles away. Without winds the trip is only a two stop affair. We agreed we’d plan three stops and see how we felt as we went and what the winds were. The beauty of flying our modern magic carpets that have onboard weather with flight and fuel computers is its effortless to consider your route options once you get started on your first leg.

A high pressure system dominated the country and cold air was pressing into the south. We started the engine at 6AM at 27 degrees and took extra time to let it warm up. We of course had the winter baffle kit installed in the plane which is the small metal baffle that blocks the air to the cylinder area and the oil cooler to help warm the oil and engine in cold temperatures. Many pilots don’t know that the ideal temperature for the oil during flight is 180 degrees Fahrenheit. This temp is measured at the bottom of the engine and if its 180 at the bottom it will be 212 at the top or more which is what’s needed to boil out any moisture. “Babying the engine” and not getting the oil temp to 180 is actually what keeps moisture in the oil.

Our pre-dawn departure was smooth and we climbed of RDU international airport with a few airliners getting a jump on the day and headed west.  We requested to stay low at 4,000 feet as it was already clear flying high today was not in the cards due to the forecasted headwinds. We were able to stay at 4 then 6 then 8 thousand as we approached the mountains to minimize winds. Actually the first leg was not bad and we saw headwinds of 10-25KTS.

                                        Sam, a friendly FBO, welcomes Rod Lusk

Our first planned stop was Bowling Green Kentucky. At 8000 feet over the Appalachian range I asked Rod if he was up for stretching it a bit further. He was game and I was able to text from over the mountains to Jon Becker of Don Davis Aviation in Henderson Kentucky to see if he was going to be in the office that morning. We carried on a nice text chat and he was going to be there so we pointed the nose of the DA40 to KEHR where we could visit Jon and a DA40 we’d just delivered for their fleet the month before. Its always fun to fly around and meet friends along the way. The folks at Don Davis have three DA40’s now and operate a full service FBO operation on the western edge of Kentucky. 

I told Rod the most important issue on this cross country flight that we had not resolved was where to stop for lunch!  We asked Jon Becker and he recommend Jacks Stax in Kansas City. Rod said his son was a manager there and that indeed it was the best food around. Ultimately we decided it would take too long for that culinary side trip so we went in search of the ideal waypoint with on the field restaurant. We hit the jackpot when we found exactly on our course line Billards Landing Cafe better known as Tammy’s Buffet. It was the perfect distance, right on the field and I had a feeling it was going to serve up the ultimate home town experience along with the “home cooking”.

                                                 Rod Lusk at Tammy’s Buffet

We waved goodbye to the folks at Don Davis and off we went. Again we filed for only 4000 feet to minimize the head winds. At that altitude we enjoyed a steady view of rivers and farmlands in the windscreen. Our route took us right over the top of Jefferson City the capital of Missouri. The river there was filled with ice flows and the temps continued to be frigid. The heat on the DA40 works like a champ and made our ride a pleasant affair. The farther west we went the winds had shifted completely from north to coming from the south and they grew significantly.  At one point we saw total wind in the 71Kt range. Our true airspeed for for the entire trip was about 145KTS. The lowest we saw on ground speed at one point was in the 80’s. We spend most of our time in the 120+KTS ground speed realm. 

On our way to Topeka and the delicious treats that that awaited us there, I reviewed the remainder of the trip and was amazed to see that even with the strong headwinds we’d be able to make our destination without another stop. The winds after Topeka looked like they would be a tad less so we were quite encouraged.

As expected Tammy’s Buffet was a mid-western classic treat. A salad and buffet bar with hearty selection of mash potatoes, salisbury steak with thick gravy, fried chicken, a chicken cheese rice casserole and green beans. The green beans were the ultimate treat. You see when you close your eyes and eat these beans you can’t tell if you are eating green beans or bacon which is just to say they were seasoned “just right”!

                                    Colorado Skiing John Armstrong and Rod Lusk

A one hour stop with meal and top off and we were ready for the sky again. On the next leg the winds did reduce a bit and the range ring stayed just on the western side of our destination Fort Collins/Loveland Field north of Denver. We agreed our bladders would make the distance and we pressed on. During the next portion I learned something about flying in this part of the country that was a good lesson. As it turns out ATC does not have very good radar coverage and their minimum altitudes they can offer on IFR were pretty high. Our destination airport was over 5000ft MSL and ATC took us from 4000 to 6000 to 10,000 which meant more headwinds. As we considered our reserves and the headwinds we pondered the other “minor” challenge.

Weather was closing in from the West and the temps were in the 20’s. Our destination was forecasting to be IFR and conditions dropping. The real question was how thick were the clouds and would we encounter ice. On our way up from 4k to 10k the clouds arrived. We played hopscotch in and out of the clouds and watched for ice. Upon arrive at 10k we of course had more head winds and with night falling and the reserve ring shrinking and ice starting to form on the wings we consulted with ATC to see if they had the option to drop us back through the clouds to get under the thick overcast. They informed us due to radar coverage limits there was no way to get us low enough and of course if there was no way to get to VFR before canceling we could not pursue that route. We advised ATC we’d divert slightly north of course to Sterling KSTK where the ceilings were above 2900 hundred. From there we’d be able to top off and complete the trip VFR under the ceilings.

Before we turned I looked at the range computer and relished in the thought that even with all the headwinds we had encountered that it was indeed possible and even comfortable to fly from Raleigh NC to Denver with only two stops.  I was sad that I would not be flying the return route to see what the trip would take with 50-100 knot tailwinds headed east.

                                                   Rod Lusk in Colorado Skiing

The skiing at Copper Mountain was great! We enjoyed nice weather and excellent skiing conditions. The weekend crowds on I70 made the drive over the pass to the ski resort much longer. I figured that we could have flow all the way back to North Carolina with tail winds in the time we spend driving in that traffic!

I was pleased to help Rod install his new DA40 in very good company in a large shared hangar with a DA42 and another DA40 and a P51 Mustang in the hangar undergoing maintenance on its impressive Merlin engine.

The point sharing this experience is to help those pilots that are considering the Aviation LifeStyle to know what is practical and doable with a 140+ knot modern aircraft aircraft. The trip out for Rod on an airliner took him 11 plus hours. The trip west with headwinds took about the same amount of flying time and less than 100 gallons of fuel or two tanks.

                                                        Rod and Connie Lusk

On Sunday Rod and Connie dropped me at the gargantuan Denver airport with lots of smiles and thanks all around. I watched as the streams of people disrobed and stood in the x-ray machines in the name of security. When it came time for me I asked to opt-out of the machine just to see what the experience was like since I had not tried that. Well let me just tell you the pat downs these days are quite the experience!  I think I’ll stick to the Diamond DA40 traveling on my own schedule!

John Armstrong 

Founder and President

LifeStyle Aviation Network.

   

The Diamond DA40 Aircraft