Is This the Best Twin-Piston Aircraft? | Diamond DA42-VI Review

This is the Diamond DA42, a modern marvel of general aviation, redefining the standard for what a twin-engine piston aircraft should be. In an industry as large and competitive as aviation, it takes something truly remarkable to stand out from the crowd, and few do so as boldly as this. In this video, we're going to take a quick look at what makes the DA42 so special, and how it's able to bring pilots one of the safest, most efficient, and not to mention one of the most stylish experiences in aviation. One of the first things you'll probably notice about the DA42 is its long, slender design. In keeping with their roots, Diamond Aircraft designed the 42 to mimic the motor gliders that inspired them to start creating their own aircraft. In order to create an airframe that's as lightweight as possible, but also as durable as possible, the DA42's body is completely constructed out of composites like carbon fiber and Kevlar. And as an added benefit of using all-composite construction, the DA42 isn't going to suffer from rust or corrosion as it ages. Arguably the most standout feature of this aircraft is, of course, the engines. You'll find the DA42 uses the same 168 horsepower Ostro AE300 as the single-engine Diamond DA40MG, obviously just in a twin configuration. Beyond being incredibly quiet, what makes these four-cylinder engines so special is that, unlike the majority of other piston aircraft on the market right now, they actually run on jet fuel, not avgas. This combined with the aerodynamic design of the DA42 means that this is actually one of the most fuel-efficient piston engine twins on the market. But what this also means is potentially lower operating costs. The DA42 only needs to carry 76 gallons of fuel, which is half as much as its competitors. Speaking of fuel, Diamond's come up with a pretty clever way for storing theirs. While it is commonplace for most aircraft to store fuel tanks inside the wing, Diamond constructs their wing with an additional spar and places the fuel tank in between the two. One of the pillars that Diamond was founded on is actually safety. So by actually using this construction method, what they're doing is mitigating the threat of a fire in the event of a crash. Now, if we come out a little bit further here, you'll actually see these cool-looking wingtips. And these aren't just for show. You see these on a lot of larger aircraft, think Boeing or Airbus airliners. And there's a lot of boring physics behind them, which we're By doing that, they actually do help increase your fuel economy, and they do look pretty cool. Now that we've had a good look at the outside, let's take a look at the inside. Now, one thing I actually really love about the DA42 and the DA40 is this cockpit door, because not only does it give you a great panoramic view, but also because it lifts up and forward, it makes getting in and out of this thing super easy. Sitting in the 42, it's clear the designers at Diamond put a lot of time into this machine. Everything feels intuitive and well thought out. The seats are comfortable, but beyond reclining, they don't actually move. They're fixed into place. And that's not a design flaw. Diamond engineers fix the seat in place on purpose in order to make the aircraft safer. And instead, you actually move the rudder pedals to where you need them with this button right here. Between your legs, you have the flight stick. And just to my right here, you have your FADEC control, your trim knobs, fuel selectors, that sort of stuff. And of course, you've got the heart of the cockpit, the fast and reliable Garmin G1000 NXI. Now in the back, you've got two more seats for passengers with a pretty decent amount of room. I'm no giant, but I do stand at just under six foot and I gotta say I fit fairly comfortably back here. And what's great is you actually get this large door. So your pilot and copilot don't need to go anywhere if somebody in the back needs to get in or out. And of course, right behind the passengers is the storage compartment for your luggage or whatever extra gear you might need to carry. Overall, it's a fairly spacious compartment, but if you find it's not enough and you're not carrying anyone in the back seats, you can actually fold these down for more space. But if that's still not enough, there's two more compartments in the nose of the 42 that you can always use. And that wraps up our tour of the Diamond DA42. It's pretty clear the designers and engineers at Diamond Aircraft put a lot of thought and effort into this aircraft. There's a reason the DA42 is one of the most popular twin-engine piston aircraft of all time. Well, that's enough from us. We want to hear what you think. What did Diamond do right? What could they do better? Let us know in the comments down below. We've got a great demo flight video coming up where we take the DA42 up and see just what it's capable of and why pilots love flying. So don't forget to subscribe and hit that bell icon so you don't miss it.