Diamond DA40 Flying Lessons-Preflight and Runup

[@UberGeek]

Very nice. Thanks. One additional thing I check is the stall warning, if the wing stall is a tab-switch. Depending on the airplane, it could always be hot (connection directly to the battery) so pushing it up will cause the stall warning horn to blow. I also put the flaps down after turning on the battery, to check the connectors during my walk around. However, every manufacturer has their own check list, and the main point is to review it, as you did. 😊

[@michaeljacques7336]

You better add checking that the mags are grounded to your checklist before you turn a prop. If an engine is in just the right sweet-spot a small prop turn can cause the engine to kick over. Pilots have been injured and killed this way. Good video, thanks for sharing.

[@alanward9521]

Really great to see how this is done for real. As im only a sim pilot with limited real-world flying experience, videos like this I find very valuable. All the best, Alan.

[@scottbeyer101]

Me and a buddy close on a 2008 DA40 on Monday. I put nearly 5 hours on it during prebuy inspection period. A really fun plane to fly.

[@diamondstarpilot]

Good luck with your new bird. Let me know if you have any questions about it. I'd be happy to help you out.

[@JhunM69]

Thank you for showing the better way to do the checklist. I am not a Pilot, yet, but I am thinking about it because a friend of mine back home (Philippines) is now a licensed private pilot and working for his commercial license. I liked how you did the checklist; for me, it made a lot of sense. While working as a DMLP, I had to do quarterly LP Audits for 26 locations; the audits were about 3 pages long but after familiarizing myself with the areas that needed to be checked, I did the walkthru as soon as I got to the location and won't open my audit folder until it's time for me to do the office paperwork. All I had to do was mark those that failed during my walk-thru onto the checklist/audit. Not only that it saved me some time but I know I didn't miss anything.

[@kenmichaels1842]

Excellent video. Thorough and informative

[@ChrisWinnPortland]

I think is the only video that covers pre flight on a da40. Excellent job. I’m going to show it my cfi as there are differences. For example, we’re not supposed to hand test the aileron, rudder or elevator. Which doesn’t make sense.

[@diamondstarpilot]

I'm not sure of his reasoning for that. This comes straight from the Diamond Factory Checklist "Aileron (freedom of movement, hinges, control linkage)" and "Elevator & rudder (freedom of movement, hinges)" Thanks for watching!

[@kaasmeester5903]

@@diamondstarpilot I'm learning to fly in a DA40 D, our school uses their own (better readable) checklists, so I checked the flight manual for the aircraft. For ailerons, elevators and rudder it just says "visual inspection", no moving them around. So it seems there are some differences even between DA40 models.

[@pilotara5211]

Hey I love the videos. I live near Concord. I’ve seen your plane in person. I’d love to tag along some time with you if you have spare time. I learned a lot from your videos so far. 🙏🏻

[@diamondstarpilot]

Be happy to take you up. You can contact Alpha One Air Service to set something up.

[@thommyvictory]

Olso look for cracks in between in the components that hold the moving parts on the plane. Example in beetween the ailerons. 😊

[@da40fan27]

Thanks for this. Some other things I do -- suck on stall warning to make sure it works (part of minimal operational equipment); check fuel vent holes (in plate approximately under the fuel caps); cycle the alt air lever (mine broke from NON-use); and prior to takeoff push on the rear door one final time from the inside and check the door light is out (bad things can happen if the door opens in flight).

[@diamondstarpilot]

Good tips, you can never be too careful!

[@Steve-qn8gn]

I’m curious, how many preflight checks find something wrong?

[@diamondstarpilot]

It's rare on this plane but, some of the older planes in the flight school's fleet have issues on a more frequent basis. The most common thing we find is fouled plugs during the mag check.

[@TySteve539]

How do you identify the airplane with atc, DA-40 or Diamond star ?

[@diamondstarpilot]

I use Diamond. I have only heard one controller use Diamondstar and he is at my home airport. I think either are correct.