Systems

Question 1

What is the fuselage made out of and what type of construction is it?

Answer 1

CFRP, a semi monocoque construction

Question 2

What are the wings made out of and what construction are they?

Answer 2

CFRP + GFRP, they are a semi monocoque construction

Question 3

What are the ailerons, flaps, elevator and rudder made from and what design are they?

Answer 3

They are made from CFRP + GFRP, sandwich construction

Question 4

Each wing is F….. S….. and has a main and rear ….

Answer 4

Fail safe -

Front and rear spar -

Question 5

What is the firewall made from and how is it designed?

Answer 5

It is made from fire resistant matting and stainless steel cladding. The stainless steel cladding has a layer of fire resistant matting over it on the engine side. Which separates it from the rest of the structure.

Question 6

What is the fuel tank made from? Is it just one tank?

Answer 6

Aluminium fuel tank with 3 sections

Question 7

Total fuel quantity? Total usable? Max fuel imbalance?

Answer 7

52 gallons
50 gallons
5 gallons

Question 8

How does the canopy attach to the fuselage?

Answer 8

It attaches to a roll over bar, the roll over bar then forms the construction of the cockpit. Canopy has a forward hinge mechanism.

Question 9

What prevents anything jamming in the control columns?

Answer 9

Gaiters

Question 10

Are the front seats adjustable or removable?

Answer 10

Front seats are removable and the rear seats are adjustable via a locking pin

Question 11

Where is the fire extinguisher, first aid kit, and ELT within the aircraft?

Answer 11

Fire extinguisher behind copilot seat
First aid kit is in the rear baggage hold
Rear fuselage under the baggage compartment

Question 12

Where is the ELT Aerial?

Answer 12

Located on the upper fuselage

Question 13

In the event of a crash what frequencies will the ELT transmit on and for how long the will it transmit? What setting does it need to be on to do this and are there any others methods of activate it?

Answer 13

VHF, UHF and satellite frequencies for up to 72 hours. Needs to be set to arm, however can be manually activated

Question 14

Heat exchangers in each engine provide heat for the heating system which engine supplies what?

Answer 14

Left engine - Cabin Defrost

Right engine - Cabin Heat

Question 15

What is the process for the heat exchangers to provide heat for the system?

Answer 15

Cool air is taken in through the heat exchanger which is run over oil and this then cools down the oil and exchanges heat for the heating system

Question 16

How are the ailerons and rudder operated?

Answer 16

They are operated via control rods and control cables

Question 17

What are the ailerons and are do they have a trim tab

Answer 17

Conventional ailerons - trim tab on left which is fixed to adjust trim has to be done on ground by engineers by bending the tab

Question 18

Electrical trim - explain?

Answer 18

Electrical trim switch that comprises of a servo motor connected to the electric trim wheel

Question 19

What type of switch is the trim switch - how does it work and what does this help guard against?

Answer 19

Dual pole
Must press both switches at same time for trim
If only one switch is pressed for 3 seconds or more then it won’t trim and it will make a PT annunciation show on the auto pilot - prevents against trim runaway

Question 20

How does the elevator stick limiting system work?

Answer 20

The amount of elevator deflection available changes in certain configurations. The system does this by sensing the position of the power levers and flaps.

When flaps are landing and power levers are at more than 20% the backstop limit is decreased. Full elevator deflection is regained when flaps are retracted or power less than 20%.

Question 21

What is full elevator deflection and what can in be reduced to? How is it reduced?

Answer 21

Full elevator deflection is 15.5%
This can be reduced to 13% when landing flaps are retracted and more than 20% power is on
This is done by an electrically actuated control stop

Question 22

When does the stick limit caution annunciate?

Answer 22

If the system malfunctions and/or there is full deflection with land flap and power more than 20%. Or if there is not full movement when landing flap is retracted.

Question 23

How do the flaps work?

Answer 23

The flaps are electric

Control rods are moved by electric actuators

Question 24

What are the flap positions and what lights are shown? What lights are shown when the flaps are travelling?

Answer 24

UP - 0 degrees - Green light
APP- 20 degrees - Amber light
LAND - 42 degrees - Amber light

When flaps are travelling they show lights of the position that they are leaving to the position they are going to - Two lights simultaneously

Question 25

What are the VFE Speeds for the APP + LAND Flap

Answer 25

APP - 137 Knots

LAND - 111 Knots

Question 26

What happens if the flap selector over runs the electric motor?

Answer 26

This will draw a high current from the motor and cause the circuit breaker to pop caused by the motor stalling

Question 27

How is the rudder operated

Answer 27

The rudder is operated by control cables

Question 28

Stall warning system - What is the type of stall warner on the DA42? How does it work?

Answer 28

Electrical flapper device fitted to the left hand leading edge. Known as a lift detector vane.

Works by activating a warning if the angle of attack exceeds a set value.

As the AoA increases the stagnation point moves down on the leading edge. At low AoA This then keeps the flapper in its down position. However at Larger AoA the stagnation point moves down and aft behind the flapper switch which then causes the airflow to push the flapper switch up. Used to symbolise a high AoA cannot warn for the approach of the stall! But symptoms of the stall are large AoA

Question 29

What chapter in the flight manual are the aircrafts systems described in?

Answer 29

Chapter 7