The Concise Guide to the Diamond DA42

This book is a great reference for learning about the Diamond DA42. The pictures are great to see all the pre flight inspection points on the plane. I would recommend this to anyone that is flying the plane.

As the DA42 manuals are available online from the manufacturer, why should you buy this book? This book does not approach the subject in the manner of a collection of engineers working to achieve certification. The author’s point of view is that of a pilot intent on training you to proficiently fly the airplane. Reading this book gives you a comprehensive understanding of the airplane and how to operate it.

This concise guide - part of a popular series of books by the same author covering a variety of different aircraft - assumes you’re a current pilot approaching the DA42 as a trainer for a multiengine rating. Once you’ve studied other reference materials, such as the Airplane Flying Handbook, to gain a firm foundation in multiengine theory, the concise guide gives you the compact set of facts required to clearly understand multiengine operations generally, with specific examples using the DA42. Also helpful here, for the beginner or the experienced multiengine pilot, is a quick rundown of considerations for takeoffs specific to multiengine aircraft using the DA42 as an example.

The systems coverage is excellent. Written with an operational focus, this section clearly explains each system, its purpose, as well as relevant procedures and warnings. Included here are numerous color photographs with arrows pointing out the structure, switch or indicators of interest. The V-speed charts are golden, saving you from digging through the manuals of various models of DA42 if you need to transition between them.

The flight procedures section clearly explains everything DA42 specific you need to know from start to finish for the flight portion of the FAA Commercial multiengine practical test. Images are used to advantage here to help you visualize the state of the aircraft at each point in the traffic pattern. Procedures are clearly spelled out, in minimal checklist format, optimized for the natural “flow” to do the operation from memory, not the detailed format of the confirm checklists from the manufacturer you will use to check your work. Living up to its name, the treatment of each maneuver is concise, so that you can quickly review and recall what steps you need to take to correctly perform the maneuver.

I used the the concise guide to study for the FAA Commercial multiengine add on rating, making flash cards of the items in bold in the text in order to commit them to memory. For the “excellent” assessment of my performance on my 4 hour oral exam and successful completion of the flight portion I owe a great deal to the concise guide to the Diamond DA42.

Personally, I’ve referenced this book for my own refresher training in the Da42 TDI variant. Now that I’m providing instruction in the Da42 I have my students purchase this book. Advantages: LOTS of pictures with explanations on nearly every page, Multi-Engine Transition section (all the info I need to teach the multi add-on), differences between the various 1.7, 2.0 & NG, review questions (for homework or in class discussion)