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 f light from Austria to the United States. Deanna is barely 5 feet tall, but all she had to do when we switched seats was move the rudder pedals toward her. The control stick and throttles were ergonomically correct for both of us because the body didn’t move fore and aft. To me, the DA62 is a far more comfortable airplane for a long cross-country, hands down.
Concerning luggage, both airplanes have ample luggage space, but the DA62 has more. The nose baggage compartments are rather narrow, but they are useful in balancing heavy loads and putting items that are not needed in flight out of the way. Plus, they are nice for storing the “dirty pi- lot items” such as fuel sample cups, oil rags, window cleaner and deice fluid. In a Cirrus, all of those items are stored in the aft baggage compart- ment along with the personal bag- gage. Both have easy access to the aft baggage compartment.
The obvious and biggest difference between these two airplanes is the
engine type and number. I believe the Continental 550 engine found on the SR22 is one of the finest piston engines on the planet. It is the engine of choice for some of the best airplanes, and for very good reason. It is smooth, power- ful and can be operated lean-of-peak, which makes it unbelievably efficient. And, if you are going to trust your life to a piston engine, the Continental 550 is the engine you want humming up front.
But, the DA62 has a great engine installation too. The diesel FADEC en- gines on the DA62 are powerful, super easy to manage, ultra-smooth and burn Jet-A. I had little diesel experience prior to my North Atlantic flight in the DA62, but I’m a true believer now. With all of the 100LL problems facing aviation, it is nice to see the diesel en- gines in the DA62 performing so well.
So, which is better, an extra engine or a parachute?
Well, there’s nothing like the North Atlantic to provide some perspec- tive on that question. You don’t have to
ask a ferry pilot about the level of risk on a flight over the North Atlantic; you simply need to see where the immer- sion suit is located.
An immersion suit is a huge suit that covers up the entire body except for a small opening for the face. If a water landing is required, the life expectancy in the frigid North Atlantic waters is mere minutes due to hypothermia. But, with a properly fitted immersion suit, a ditched pilot can survive for hours, if not more. It is an absolute require- ment for a North Atlantic crossing. But, a pilot would have extreme difficulty f lying while fully wearing an immersion suit, so ferry pilots place the immersion suit in varying posi- tions of access.
If I’m flying a multi-engine turbine King Air 350 at FL330 between Green- land and Iceland, the immersion suit is a distant thought in the back of the airplane. In a single-engine turbine Piper Meridian over those same waters, the immersion suit is out of the suit- case, laid out nicely and in quick reach.
  Turbines
18 • TWIN & TURBINE / July 2020























































































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