Seneca or DA42 for CPL and multi
 

just after some opinions from people who are going through profesional flight training or who have been through as to which is going to be the best aircraft to the cpl and multi on. Any thoughts, comments or opinions welcome.

PA-34!
 

Fly the PA34 and you will have a chance to get to grips with the basics of IF, it will stand you in good sted for the day in the future when both FMC's quit and you have no magenta line to follow.

A and C, what about the green line on the Airbus ND? :p

Am I also right in thinking that if you were to do your multi in a diamond you would need differences training before been able to fly something like a seneca or aztec?

you need differences training to fly ANY twin you havent flown before, its not specific to the DA42.

also, you use raw data for your IR in the DA42, just like in an old spam can, only difference is its on a screen instead of a cluster of steam gauges. fly the one you think you'd prefer. i know which i prefer! :)

Pick the right school and fly the aircraft they have to offer, don't really think it matters.

i did my IR on the da42 and now fly an old school turbine with many leavers and dials (no more magenta line or autopilot!) and it did nothing to damage my flying, never had any problems. the way i see it is that the IR is very high pressure, and if you can help yourself with choice of aircraft then why not. plane and simple...........

as other have said, you will require difference training to move aircraft as usual!

According to the CAA, first time pass rate is noticeably higher on the DA42 than on any other type. On that basis, if you want to avoid re-test fees the DA42 would seem the way to go.

Cat3c Autoland
 

Can you please enlighted me as to what the function of "green line" on the Airbus ND is?

As it is 17 years since I did the A320 Ground engineers course I can't remember and it will be a month or two before I start the training to fly the A330.

Cheers for the replys,

some interesting comments, think it'll come down to which FTO will be best for me as there are a couple o good local choices.

edymonster is spot on, choose the school that is best for you, and if they happen to have DA42s then so be it.

Did mine on a PA34 and loved it, First Time Pass with no issues, who needs fancy EFIS displays?

A and C, solid green line is the track line on the primary flight plan :).

Cat3c Autoland
 

Thanx for that, it looks like I am going to have to brain dump of all the last 8 years of Boeing stuff !

DA42 to fly the simpler aircraft through the test, then differences training on a 6 lever aircraft - IMHO the better way to learn, but then again I'm biased because that's what I did. The 42 is by no means a guaranteed test pass (an "unpredictable" ADF, mainly) but it does make life far simpler when under test conditions.

Guys... nice discussion about instruments.. but arent we missing the bigger picture here.

Doing a first time multi is about handling N-1 situations. The DA42 takes away the most difficult part out of it. It handles the failure itself!!
If you do some kind of bridge course after your multi and go fly jets directly, go with the DA42 cause of the modern avionics.

If you have go fly "smaller" / "older" planes..think twice about doing it on a DA42 and consider a PA34/PA44 or other light twim.

it doesnt handle the failure itself. you switch off the master switch and the prop feathers - in the same way that you pull the blue lever in a pa34 and....the prop feathers. its not rocket science is it?! just make sure you pick the right engine:}