Ahart Aviation Services - Serving the Livermore Valley

Inside the TwinStar DA42

The TwinStar went in for its first repair and enhancement service on the 16th of April, 2007. This gave us a rare opportunity to look into the aircraft to see what its made of! A fuel tank is being cleaned up and a Hobbs meter is being installed.

The Right Wing

The right wing (like the left) is made of Glass and Carbon Figer Reinforced Plastic (GFRP and CFRP). This material is amazing - notice the two 'green' spars coming out of the wing. These spars connect into the Wing structure under the nacelle and are as strong or stronger than steel! The wings attach under the nacelle by slipping 'bars' through the brass-holes which you can see in the above picture. This wing can EASILY be lifted by a single person!

This is where the wing connects under the nacelle. You are looking from the right side of the aircraft toward the fuselage where the wing normally resides

The right Fuel Tank(s)

There are actually three fuel tanks in each wing attached by pipes. Each fuel tank is baffled to help avoid fast movement of the fuel. Shown here are two of the three tanks from the right wing.

This is the right engine looking at its right side. This is a beautiful design allowing for a lot of 'stuff' in a very small space. You'll see some of the liquid coolant hoses in this picture.

This is the left side of the right engine. You can easily see the air intake for the turbocharger along with coolant hoses. This engine is actually a Mercedes Benz diesel engine manufactured for Diamond.

Propeller Gear-Box

Below is a picture of the Propeller Gear box with the right engine cowling cover taken off. Below that is the gear box actually taken out of the plane. We had to do a replacement because of a factory directive - nothing wrong with it!

It's the silver 'round' shaped box to the right of the propeller hub

The propeller fits over the 'red' cover to the left, and the engine fits behind the larger portion of the gear box.