Has anybody flown a Diamond Eclipse?

Aviation General Aviation
1

My first and only (at least so far) flight lesson was in a Diamond Eclipse.

I obviously enjoyed it and it seemed like a really nice plane, but I’m sure my opinion was shaped by the fact that it was the first small plane I’d ever ridden in and the first plane I’d ever taken the controls of.

They were pushing the Sport Pilot thing at the time, hence my having flown the Eclipse rather than the standard 172 or Cherokee.

The facts are that it is relatively safe and very economical. It seemed easy enough to fly and quite comfortable, but I have no other experience to compare this to. I’ve read the reviews, but would rather have an insider’s opinion (if someone were nice enough to share it).

With the understanding that the plane would suit my purposes (training and occasional rental thereafter for short cross country and/or pleasure flights) just fine, my questions are as follows:

-Has anybody else here flown one?
-What’s a seasoned pilot’s take on this plane?
-How does it fare against something comparable (Tomahawk, Skipper, C150, etc.)?
-Any specific likes/dislikes?

Thanks,

Joe

2

Yes.

Meh.

Faster, more efficient, probably cheaper maintenance, newer engine, fuel injected, better/newer avionics, etc.

Gets hot when flying (or ground ops) in direct sun, you’re sitting in a greenhouse. The top of the canopy is covered, but it’s still hot.

Awful nighttime illumination. There’s one or two mini LEDs on flexible stalks attached to the back bulkhead between the pilot shoulders. The pilots’ bodies leave giant shadows on everything you’re trying to look at closely.

Many of the flight school airplanes had scuffs on the bottom of the wingtips. Long wingspan and short height make for scuffy landings when learning crosswind landings.

Zero baggage space. Less than a 152.

Pain in the arse to fuel. Single filler port on the side of the fuse behind the cockpit, so any overflow (which is quite likely because of the long narrow filler neck) gets all over the place. Impossible to check fuel level visually, you have to stick the tank to get a reading.

Very unforgiving stall characteristics, at least when compared to the pipers and cessnas I’ve flown (most of them). The falling leaf stall in the katana was unlike anything I’ve ever flown before or since. (looked almost exactly like this ) The same manuever in the 152 is more stable, the plane wants to recover on it’s own, like stall-recover-stall-recover-stall with just a little bit of rudder needed.
Not that you’d be practicing these on a regular basis, but make sure you get good instruction in slow flight and stalls in the airplane.

It does glide quite well. Started life as a motorglider so I’m not surprised.

There’s a maximum temperature limit where the aircraft cannot be flown. When wifey went to the factory in London, ON and the guy said “and here’s the part where we glue the wings together…” there was a moment of pause thinking about the 1300nm flight she was about to take with it.

Overall, kinda “meh” about the airplane as a whole. It’s not for me, but it might be a good airplane if you just wanna go out a putz around for a while with a friend.

3

I remember the cabin being a little hot (it was only about 60 degrees on the day of my flight and I was sweating inside the plane), but it was the furthest thing from my mind on my FIRST flight.

If the thing is so doggone unstable in a stall, I have to wonder why there’s so much hype about it’s “safety”…maybe the glide ratio…I dunno.

I couldn’t have asked for a better answer. Many thanks for the insight, James.

4

That’s called being nervous in the service.

5

:laughing:

James was right. That thing was a hot b$%ch. Nervous in the service would have been my wedding day. Reminds me of the saying “Sweating like a hooker in church”. Wait a minute, that came out wrong…

6

Reminds me of the saying “Sweating like a hooker in church”. Wait a minute, that came out wrong…

:laughing: :laughing: :laughing:
OK, edit your post now, or make sure your wife never gets curious about what you’re posting. :wink:

7

I have flown a few hours in both the Eclipse and the Star. They are fun to fly in comparison with a 172 or a Warrior/Cherokee. Very agile and they like to fly (ie. they don’t need a huge engine and glide range is better than the above a/c) Also, flying the stick is more fun, and that is in reference to aviation for all the wiseasses in the crowd.

8

Ah, but you see we never grow tired of the 8th grade-esque innuendos around here… :wink:

Don’t leave me hangin’, somebody chime in here about “flying the stick”…

…come on now, you know you want to…