Diamond 20/40 - new to me

Matthew

Matthew

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Matthew
I was at my FBO yesterday afternoon, trying to find out when the A/C I was trying to rent would be out of maintenance this time.

Got to talking with the guy behind the counter, he said they were in the process of getting a DA20 and DA40.

Having only seen pictures, and one time seeing one on the ramp, I was wondering what the transition is like for somebody who's only flown 160/180HP 172s and PA28-161s?

Also, I didn't axe what the rental prices would be. I know they are relative. How do they normally compare to the aforementioned 172s and PA28?

Thanks.
 
Jesse has done a fair amount of renting a DA20. He let me fly it around the pattern at Gastons and it was easy to takeoff and land. Has excellent feel to it and nice handling. Visibility is only rivaled by gliders. I like the center stick. seemed to have pretty good takeoff and landing performance. Im sure he'll be able to give a little more quantitative analysis.
 
To add to Antonio's commentary, you'll find the DA20 to be a real gem to fly- you don't sit in it, as much as wear it. Very light and natural on the controls.

You'll love it.

I have not flown the DA40, but have been told by those who have that it is a real sweetheart and, based upon my experience with eth DA20, I'd expect that.
 
Pretty easy. You have to get used to differential braking to steer on the ground, but that's not a big deal. You also have to be careful about airspeeds in the pattern because neither a/c wants to slow down very quickly. If I were to go back to fixed-wing, a Diamond would probably be my choice.
 
My only experience was one two hour checkout flight in a G-1000 DA40.

Super plane. I was so far behind the plane at each phase of flight that I figure it would take a minimum of 10 hours transition before I felt comfortable.

The plane is form fitting. I am a big guy and I concluded, sadly, that the cockpit is too small for me. I hit my head hard on the canopy several times in moderate turbulence. There is very little room in the front seats (assuming both are occupied) for your flight bag, charts, etc. The shape of the seatbacks make it a bit difficult to reach around and pluck anything out of the back seat.

The seats are not adjustable, but the moveable pedals solve that problem. As I am large, the stick was too close to my body to grip comfortably. I am sure that this is just a consequence of my size, not a drawback on the plane.

The plane was fast (at 24 square we were pushing 160 IAS at 2500 feet.) The plane is very quiet inside.

This was the first time I have taxied with differential brake steering. Boy did I suck! The rudder/brake pedals took some getting used to, too.

I recommend spending time with the G-1000 on the ground before you fly. I did not... I was with a group considering shopping for a steam gauge DA-40 and my purpose was not to learn the G-1000 but to learn the plane. So the CFI handled the G-1000 and I just flew.

I wish I had fit comfortably into that cockpit! You will love the planes.

-Skip
 
Matthew said:
Having only seen pictures, and one time seeing one on the ramp, I was wondering what the transition is like for somebody who's only flown 160/180HP 172s and PA28-161s?
Click to expand...

Prepare to be spoiled! Wonderful, fun airplanes.

My biggest problem was that I was used to manhandling the Cessnas in comparison... The best way to fly the DA40 is to not even touch the stick, just keep your hand in a circle around it. When you want to go somewhere, just move your hand 'til it just touches the stick on one side, and the plane goes that way. Nimble when your hand is on the stick, stable when it's not.

Also, I didn't axe what the rental prices would be. I know they are relative. How do they normally compare to the aforementioned 172s and PA28?
Click to expand...

Generally, DA40's go for around $160/Hobbs hour wet.
 
I was going to fly a DA20 out of KOA last Thursday, but it was down for maintenance, so I flew a 172 instead. My goodness, airplanes just keep getting more expensive to fly in Hawaii. $200/hr dual for the 172. The DA20 would have been $230/hr dual. My wife choked when she heard what I spent on a flight around the big island. :D But the scenery was great.

Still waiting to try a DA20, but everything I hear sounds good (other than it might be a tight fit for me at 6'2").
 
Well, if you're anything like me, you will hate the first flight you take in the DA20.

It is small, reacts to every bit of turbulence in the sky in a rugged way. It has a stick that tends to smack your hangies. The rudder pedals adjust, not the seat, which is awkward. The headset plugs in above and behind you, meaning the cords just lay over your chest.

Then, if you decide to give it a second shot, the benefits become apparent:

Its pretty comfortable for being so small. Its fast as hell on very little fuel. Only one tank means the fuel burn won't throw the plane out of balance (e.g. Cherokee series). They're fun, and they maneuver like a champ. Turbulence still sucks, but there's tradeoffs, and after my second flight, I came away very impressed with the DA20.

YMMV. That's just my experience.
 
Thanks all.

I hope my FBO can pull it off - I've got about 90% of my time in a Warrior, and the rest in a 172. I'm looking forward to the opportunity to fly something different. A buddy of mine flies out of a different airport (about 2 hrs drive away from me - not bad for him because he also lives 1 hr away from me anyway). His FBO just got a DA20. He has a checkride scheduled this week, and is going to take it up to somewhere in Iowa for the weekend. I should be able to get a good report from him.
 
Matthew said:
I was at my FBO yesterday afternoon, trying to find out when the A/C I was trying to rent would be out of maintenance this time.

Got to talking with the guy behind the counter, he said they were in the process of getting a DA20 and DA40.

Having only seen pictures, and one time seeing one on the ramp, I was wondering what the transition is like for somebody who's only flown 160/180HP 172s and PA28-161s?

Also, I didn't axe what the rental prices would be. I know they are relative. How do they normally compare to the aforementioned 172s and PA28?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Nice planes, a bit cleaner than what you are used to, so getting slowed down and on a near stable speed early on final is a bit more important. Castering nose wheel takes a bit of getting used to especially taxiing in a stiff cross wind (hint, taxi fast). They are easy planes to land, both call for take off flaps which if you are not used to, you may forget to retract them, and with the airspeeds you are used to seeing, you may not realize you left them out. I'd mention the traditional stick & position (although they cave the throttle centered), but that is no real issue. The 20 is electric trim only, and for me it's a bit awkward in it's positioning (on top of the stick) that I end up using two hands on the stick when I need to trim. I think if I owned one, a trim switch would appear on the console by some form of magic.... The 20 is my favorite of the little two seaters. Reasonable speed for the economy so you can actually go somewhere (130 isn't too bad) and advance radios. Thing has an incredible glide range as well. When I was doing a checkout in one and we did the "dead engine" drill, I kept picking fields further and further away to shoot for.
 
incredible is relative, the DA-20 is around 12:1 IIRC. Thats about the same as the primary gliders of the 20s and 30s.
CessnaPrimaryGlider_1.jpg
 
I'll add my voice to the chorus...

I absolutely love the DA-20. It has a stick and push-rods (instead of cables), making it very fun to fly. It also has the best view of any powered aircraft I've flown. I get way more enjoyment out of flying a DA20 than I do a cherokee or cessna.

That said there are some disadvantages, depending on you and where you fly:
-That bubble canopy makes it plenty hot in the sun when taxiing (I'm told the newer ones like the C1 allow you to open it a crack and latch it, so that may make it ok).
-It has low wing loading, so it certainly reacts to turbulence.
-Some people just don't fit. I'm 6'1" and I fit fine, but some people shorter than me don't fit because of long torsos.

Chris
 
i agree chris. it is a fun flying airplane. i didnt notice the heat too bad when i flew with jesse. it was semi overcast at the time though.ive spent enough time waiting for the slack to come out of the rope to be able to deal with heat under canopy. low wing loading doesnt really bother me. my glider is at about 4.8 lbs per square foot! im also 6 1 and fit fine. i wish my FBO would get one!
 
I'm 6'4" and actually find it quite comfortable. It handles like a a champion and there really isn't much to flaring the thing. The only thing I found annoying was that the stall horn. It goes off at a higher speed above stall than I'm used to. Other than that I love flying them. You'll probably really dig the panoramic view you get from that canopy too. Enjoy!!
 
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