CFIs thoughts on training in the DA20

Rotor2Wing

Rotor2Wing

Unapologetically American
I am considering using the DA20 for some of my fixed-wing training. I wanted to get some thoughts on how they compare to Cessna and Piper trainers used. Also any tips particular to the DA20 would be appreciated.
 
It's a fun plane to fly. If a Cessna is a pickup truck, the Eclipse is a sportscar.

Diamond took their motorglider, dropped in a bigger engine, and chopped about 8 feet of each wing. That's really all you need to know about the airplane. It handles great, and is VERY slippery. The canopy makes it unbearably hot during the summer.

It is not certified for IFR due to to a lack of lightning protection, but all the instruments are there.

If the
 
USMCmech said:
It's a fun plane to fly. If a Cessna is a pickup truck, the Eclipse is a sportscar.

Diamond took their motorglider, dropped in a bigger engine, and chopped about 8 feet of each wing. That's really all you need to know about the airplane. It handles great, and is VERY slippery. The canopy makes it unbearably hot during the summer.

It is not certified for IFR due to to a lack of lightning protection, but all the instruments are there.

If the
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+1

This is the airplane that I flew most when I was a CFI and is probably my favorite GA airplane I've flown. 120KTAS on 6gph, handles really well, and overall just really fun to fly. It is kind of difficult to slow down and it will glide much farther than you think it will. When I was checking out in the airplane after I got hired, poweroff 180s were the hardest part for me because I would keep overshooting the landing area. Slipping doesn't really help as there isn't much of a cross section to create drag. Fun fun plane though. It gets a bad rap from the people who have only flown the rotax powered one.
 
It's a cool airplane. Not much in the way of cargo capacity. Coming from Cessnas, I had to get used to a sight picture that felt very nose-down compared to 152s and 172s.

I really liked flying it. It would have been my rental weapon of choice for XCs.
 
Good airplane. Biggest difference is how aerodynamic they are when compared with the more boxy Cessans and Pipers. That means certain things are different (whether better or worse is a personal choice). For example, until full flaps, they are harder to slow down - that means students need to learn speed control and anticipating speed changes. The other one is to give yourself a lot of time when you do simulated engine outs. The DA20 will stay up there for a long time.
 
I'm more partial to the -40 myself (more airplane please!), but the -20 is a great airplane. Unlike anything (single-engine, designed by the boys and gals in Wichita) that ever came off the assembly line from Cessna, it is snappy and crisp on the controls, slippery, and economical. Plan ahead when descending.

I agree it's miserable hot in the summer too, but the view is tremendous.
 
If they made an IFR-equipped DA-20, I'd absolutely rent/use one for business travel. Relatively cheap to operate for what you get, all things considered.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. It looks like it will be fun to fly. I also look foward to flying something exotic if you want to call it that.
 
Definitely wouldn't call it "exotic".

Maybe it's just me, but I thought the stick made steep turns pretty much unchallenging compared to a yoke
 
I LOVED the time I spent in the DA20 when I was training. Beautiful airplane which responded extremely well to input... a student's dream!
 
Douglas said:
If it is anything like the -40, it is ridiculously uncomfortable.
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I'm 6'1" and actually find the DA-20 more comfortable than the DA-40, once you get into it. Plus its a blast to fly. Either way, with a little bit of padding on the seats, neither is too bad.
 
Douglas said:
If it is anything like the -40, it is ridiculously uncomfortable.
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Definitely your height causing that. I found it to be much more comfortable than other aircraft in my flight school's fleet. Then again I usually flew a Cessna where the seat-belt would progressively get tighter around the waist during the flight.
 
Nice to fly. I noticed my students being very attracted to it's sleek design. If they had to choose between the da20 and a c-172, they would choose the diamond 95% of the time. Whatever keeps the students motivated.

Just avoid the hot part of the day and stay cool if that's possible...
 
Don't be on shorter final still doing 60 knots like some school's give direction to do. You'll float until the end or the runway. A lot of students wind up trying to push the nose onto the ground. I've seen a prop strike because of this and the nose wheel caster device is easy to crack.

It and the -40 will be interesting on days with thermals. Trying to maintain altitude +/- can be a trick on those days. When you get around to power off 180s or whatever you like to call them, use 1 notch of flaps from the get-go and I guess give some initial, partial turn in to appease that crowd. But generally don't turn for the numbers for a while or you'll float to the end of the runway.

Seemed like their engines required an idle adjustment for hot vs cold weather (more so than other planes I've flown like that). I used to do an idle check after run-up on the ground to check. Had a friend crash one on landing because of this (don't usually need power on landing, but it wasn't there when he needed a little) and I've lost power doing a spiral descent b/w some clouds once (and yes, I cleared/etc the engine during the procedure (how I found out it was no longer lit)).

If you're in it by yourself and DA is ok, it's actually got pretty good STOL'ish capabilities. I could get over 50' trees and have it stopped by 1,000'. Initial climb rate could be 1,000fpm as well.

And if you're too high: go around. Slipping in this plane does nothing and you'll wind up floating a lot again. Once you do get it on the ground, it's so light (and with flaps out so much lighter initially) that students will be prone to locking up the breaks. Seen a lot of flat tires and bald patches on them.

Most find the castering nose wheel fun after you learn it, but watch for students riding the breaks while on the ground.
 
The downsides that I don't like have already been mentioned - It's a really hot airplane to be in on the ground in the summer when the sun is blazing, there is no air circulation and you're sitting in an easy bake oven. Also, I find them hard on my back (yes I try to sit up straight as my grandmother taught me.) Unfortunately in those planes I have to slouch and after an hour my back hurts. Wah.
 
Well guys just to update you on my DA-20 experience. I know now about every bad quality that is listed above. It hurts my back, very hot, tight fit (6'3" 215), and seems to beat you around a lot more in rough air than a Cessna. It is fairly fun to fly but is better suited for smaller guys IMO. It will work for my initial FW add-on but I'm probably going to something bigger for the rest.
 
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