Da-20 or Cessna 152 for PPL

A

airjets

New Member
If you have a choice between these two for the PPl, which one would you use?
What's the ups and downs for each planes?
 
I think any ups and downs you find will be ones of personal preference. I prefer the DA-20 myself. I like the handling and visibility, and I find it to be more comfortable for me than the 152. In my opinion, it's just an all-around better airplane.

You can't really go wrong with either. Pick the one that turns you on for whatever reasons are important to you.
 
montanapilot said:
whatever is cheaper.
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:yeahthat:

I've never flown a DA-20 before. If my club had one and it was cheaper than the 152 I'd fly it. But we don't. If they were the same, I'd try it out and see if I liked it better than the 152. If I did, I'd fly it. If I liked it better than the 152 but it wasn't cheaper, I wouldn't fly it.

What's the price difference you're looking at?
 
Think of it this way... if both planes were the of the same quality (safe... we hope; working correctly) and both planes were capable of the same thing (flying, navigating from A to B) then save the money and fly the C152. Don't get me wrong, a DA40 is technologically a better plane... the G1000s are awesome and I am sure a non-aviator would feel more comfortable with the 'brand new' look. But the C152 does the same thing. For instance, the C152 can fly a thousand using VORs, DMEs, and ILSs and is as capable of flying IFR as the DA40. You may feel better looking at a screen and flying what the plane tells you to do via lines... but the possibilities of all the older style gauges failing are a lot less than the two flight displays going out. If that was to happen, all you would have to go buy is the airspeed indicator, altimeter, and turn coordinator. If you were in IFR conditions, you would then have to declare an emergency and get help from ATC to get down.

Don't get me wrong, the DA40 is a great plane. I have flown that plane, the DA42, and the similar SR20 and SR22. All these planes have the same overall displays (different makers). These screens are great and take load off of you (the pilot). However, I believe you should save your money and get your PPL in the C152. This way, when you get a job flying a Lear, you will be able to scan all the gauges like a pro (because you learned flying gauges - not screens... [the majority of Lears and Citations have the gauges, not screens]).

Bottom line: save your money and get the license in a C152. It will be easier to transition from gauges to flight displays than visa versa. Single engine time is single engine time.
 
If it is a 2006 or 2007 DA20 with an aneroid fuel pump (auto adjusting mixture)


RUN!

Don't walk

Otherwise I have been happy with the DA20 in my 400 or so hours in type.

Hell Today I took one Solo for the first time in a long time to test some Mx work and I played a little fighter pilot with it (trying to see if the gyros would precess or not). I had forgotten how fun it was to fly the little thing.
 
Berkut said:
They make new DA-20s with an auto-adjusting mixture? What's wrong with them?
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They don't work

The one we had (it crashed, nonfatal) had nothing but problems from the day we got it. Basically coming down from altitude the mixture would not re-enrich and you know full well what that means. The mixture was never right and the engine died on me on runup three times. I refused to fly it. But we got a replacement pump that was supposed to fix the problem about a week before the engine quit. The rumor is that they have had other "incidents" with the design, but wont admit that its a problem.
 
I trained in the DA20-A1 and never had any problems with the mixture. The only thing that ever failed on me in the airplane was the generator.
 
GUNIT said:
I trained in the DA20-A1 and never had any problems with the mixture. The only thing that ever failed on me in the airplane was the generator.
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To my knowledge it has only been the 2006 and 2007 models that have the aneroid pump.

The thing that pisses me off about it is that for a training aircraft why would you omit something that the student pilot is going to need to know about in any other airplane that they fly in the future.
 
DA20, no brainer. And here's why

Faster, not that there is anything wrong with slow planes

Newer, not that old planes are unsafe

More fun, I've had a lot more fun flying the DA20 than I did the 152. It has a much sportier feel to it.

Visibility, the visibiliaty in the DA20 is fantastic. Provided you're average height or greater.
 
Between these two, it's about 15 dollar difference.
I have about 5 hours into PPL in DA-20 and my CFI told me that I need to review lessons that I did if I were to change to 152. Would it take me more than 2 lessons to transition into 152?
I think DA-20 flies nicer than the 152, but then the cost is a big problem. Thanks for your help guys :)
 
airjets said:
Between these two, it's about 15 dollar difference.
I have about 5 hours into PPL in DA-20 and my CFI told me that I need to review lessons that I did if I were to change to 152. Would it take me more than 2 lessons to transition into 152?
I think DA-20 flies nicer than the 152, but then the cost is a big problem. Thanks for your help guys :)
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Sounds like you saved about $600 minimum. :)
 
152 is very uncomfortable. After a couple flights in that thing I feel like my back is broken.
 
airjets said:
If you have a choice between these two for the PPl, which one would you use?
What's the ups and downs for each planes?
Click to expand...

Personally i would start flying the 152 and right before i start my cross-country flights i would get a checkout on the DA20. At the end you will be able to fly both and use them for different reasons. I think as a student you will be able to see some differences between the two, and you will get some extra knowledge for ur checkride. Dont worry about the 200-300 bucks extra you will be paying. I beleive its worth to pay a small amount for your knowledge and safety. And remember: Once you start flying, money will always be an issue. :)
 
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