How does the DA-20 fly?
- Thread starter JaceTheAce
- Start date
killbilly
Vocals, Lyrics, Triangle, Washboard, Kittens
You generally have to get a checkout in the plane you want to rent. That goes for just about any FBO, regardless how much time you have in the particular make/model. They want to know you can fly it and you're not gonna wad it up somewhere. The degree of checkout varies place to place, but just about every place I've ever talked to about renting wanted a checkout.
freeflyer
Well-Known Member
Hey, this looks like great cheap fun! Stick control and great visibility.The flying club I used to be a member of has this DA-20 available for $65/wet. It's the 81HP Rotax version. I am thinking about rejoining the club and getting checked out in it for some scenic tours of San Diego and maybe even a little Catalina Island trip. How does this bird fly? It'll be great to fly an airplane with an actual stick. At $65 I can actually afford it split with one other person ($32.50!)
I would split a flight with you after you get checked out. I am in the same club.
Jim in SD
CaptainCrickettMan
New Member
$65/hr wet?!?! That's amazing. Rates at SNA are no where close to that. DA-20 looks fun to fly though. Good find!
JaceTheAce
Well-Known Member
Hey that'd be great! I will keep that in mind. I'd like to make a little trip to Catalina Island or something.
jml2992
Pigeon Mutilator
Beware the shopping cart nosewheel! I did my spin flight for my initial CFI in one, it's a nice airplane but it felt like a toy to me until we wrapped it up for the first time. Great airplane to spin and plenty of rudder. Keep it coordinated and you'll have no problem. I'm sure it'll fly a lot better down at sea level than it does taking off at 5,000 feet MSL.
Wing_96
Well-Known Member
+1
Every time I fly it or the DA40, I always wish I had remembered sunscreen and a hat.
The visibility is great, and I think they are a very fun airplane to fly. It's different than taxiing a Cessna or Piper, but it seems to taxi better than the DA40. That thing really is a nose-dragger.
KSCessnaDriver
Well-Known Member
After having flown a DA-20 for the first time in about a month tonight, I again realized why its such a great airplane. Climbs amazingly. Has great controls (think about what you want to do, and its been done). Flies relatively fast. And when flown properly, can be landed very gently every time. I just wish I wasn't paying $100 an hour to fly it.
LatitudeDancer
Well-Known Member
You'll get a great sun tan. Approach at the speeds the POH states. I was at a school that said approach 60-65 kts (25-30 kts over Vso). I did it once, floated at least 2,000' and went back to trying to be over the threshold at around 45kts if I was the only one in the plane (gets a little squirly with more weight). Thermals will prop you up almost forever. Keep the weight off the nose wheel on your roll-out, the arm cracks easy. And do an "idle check" after your run-up. I've never seen a plane so willing to turn off. I had a friend crash a DA20 base to final because he wasn't interested in skwaking a plane because it liked to turn off (he's ok).
It's a great plane to put 20 gallons in and cruise quiet a ways.
It's a great plane to put 20 gallons in and cruise quiet a ways.
killbilly
Vocals, Lyrics, Triangle, Washboard, Kittens
Hah. The one available DA-20 around here that I know of is $115 an hour wet and it's hard to get scheduled in it. I wish I could find one for $100 an hour.
KSCessnaDriver
Well-Known Member
Well, the rental at the FBO is actually $110 an hour, but if you join the "club" for like 30 bucks a month, you get it for $100 an hour. So, if you fly more than 3 hours a month, join the club. But, I know of a place in Indiana that rents them for like $90 an hour. Big cities = big rental rates.