How much is an autopilot worth?

mikentra · Post by **mikentra** » Thu Oct 30, 2014 4:45 am

I have read several threads about the challenges associated with adding an autopilot to the DA40. So to those of you that have a DA40 without an autopilot would you do it again or would you buy something different? And if you could add an autopilot, how much would you pay for this upgrade? I am also thinking about resale values. How many of you would even consider purchasing an airplane without an autopilot?

Tommy · Post by **Tommy** » Thu Oct 30, 2014 8:49 am

I would never purchase a plane without an autopilot. The addition of an autopilot turns the 40 into a cross country machine and is in my opinion a mandatory safety device when shooting approaches especially down to minimums. Without the autopilot the DA40 is a great trainer and nice day flier for $200.00 hamburgers.
How much would you pay for an autopilot you ask? How much would you pay for a steering wheel on a car?
The GFC 700 along with the G1000 and XM weather is priceless. Without them you might as well buy yourself a Cessna 150 or Piper something.

Kai · Post by **Kai** » Thu Oct 30, 2014 10:58 am

1. Do not buy a Diamond without an autopilot if you don't have very good reasons for it.
2. If you already did and want to retrofit one: forget it.
3. How much is it worth? 20-50k in resale value, IMHO.

carym · Post by **carym** » Thu Oct 30, 2014 12:58 pm

Tommy wrote:I would never purchase a plane without an autopilot. The addition of an autopilot turns the 40 into a cross country machine and is in my opinion a mandatory safety device when shooting approaches especially down to minimums. Without the autopilot the DA40 is a great trainer and nice day flier for $200.00 hamburgers.
How much would you pay for an autopilot you ask? How much would you pay for a steering wheel on a car?
The GFC 700 along with the G1000 and XM weather is priceless. Without them you might as well buy yourself a Cessna 150 or Piper something.

Other issues aside, I really have no problem with the KAP140 autopilot with my G1000 and XM weather. While others have been singing the praises of the GFC700, I personally believe a KAP140 equipped plane will also do well.

Tommy · Post by **Tommy** » Thu Oct 30, 2014 1:16 pm

carym wrote:
Tommy wrote:I would never purchase a plane without an autopilot. The addition of an autopilot turns the 40 into a cross country machine and is in my opinion a mandatory safety device when shooting approaches especially down to minimums. Without the autopilot the DA40 is a great trainer and nice day flier for $200.00 hamburgers.
How much would you pay for an autopilot you ask? How much would you pay for a steering wheel on a car?
The GFC 700 along with the G1000 and XM weather is priceless. Without them you might as well buy yourself a Cessna 150 or Piper something.
Other issues aside, I really have no problem with the KAP140 autopilot with my G1000 and XM weather. While others have been singing the praises of the GFC700, I personally believe a KAP140 equipped plane will also do well.

Yes it will. However, there's nothing out there that can come close to the performance and reliability of the GFC 700.

41000 · Post by **41000** » Thu Oct 30, 2014 1:25 pm

As most of you are novice pilots, you need to hand fly the airplane to improve your skills which most of you lack to begin with.

rwtucker · Post by **rwtucker** » Thu Oct 30, 2014 1:36 pm

Another vote here for the precision (but not the durability) of the GFC700. Having flown across 20 states with it, I would not want a distance aircraft w/o a good autopilot.

I also agree with those who caution against overusing the autopilot to the detriment of hand flying skills. I make a point of not using mine, especially when the air is rough, as it often is in the mountains that I fly.

Unless your mission is exclusively backcountry flying (which rules out a Diamond anyway), I recommend against purchasing an aircraft w/o a good autopilot.

mikentra · Post by **mikentra** » Thu Oct 30, 2014 2:39 pm

41000 wrote:As most of you are novice pilots, you need to hand fly the airplane to improve your skills which most of you lack to begin with.

I agree with this. However, I wouldn't consider this as a reason to buy a DA40 without an autopilot.

Kai wrote:1. Do not buy a Diamond without an autopilot if you don't have very good reasons for it.
2. If you already did and want to retrofit one: forget it.
3. How much is it worth? 20-50k in resale value, IMHO.

20-50k is about what I was guessing.... maybe even as much as 70k?

Steve · Post by **Steve** » Thu Oct 30, 2014 3:15 pm

When I put my DA40 under contract (2000), the incremental cost for the autopilot was only $20K. Plus, you got the HSI with it. Seemed a no-brainer to me at that time. I view the autopilot as primarily a safety device. The first thing I tought my young kids about flying (after how to get on the radios on 121.5), was how to turn the autopilot on and set it for altitude hold.

Steve

h20wrks · Post by **h20wrks** » Thu Oct 30, 2014 3:55 pm

I have a FP, without the autopilot and I really wished that there was a way to install an autopilot. I purchased this plane as a Premier remanufactured plane and I decided that a no hour plane was more important to me than the autopilot. I have taken the time to ensure that my plane's trim is dead on. This really allows the plane to track extremely well while I get distracted with the G1000. We have numerous 4 hour flights with her and flying distances really isn't much of a problem. I think that the lack of autopilot is helping my flying but I would definitely upgrade if that was an option.

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