Jay wrote:Thought I would post here and get some feedback on some observations I have made. First of all I am not a pilot. I have wanted to learn to fly for a long time. I have been doing extensive research into GA in an attempt to get some sense of its safety record - which I have discovered could be improved upon quite a bit. I have three young kids and I need to be around awhile longer.
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. This seems like a great community. I would love nothing more than to earn my PPL, buy a Diamond one day and join the forum as an owner.
Welcome to the Diamond forum. You will find a wide range of experience with Diamond aircraft and an even wider range of opinions.
I own a 1996 DA-20-A1 which was the first of the Diamond models certified in North America. It is Rotax powered and differs in some respects from the C1 version you are referring to. I also co-own a 2010 DA-40 XLS and previously co-owned a 2006 DA-40. I am an airline pilot and have somewhat north of 16,000 total hours with probably 500 hours or so in the various Diamond airplanes.
Safety is probably the number one selling point of Diamond aircraft. I would submit that outstanding flying/handling qualities is probably number two. They are good looking airplanes, as you pointed out. The DA-20 is used primarily as a training aircraft. That would skew the accident statistics in the wrong direction. I know the A1 had very few fatal accidents, which speak to it's docile handling and well engineered airframe. The C1 seems to have more issues with the powerplant, which speaks well for the less-popular Rotax that powers our A1's. Again, great handling qualities and crash-worthiness is a hallmark across the Diamond fleet.
Both of my children soloed our A1 on their respective 16th birthdays, my son got his PPL in it and my wife is learning to fly it now. I don't know what more I can say as praise for the airplane than that. I too am very risk averse and have tried to impart that same sense of judgement on my children.
Now the down side. The owner of Diamond Aircraft (Christian Dries) does not see much future in avgas airplanes or the North American market. He told me as much a few months ago when I met him in Wiener Neustadt. His focus has shifted towards diesels, leaving product improvements and support somewhat lacking for us. The A1 is a complete orphan and the other avgas models somewhat less so. Others on this forum will disagree with me strongly on this.
As I have said before, I love my airplanes, but would have a hard time recommending purchase of a new (avgas) Diamond today. I would suggest partnering with someone who owns one already, or looking for a good used one with a like minded friend. Be prepared for high parts prices. After all, it is an airplane, the factory for the C1 is in Canada and the parent company is in the Euro zone.
Good luck on your search and I expect you will get plenty of comments on this forum.
Krea Ellis
DA-20-A1 "Princess Amelia"
Da-40-XLS
[quote="Jay"]Thought I would post here and get some feedback on some observations I have made. First of all I am not a pilot. I have wanted to learn to fly for a long time. I have been doing extensive research into GA in an attempt to get some sense of its safety record - which I have discovered could be improved upon quite a bit. I have three young kids and I need to be around awhile longer.
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. This seems like a great community. I would love nothing more than to earn my PPL, buy a Diamond one day and join the forum as an owner.[/quote]
Welcome to the Diamond forum. You will find a wide range of experience with Diamond aircraft and an even wider range of opinions.
I own a 1996 DA-20-A1 which was the first of the Diamond models certified in North America. It is Rotax powered and differs in some respects from the C1 version you are referring to. I also co-own a 2010 DA-40 XLS and previously co-owned a 2006 DA-40. I am an airline pilot and have somewhat north of 16,000 total hours with probably 500 hours or so in the various Diamond airplanes.
Safety is probably the number one selling point of Diamond aircraft. I would submit that outstanding flying/handling qualities is probably number two. They are good looking airplanes, as you pointed out. The DA-20 is used primarily as a training aircraft. That would skew the accident statistics in the wrong direction. I know the A1 had very few fatal accidents, which speak to it's docile handling and well engineered airframe. The C1 seems to have more issues with the powerplant, which speaks well for the less-popular Rotax that powers our A1's. Again, great handling qualities and crash-worthiness is a hallmark across the Diamond fleet.
Both of my children soloed our A1 on their respective 16th birthdays, my son got his PPL in it and my wife is learning to fly it now. I don't know what more I can say as praise for the airplane than that. I too am very risk averse and have tried to impart that same sense of judgement on my children.
Now the down side. The owner of Diamond Aircraft (Christian Dries) does not see much future in avgas airplanes or the North American market. He told me as much a few months ago when I met him in Wiener Neustadt. His focus has shifted towards diesels, leaving product improvements and support somewhat lacking for us. The A1 is a complete orphan and the other avgas models somewhat less so. Others on this forum will disagree with me strongly on this.
As I have said before, I love my airplanes, but would have a hard time recommending purchase of a new (avgas) Diamond today. I would suggest partnering with someone who owns one already, or looking for a good used one with a like minded friend. Be prepared for high parts prices. After all, it is an airplane, the factory for the C1 is in Canada and the parent company is in the Euro zone.
Good luck on your search and I expect you will get plenty of comments on this forum.
Krea Ellis
DA-20-A1 "Princess Amelia"
Da-40-XLS