If you could change one thing in your airplane
Moderators: Rick, Lance Murray
- Pascal
- 3 Diamonds Member
- Posts: 165
- Joined: Sun May 15, 2016 3:35 am
- First Name: Pascal
- Aircraft Type: DA20-C1
- Aircraft Registration: CGSMT
- Airports: CYJN
- Has thanked: 40 times
- Been thanked: 33 times
If you could change one thing in your airplane
We all have our pet peeves about our airplanes. What's yours?
I personally wish the castering nosewheel on my DA20-C1 would rotate 360 degrees. Backing up the airplane without a towbar by pushing the wing inevitably gets the nosewheel sideways, and with the lightweight towbar which flexes a lot, it's damn near impossible to back it up on gravel.
I personally wish the castering nosewheel on my DA20-C1 would rotate 360 degrees. Backing up the airplane without a towbar by pushing the wing inevitably gets the nosewheel sideways, and with the lightweight towbar which flexes a lot, it's damn near impossible to back it up on gravel.
Re: If you could change one thing in your airplane
My geography playing no small role in this, but the impossibly hot cabin temperatures of DA40's in warm climates. This plays a great enough roll that it's literally where my conversation ends in regards to ownership. I simply cannot justify this purchase when my family so loathes the experience.
Payload, baggage capacity, performance, safety, low costs and above all my sheer pleasure of flying the Star are the finest combination of attributes available for this pilot. But in a family of four (including fur baby) I'm the only soul aboard trying to hangar a Diamond. Even my Dog wants a Cirrus . . .
C'mon DAI-C, can a pilot get some IR reflective canopy tint?!!!
Payload, baggage capacity, performance, safety, low costs and above all my sheer pleasure of flying the Star are the finest combination of attributes available for this pilot. But in a family of four (including fur baby) I'm the only soul aboard trying to hangar a Diamond. Even my Dog wants a Cirrus . . .
C'mon DAI-C, can a pilot get some IR reflective canopy tint?!!!
- Colin
- 5 Diamonds Member
- Posts: 2006
- Joined: Sat Aug 21, 2010 8:37 pm
- First Name: Colin
- Aircraft Type: DA42
- Aircraft Registration: N972RD
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Re: If you could change one thing in your airplane
When I bought the DA40 there were three issues I identified about the plane:
1. Canopy is a greenhouse. (I cannot explain it, but it took me SIX MONTHS to figure out that the little suction-cup sun blockers for sale in car parts places for $2 fixed this issue. Yes, sometimes we flew along with eight of them stuck to the canopy, but we no longer roasted in the sun.)
2. The seats don't move. That's pretty tough for me after three hours of flying. (The DA42 was changed so that its seats are the new reclining model.)
3. The control stick is not something non-pilot passengers appreciate in the right seat. (Again, in the new plane I eliminated that.)
1. Canopy is a greenhouse. (I cannot explain it, but it took me SIX MONTHS to figure out that the little suction-cup sun blockers for sale in car parts places for $2 fixed this issue. Yes, sometimes we flew along with eight of them stuck to the canopy, but we no longer roasted in the sun.)
2. The seats don't move. That's pretty tough for me after three hours of flying. (The DA42 was changed so that its seats are the new reclining model.)
3. The control stick is not something non-pilot passengers appreciate in the right seat. (Again, in the new plane I eliminated that.)
Colin Summers, PP Multi-Engine IFR, ~3,000hrs
colin@mightycheese.com * send email rather than PM
http://www.flyingsummers.com
N972RD DA42 G1000 2.0 s/n 42.AC100 (sold!)
N971RD DA40 G1000 s/n 40.508 (traded)
colin@mightycheese.com * send email rather than PM
http://www.flyingsummers.com
N972RD DA42 G1000 2.0 s/n 42.AC100 (sold!)
N971RD DA40 G1000 s/n 40.508 (traded)
- CFIDave
- 5 Diamonds Member
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- First Name: Dave
- Aircraft Type: OTHER
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Re: If you could change one thing in your airplane
Reclining seats are available on DA40 XLT and NG models. DA40 front seats now recline just like in a DA42 or DA62.Colin wrote:2. The seats don't move. That's pretty tough for me after three hours of flying. (The DA42 was changed so that its seats are the new reclining model.)
Epic Aircraft E1000 GX
Former DA40XLS, DA42-VI, and DA62 owner
ATP, CFI, CFI-I, MEI
Former DA40XLS, DA42-VI, and DA62 owner
ATP, CFI, CFI-I, MEI
- Steve
- 5 Diamonds Member
- Posts: 1972
- Joined: Thu Aug 12, 2010 1:23 am
- First Name: Steve
- Aircraft Type: DA40
- Aircraft Registration: N432SC
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Re: If you could change one thing in your airplane
I wonder if you could put those in an older DA40?CFIDave wrote:Reclining seats are available on DA40 XLT and NG models. DA40 front seats now recline just like in a DA42 or DA62.Colin wrote:2. The seats don't move. That's pretty tough for me after three hours of flying. (The DA42 was changed so that its seats are the new reclining model.)
- Rich
- 5 Diamonds Member
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Re: If you could change one thing in your airplane
When I picked up the plane at the factory in '02 I mentioned to Peter Maurer that an option to remove/install the right-side stick would be a good feature to have, in consideration of postulated passengers. But in 15+ years of ownership I've never once had it actually be mentioned by anyone I've had sit in that seat. Nor has anyone said they didn't want to fly in that seat. So at one time this would have been on my list, but now - meh.
The one thing I'd change (and actually can) is the deal of removing the rear seats to perform the various inspections. Diamond has an OSB for putting inspection hatches into those seats. I'll probably get this done in the next few months.
As for the others so far mentioned, they're not big deals for me. In fact the seats are a complete non-issue. For whatever reason I can fly all day long in the fixed position with no discomfort.
The one thing I'd change (and actually can) is the deal of removing the rear seats to perform the various inspections. Diamond has an OSB for putting inspection hatches into those seats. I'll probably get this done in the next few months.
As for the others so far mentioned, they're not big deals for me. In fact the seats are a complete non-issue. For whatever reason I can fly all day long in the fixed position with no discomfort.
2002 DA40-180: MT, PowerFlow, 530W/430W, KAP140, ext. baggage, 1090 ES out, 2646 MTOW, 40gal., Surefly, Flightstream 210, Orion 600 LED, XeVision, Aspen E5
- Charles K
- 4 Diamonds Member
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- First Name: Charles
- Aircraft Type: DA40
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Re: If you could change one thing in your airplane
Air Conditioning
Reasonable upgrade path to WAAS for early G1000
Nose Wheel
Reasonable upgrade path to WAAS for early G1000
Nose Wheel
Charles
KCCR Based
N5WU - 2004 G1000 DA40 40.400, GTX345R ADS-B, WAAS Upgraded in 2021 via Diamond Upgrade Program
IFR and ME Rated - Advanced Ground Instructor Rated
KCCR Based
N5WU - 2004 G1000 DA40 40.400, GTX345R ADS-B, WAAS Upgraded in 2021 via Diamond Upgrade Program
IFR and ME Rated - Advanced Ground Instructor Rated
- Charles K
- 4 Diamonds Member
- Posts: 308
- Joined: Mon Feb 21, 2011 7:46 pm
- First Name: Charles
- Aircraft Type: DA40
- Aircraft Registration: N5WU
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Re: If you could change one thing in your airplane
I noticed we are all saying more then 'ONE THING' HA HA HA
Charles
KCCR Based
N5WU - 2004 G1000 DA40 40.400, GTX345R ADS-B, WAAS Upgraded in 2021 via Diamond Upgrade Program
IFR and ME Rated - Advanced Ground Instructor Rated
KCCR Based
N5WU - 2004 G1000 DA40 40.400, GTX345R ADS-B, WAAS Upgraded in 2021 via Diamond Upgrade Program
IFR and ME Rated - Advanced Ground Instructor Rated
- jkadel
- 1 Diamond Member
- Posts: 10
- Joined: Sat Dec 28, 2013 8:38 pm
- First Name: Jim
- Aircraft Type: DA20-C1
- Aircraft Registration: N223DC
- Airports: KPMH
Re: If you could change one thing in your airplane
My only gripe is the difficulty of reattaching the DA 20's top cowing (removing it is easy). I need a friend to help me push, bend, and stuff the top cowing back into pace over the bottom cowling's top edges. I am afraid I might crack the plastic edges on the cowing. Jim K.