Brand New Owner???

Any DA40 related topics

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Rich
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Re: Brand New Owner???

Post by Rich »

AndrewM wrote: Sun Apr 04, 2021 9:04 pm So I think it comes down to where you are flying. If there are limited ILS options then it could make sense. To get your Instrument rating I do not think it is necessary or makes much of a difference.
There's also the cost and amortization thereof. Admittedly mine are different than most here. For my dual GNS upgrade 14 years ago, installation and all, my cost was $3,600. I've been using it to one degree or another for 14 years, for a yearly amortization of $257/year.

For those of us with the original six-packs, which includes most GA planes flying today, any addition/change for a newer navigator and glass panel is going to have WAAS. I see these planes showing up on ramps and in shops all the time. So some 1978 C-182 or Piper whatever is going to be better-equipped than perhaps a much newer DA40.
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
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Lou
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Re: Brand New Owner???

Post by Lou »

I paid a lot of money to good people who were unfamiliar with the G1000 to troubleshoot some nagging issues. It is worth it to find someone who knows the system, and the aircraft with the system. I have that guy now and it’s worth the travel to get his help.
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wjunius
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Re: Brand New Owner???

Post by wjunius »

I also have a 2004 DA40. I've owned it for the last 6 years. So far, my G1000 has held up well although my PFD cooling fan went out last week. Was a $500 repair. In the scheme of things, not a big deal. I don't have WAAS and with the costs to upgrade that I've seen, I'm not planning on getting it. I'm not a professional pilot and I don't fly in hard IMC. If I did, we have ample ILS approaches nearby, as do most major airports.

The only real problem that I've come across is that I'm so spoiled with my G1000 that I won't even look at a plane that doesn't have a glass cockpit. I want to move to an A36 Bonanza to get the extra seating, but my G1000 has me spoiled. Also, the G1000 menu is not the same in all aircraft. I did not know that. I looked at a G36 Bonanza and it doesn't have the engine management page that I'm so used to.

Enjoy your Diamond. It's a great aircraft.
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Geezer
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Re: Brand New Owner???

Post by Geezer »

Thank you. It's great to know that you've got the same aircraft and that its performed so well for you over the years.
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Re: Brand New Owner???,

Post by perossichi »

I have an older 6 pack but with a 530w. I didn’t realize the importance of WAAS when I bought my plane as I did not have an instrument rating and knew next to nothing about GPS navigation.

I use WAAS approaches, both LPV and LP approaches, frequently. Many small airports have WAAS based approaches and nothing else that has vertical guidance. At larger airports there is almost always an LPV overlaid on top of the ILS approach. I always fly the LPV as the approach glide path is not subject to signal problems as ILS approaches that suffer from scalloping on short final and false glide slopes. This is the best of both worlds. The ILS must have a precision runway which means an approach lighting system and the WAAS approach gives you better accuracy. Ironically, my home airport, KVNY, does not have any GPS approaches which I am lobbying to change. Over the past 3 years, the ILS has been down half the time due to a taxiway improvement project which left some really badly designed VOR approaches as the only alternatives. Hard to believe at one of the busiest GA airports in the world.

Given the very high cost of establishing and maintaining an ILS approach, we won’t see many new in the future and I would expect quite a few removals. This makes WAAS even more important going forward.

P
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Re: Brand New Owner???

Post by ememic99 »

Geezer wrote: Sun Apr 04, 2021 3:34 pm ... but in speaking with my instructor he said that precision approaches are the only thing that would be missed.
Sorry to say but he's talking nonsense. No RNP or GPS (or call it however you want) approach (WAAS or no-WAAS) is considered as precision approach. The only precision approach is ILS (ok and MLS but nobody knows if it exists anywhere anymore) and you'll be able to shoot it with any DA40, G1000 or not, WAAS or not.

Vertical guidance in GPS approaches is nice to have but not essential.
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Re: Brand New Owner???,

Post by Soareyes »

On the exam the correct answer is that an LPV is a non-precision approach. In practice, the GFC700 autopilot will fly an LPV smoother and more precisely than an ILS.

For the US, quoting the FAA:

https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/he ... FSheet.pdf

"There are now twice as many WAAS procedures (LPVs and LPs) as there are ILS glide slopes in the U.S. National Airspace System. As of February 25, 2021, there are 4,075 LPVs serving 1,960 airports, 1,191 are non-ILS airports. The FAA is adding more new WAAS procedures each year."

"WAAS LPVs Provide Similar Level of Service to Category I ILS •Vertical guidance •Glidepath more stable than that of ILS •Minimums as low as 200 feet, which is lower than all Required Navigation Performance (RNP) Authorization Required (AR) approaches and all conventional (e.g. VOR, NDB) non-precision approaches."

"The Localizer Performance with Vertical guidance (LPV) procedure takes advantage of the accuracy of WAAS to provide an instrument approach procedure equivalent to a Category I ILS approach. While an LPV approach looks and flies like an ILS approach, it provides the pilot with more stable vertical guidance."
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Rich
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Re: Brand New Owner???

Post by Rich »

There's this little gem in the notes for the only ILS approach near me:

Autopilot coupled approach NA below 4370.

This is 1100 ft. above and 3.5 nm short of the DH and has implications for its wonderfulness for hand flying that last segment. There is no such note at any of the 7 GPS approaches, most of which have WAAS numbers.
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Geezer
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Re: Brand New Owner???

Post by Geezer »

Thanks for your response.

So you're saying that not having WAAS won't be a big issue down the line?

I'm getting closer to purchase and this is definitely something that I'm thinking about quite bit.

ememic99 wrote: Sun Apr 11, 2021 11:14 am
Geezer wrote: Sun Apr 04, 2021 3:34 pm ... but in speaking with my instructor he said that precision approaches are the only thing that would be missed.
Sorry to say but he's talking nonsense. No RNP or GPS (or call it however you want) approach (WAAS or no-WAAS) is considered as precision approach. The only precision approach is ILS (ok and MLS but nobody knows if it exists anywhere anymore) and you'll be able to shoot it with any DA40, G1000 or not, WAAS or not.

Vertical guidance in GPS approaches is nice to have but not essential.
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Geezer
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Re: Brand New Owner???,

Post by Geezer »

Thanks.

I'm finishing my PPL at your airport. I know the construction that your talking about.

What year is your plane if you dont mind me asking?

You have steam guages with WAAS and mine offers a G1000 without it. Go figure.

Based on forum comments, the upgrade can be a pain and about an additional 27k.
perossichi wrote: Sun Apr 11, 2021 4:57 am I have an older 6 pack but with a 530w. I didn’t realize the importance of WAAS when I bought my plane as I did not have an instrument rating and knew next to nothing about GPS navigation.

I use WAAS approaches, both LPV and LP approaches, frequently. Many small airports have WAAS based approaches and nothing else that has vertical guidance. At larger airports there is almost always an LPV overlaid on top of the ILS approach. I always fly the LPV as the approach glide path is not subject to signal problems as ILS approaches that suffer from scalloping on short final and false glide slopes. This is the best of both worlds. The ILS must have a precision runway which means an approach lighting system and the WAAS approach gives you better accuracy. Ironically, my home airport, KVNY, does not have any GPS approaches which I am lobbying to change. Over the past 3 years, the ILS has been down half the time due to a taxiway improvement project which left some really badly designed VOR approaches as the only alternatives. Hard to believe at one of the busiest GA airports in the world.

Given the very high cost of establishing and maintaining an ILS approach, we won’t see many new in the future and I would expect quite a few removals. This makes WAAS even more important going forward.

P
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