DA20 to DA40

[Bingo3234]

I currently own a 2011 DA20 C1 and absolutely enjoy this aircrafts look, comfort, speed and above all, efficiency. What I am not thrilled with however is the lack of IFR certification and I am ready to move on to hopefully a DA40. I am looking for any advice current owners could share with their DA40 experience on ownership and the planes flying characteristics etc. If anyone has time in both the 20&40, it would also be great to hear that comparison.
Thanks in advance for the help.

[CFIDave]

Both my wife and I learned to fly and passed our Private pilot check rides in rental DA20 C1 models before we "graduated" to four years of DA40 ownership (and now a DA42).

Not surprisingly the DA40 flies quite similarly to a DA20. Here are the major differences:
- Learning the G1000, unless you prefer a pre-2004 DA40 with steam gauges. No more need to keep resetting the DA20 directional gyro to the compass.
- Learning to operate a constant-speed propeller is no big deal: you can reduce RPM to 2400 after takeoff and leave it there until you're abeam the numbers in the landing traffic pattern, when you go back to max RPM.
- The DA40 center elevator trim wheel is FAR superior to the stick-mounted electric elevator trim of the DA20; it's much easier to set to ease control pressures.
- Being heavier and more stable, the DA40 is actually easier to fly and land, particularly in gusty crosswinds. DA40 airspeed and rate of climb are both better, but you won't notice a lot of difference.
- With the DA40 you have to remember to switch fuel tanks every 30 minutes, but that's no big deal with the G1000 automatic reminder to do this.
- With the DA40 you have to pay more attention to balance (as opposed to just weight) given the greater potential to misload the aircraft (newer DA40s are tail-heavy, older ones tend to be nose-heavy).
- There's no easy way to "dip" the fuel tanks in a DA40 (compared to use of the stick in a DA20) -- the provided DA40 fuel measuring device is a joke and never used. But the G1000 fuel totalizer is spot-on and (if you remember to reset it after refueling) will provide a great backup to the fuel gauges.
- The DA40 canopy being hinged in the front is far superior to the DA20's rear-hinged canopy because you can taxi with it partially open to stay cooler in the summertime.

I can't compare ownership costs since I never owned a DA20, but DA40 maintenance costs shouldn't be too much more than for a DA20.

The biggest difference is getting to fly IFR. If you like flying your DA20, I expect that you'll like flying a DA40 even more.

[RC7]

I instruct in both the DA-20 and the DA-40. Dave did a good job covering most of the differences, so I won't mention those. The biggest difference to me is the spring-loaded elevator on the 20. The 40 doesn't have a spring-loaded elevator, so you get a much better feel of the controls. In my opinion, this makes the 40 much more fly-able than the 20.

[Bingo3234]

Thank you for the great information and positive reviews of the 40!