diamondaviators.net

I've tabulated all the mods I've done over the years. This is why no two airplanes of the same type remain identical as the years go by. Dates and cost are approximate.

Hey Rich:

You may want to check the W&B change for the ACK E-04 if it replaced an ACK E-01. I don't have my logbooks easily available, but my recollection is that the -04 was around a pound lighter than the -01 (those D cell batteries were heavy).

Steve

Steve wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 1:01 am Hey Rich:

You may want to check the W&B change for the ACK E-04 if it replaced an ACK E-01. I don't have my logbooks easily available, but my recollection is that the -04 was around a pound lighter than the -01 (those D cell batteries were heavy).

Steve

Good to know. I didn't go back and check that. In 2016, after the MTOW/MLW, the plane was reweighed so in a sense it was a reset.

The original price of the plane in '02 was about $225 K. Many of the $48K were additions that bring the plane up to closer parity (if one includes the Foreflight infrastructure) with newer DA40s except without the weight gain I didn't think to include the $300 Bretfin which is part of the equation.

Here's my list of completed and possible improvements to N377DS

Other significant tweaks are not permanent parts of the plane, but likely should be included - iPad (w/FF), its mount, and the Stratus. Another $1,100 or so for the stuff that I use now, but I've gone through several iPads over the years, mostly because they became obsolete and unsupported. The current Stratus 3 replaced the earlier Stratus 2. The 3 has a few additional features I found desirable.

Also apropos of the title is the ~ $1,100 for data subscriptions I pay each year, between FF and the 2 GNS WAAS units.

I recently swapped out the Garmin GMA340 audio panel for the GMA345 audio panel and used it for the first time on a cross-country IFR flight. Subjectively it sounds better, but the real improvement is the separating Com 1 and Com 2 so that one sounds in one ear and the other in the other ear. To me it really helps when I'm trying to listen to ATC and get the ATIS at the same time. One downside is that even when Com 2 is quiet, e.g., when you are monitoring 121.5, Com 1 still sounds only in your left ear. My Ipad can now Bluetooth to the GMA345 so that I can hear the Foreflight callouts in my headset. This was possible before by directly Bluetoothing with my headset but the connection never seemed to last and it used up the battery. Finally, I tried the on the ground phone call to Center through the audio panel for my IFR clearance at an uncontrolled airport. Also worked well (although they keep me waiting 10 minutes before clearing me). All in all well worth the 1.0 AMU after trade-in of my GMA340.