Diamond DA-40 observations

Thanks for posting what you are doing and mainly your relating your experiences. I feel that what you are doing in learning as much as you can about slow flight, stalls, and spins are prime. One of my old instructors told me that anybody can fly an airplane fast but it takes a real pilot to know how to fly one slow.

 

You're absolutely correct. I received my PPL in a Diamond 40. It is such a benign aircraft. Loves to glide and hard to stall as you discovered. Just look at it....it's a glider with an engine and prop mounted up front. I recommend Diamonds (20s and 40s) to anyone who wants to get their PPL. Unfortunately it's sometimes hard to find schools that have them as primary trainers.

 

Power off, stick all the way back, and it will mush to the ground slower than a Cirrus with the chute pulled. Seriously.




Mark

 

Seriously, why would you want to learn to fly in a plane like that????

Next, you'll want to just start the engine, plug in your destination, turn on the autopilot and take a snooze.

What happens if you're in a different plane that stalls a year after you get your license?

 

I have to agree. Before I soloed I had been exposed to spins, loops, and every stall known at the time. There were no surprises after I soled or when I was working on my PPL and I really never worried about getting out of spins or stalls . I knew what caused them and that helped. I'm not a Hot Rock aerobatic type but I'm comfortably aware of some stuff and try to avoid it.

 

I started training in a 172 and then bought a 2010 DA40 to finish my PPL and move on to instrument. Terrific airplane and a great IFR machine, partly because it is a bit squirrelly in turbulence so you have to work a bit. Cockpit built to 20 g's. Great safety record. As for the stall, yes it will mush down at 800 fpm with the stick full aft. However, it can still kill you on base to final like all aircraft will if flown incorrectly. Won't bite you like a Cirrus though.

As for why you would train in one... because you have to start somewhere. I got tired of training in 172s that other pilots abused. After 4 years, I moved up to a Piper Meridian and the PT6. A big step in machine and capability, but a huge difference in speed, altitude, comfort and peace of mind. The DA40 gave me a great basic foundation to make that step up with proper training and mentor time.

 

Bob, you actually have to seek out specialized spin or acro training now. Flight schools won't touch it and the DA40 isn't "approved" for it even though it was put through the ringer in certification. I agree, it is a shame that new pilots are not exposed to the boundaries of the envelope, rather than just talk about it with an instructor.

 

Love the Diamond, tried to get the little woman interested in one, but she did not like the way it looked, that little bitty empennage (whats the correct term for that skinny boom like portion that holds the tail and the cockpit?) might break off! I did a ton of reading, talking, etc and virtually no fires as tanks are aluminum and built between spars, fixed 26g seats, and on and on. Great visibility. I wish they would make one with a 310 horse, or more powerful diesel that would cruse about 200.

Go here and look at the crash pictures and built in safety.

Safety Features | Diamond Aircraft

 

Well, I was lucky to get my training when I did and that the airplanes were all spinable and could do some aerobatics. I also had some tough no- nonsense ex military instructors who I was sure they hated me until I completed learning what they were teaching me.

 

Not really afraid the empennage would fall off, David. I flew one that I was considering buying and I felt that there was too much sun in the cockpit and the wings felt too long and "floppy." In all fairness, giving it more time would have been a good idea. I did fly one in Turks & Caicos and enjoyed that experience. I just didn't fall in love with it. I like the Cirrus much better.

 

They seem to be more for someone that just wants to 'drive' the plane from here to there; not really 'fly' the plane.

That can bite you.

 

I don't believe this to be accurate. I know a lot of pilots' pilots who love the plane. Very responsive controls (pushrods, not pulleys), great avionics, decent speed/range/gross weight, and safe. It may not be the best trainer because of it's easy flight characteristics, but I think it's a great personal aircraft. Benign stall characteristics does not make a plane any less of a plane.


Mark

 

We are not all born Bob Hoovers. I dunno....maybe I don't think someone who has zero flight hours should be getting up in an aircraft that has poor stall characteristics....The Killing Zone and all that!

Once you have mastered simple tasks by all means I think aerobatics or at least upset recovery training is a must. Benign flying characteristics doesn't equal turn on the autopilot and take a snooze. I actually found the Diamond a blast to fly and quite responsive.

 

Just keep the ball centered......😬

 

EXACTLY ! That has been my experience several times when I was kicked into an unusual position or screwed up and got into a spin UNEXPECTEDLY. Stall/ spin accidents can happen without warning sometimes and a pilot should know what to do to recover. The school that teaches that you should "recognize" the approach to a stall or to " stay away from spins" is simply failing to teach a student crucial skills. Spins aren't terrible scary monsters if you learn how to recover first and then make sure you don't get into one later on. I spun everything I flew if it wasn't placarded against it just to learn what it would do to and what its idiosyncrasies were.

 

Looks to me like even the best can get killed doing spins. I saw his plane at KAND just last week. Reid, who just turned 80 said he met Art at an air show, and asked him if he would sell him his plane. He did....yes I know this is not the same as simple stall/spin recovery instruction. But what happened?

Pilot Art Scholl died during Top Gun stunt filming | Daily Mail Online
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Art Scholl was flying a Pitts biplane with a big camera mounted AFT of the cockpit. He entered a spin to film the rotation for the movie and when he initiated his recovery the Pitts wouldn't respond. He radio'ed , " I'm having a problem here." It was thought that he had the CG too far aft and Scholl couldn't get the nose down. This is what I remember from the incident. I know that he was very casual about the chances that he took and this one caught up with him.

 

Correct. Think the decent rate w chute pulled is about 1500fpm.