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Landing katama in a 40

Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2017 11:07 pm
by briankelly327
Curious to get any feedback, have people taken their DA40s off-roading?

Katama airport in Martha's Vineyard is known to be a great condition grass field. I've landed there in a friends Bo, but never in the DA40.

I was just curious if the 40 does okay there. My concerns are: the wheel pants don't leave much wheel clearance; the speed gear added to older models leaves the tail low to the ground on hard surfaces; the flaps are pretty close to the ground to pickup debris. I've also got the metal hartzel but clearance there looks substantial.

Have ppl done it in their diamonds? Wheel pants on or off? Any advice on best execution? I'd love to add that airport to my New England destinations.

Thanks!

Re: Landing katama in a 40

Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2017 11:19 pm
by Colin
I've done it once with my parents and once with my sister. I am not a believer in the wheel pants speed advantage, so I didn't have those on the second time, having stopped using them at all. Even the time with them on I don't remember anything bad happening with the wheels and pants. I do remember being *incredibly* careful to be one speed when I was coming in to land. And I did short field and soft field technique for takeoff.

I wish my DA42 could land there. I just landed at the main airport last week and I am sure that I will make it to the beach a few times next summer, but I'll stay on the tarmac. I think I need a DA62 if I want to return to Katama. Dave, would you land there?

Re: Landing katama in a 40

Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2017 11:44 pm
by Diamond_Dan
Very interested in opinions on this one. I live in the Boston area and Katama was one of the first excursions after I got my ticket (in a 172 w/o wheel pants). Katama is a wonderful experience and a well maintained airfield but I am worried about my wheel pants and taking the one off the nose gear is a pain. Outside of good soft field technique, my only thought is to make sure the tires are aired up before making the attempt.

Re: Landing katama in a 40

Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2017 11:46 pm
by Diamond_Dan
Colin wrote: I wish my DA42 could land there. I just landed at the main airport last week and I am sure that I will make it to the beach a few times next summer, but I'll stay on the tarmac. I think I need a DA62 if I want to return to Katama.
Why not? Wheels too small for the weight?

Re: Landing katama in a 40

Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2017 3:21 am
by pietromarx
I've landed there with both my plane and I wearing pants. Actually, shorts in my case. No issues.

Re: Landing katama in a 40

Posted: Sun Sep 24, 2017 6:23 pm
by Colin
DA42 pilot-owners seem to be of a uniform opinion that the plane is not for grass. And Cary had an incident at Oshkosh where they taxied him onto grass and if he hadn't shut down he would have had a prop strike. I'm trying to avoid those.

Re: Landing katama in a 40

Posted: Tue Sep 26, 2017 2:25 pm
by CFIDave
Last month we delivered a 2013 DA40 XLT to a customer who lives on Nantucket. After delivery, one of our pilots and the new owner landed the DA40 at nearby Katama. I was told that the grass runway was quite rough, and they were surprised that the DA40's wheel pants were not damaged. Bottom line: Landing a DA40 with wheel pants at Katama is not recommended.

Colin: I'd need to do a bit more research to determine whether I'd fly our DA62 into Katama, but if it really has a usable 3700 foot grass runway, it should be safe to do so. The DA62 has large tires specifically designed for grass strip operation; the nose wheel is just as large as the mains.

Re: Landing katama in a 40

Posted: Tue Sep 26, 2017 3:53 pm
by Colin
+1 for getting a DA62 as soon as one of these new owners needs to sell theirs.

Re: Landing katama in a 40

Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2017 6:01 pm
by briankelly327
Thanks for the replies! I was hoping to make the trip this past Sunday but changed plans due to a forecast marine layer. Instead we went to block island which is only a few miles west but was VFR all day.

Ill plan on making Katama a 2018 bucket list item, without pants (but with shorts).

And Colin, +1 on your 42 when you find that 62 seller ;)

Re: Landing katama in a 40

Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2017 8:18 pm
by krellis
Is it possible to land katama in a Katana? ;)