What comes after a DA40?

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Antoine
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Re: What comes after a DA40?

Post by Antoine »

dgger wrote: I would love to see Extra pick up the type certificates from the Chinese and ressurect the Phoenix. There is a lot of potential here, I think.
Absolutely. I think the Extra 400 at 1'500 AMU would be a perfect intermediate step between an SR22T and any of the turboprops.
At this price point one would of course expect a state of the art cockpit, cabin climate control and a significantly improved useful load.
All of theses are within reach, and the fundamentally sound design is a great starting point. so really it is a matter of someone wanting to take the plunge.
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thefoxx
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Re: What comes after a DA40?

Post by thefoxx »

Flew to a local airport and look what was parked next to me! Another one out in the wild!

Had to get a picture for Antoine!

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Antoine
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Re: What comes after a DA40?

Post by Antoine »

Thanks Sandy! This specific aircraft (SN 23) is almost new and based in Canada.
It was ferried over by a good friend of mine last autumn.
I have considered buying it and then took N121AG instead because I wanted to make so many modifications, it did not make sense to pay new price and then throw half of the aircraft away! The seats were new, but so dated with the 1990's Porsche wrinkled leather...

N121AG is an absolute blast to fly lately and I am especially happy with the new 55% economy cruise settings which increase range while reducing cost per mile and still delivering good speed. 190 KTAS at FL200 on 18 GPH.
Capture d’écran 2018-07-23 à 18.14.10.png
This is a typical flight (except for a VFR departure), notice the approach part: you can clearly see how we stayed hat FL 200 with a 10 knot tail wind until pretty much the last moment and then went down at 1'500 ft per minute. Indicated airspeed was at the limit of green to yellow arc and passengers hardly noticed anything in terms of cabin altitude change.
Imagine the same with a 50 knot tail wind and you can work out the benefit versus a PA46 that has to go down at a rate compatible with thermal management of the engine and airframe limiting speeds. Same for any non-pressurized aircraft...

2 weeks before I flew the same trip at 6'000 ft, where I got a 10 knot tail wind, instead of FL 200 where there was a 50 knot head wind. I was chugging along at 175 knots ground speed instead of 150 up high...
Apart from slaughtering a gazillion bugs, it was business as usual.

An anecdote about handling: a friend of mine just took delivery of her Columbia 400 and I finally got to fly this magnificent aircraft which was high on my "want" list for very long. I found it nicely built, comfortable and fun to fly. We went "cloud dancing" and I really liked it, but aileron forces were high and I could not help think "the Extra 400 is more nimble".
I still owe her a test flight of my own aircraft and I think she's up for a surprise! Who would expect such a big and heavy bird to be so graceful and fun to hand fly.

The road was long and challenging but I am a very very happy owner and pilot. Enough goodwill in the tanks to deal with the next ... bug!
Antoine
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Re: What comes after a DA40?

Post by Antoine »

A picture to replace a thousand words. Extra 400 descent management.
Capture d’écran 2018-07-31 à 09.59.00.png
Staying high until the last moment to take advantage of a huge tail wind and then descending at 1500 ft/min with cruise power. This pic was taken passing through FL200.
Notice how IAS is still quietly in the green arc... the only sign of high speed is the need for a lot of left rudder due to yaw damper not working properly.

The Flight Radar view. The climb was not as trivial as I wanted due to high OAT. Thanks to the additional charge air temperature probes I was able to finely manage heat and all worked fine.
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carym
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Re: What comes after a DA40?

Post by carym »

Antoine,
While I am officially jealous, all I can say is looking at the PFD it seems you were applying too much left rudder :)

For everyone else, take advantage of your ability to fly as long as you can. For those of us who have developed medical issues we find the flying addiction never goes away and reading these posts only leaves a larger ache in the heart and mind.

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robert63
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Re: What comes after a DA40?

Post by robert63 »

Antoine, you can submit it to Groundspeedrecords. Current record is 272 knots.
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Don
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Re: What comes after a DA40?

Post by Don »

carym wrote: For everyone else, take advantage of your ability to fly as long as you can. For those of us who have developed medical issues we find the flying addiction never goes away and reading these posts only leaves a larger ache in the heart and mind.
Cary
Cary,
There is always the new FAA basic med program. Accordingly to the AOPA website, if you are healthy enough to drive a car, then you will probably qualify for basic med. (Limited to six passenger aircraft, 6000 LBS gross, no flying in class A airspace and for USA airspace only).
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carym
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Re: What comes after a DA40?

Post by carym »

Don wrote: Cary,
There is always the new FAA basic med program. Accordingly to the AOPA website, if you are healthy enough to drive a car, then you will probably qualify for basic med. (Limited to six passenger aircraft, 6000 LBS gross, no flying in class A airspace and for USA airspace only).
Don,
Thanks for the encouragement. It would be nice if that were true. But, as a physician I see many, many patients who drive a car but in my opinion they should not be driving a car. Because of cardiac issues I let my medical lapse a few years ago, only flying LSA, until the basic med was available. I do have the basic med "certificate" but because of some new cardiac issues I grounded myself about 7 months ago. If these issues clear up I will be getting my BFR and flying again.
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Re: What comes after a DA40?

Post by TimS »

Cary,

I always like to read/hear about people who know when to call it, versus those that push to hard and end up hurting others.
Good luck with the cardio issues.

Tim
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Don
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Re: What comes after a DA40?

Post by Don »

carym wrote:
Don wrote: Cary,
There is always the new FAA basic med program. Accordingly to the AOPA website, if you are healthy enough to drive a car, then you will probably qualify for basic med. (Limited to six passenger aircraft, 6000 LBS gross, no flying in class A airspace and for USA airspace only).
Don,
Thanks for the encouragement. It would be nice if that were true. But, as a physician I see many, many patients who drive a car but in my opinion they should not be driving a car. Because of cardiac issues I let my medical lapse a few years ago, only flying LSA, until the basic med was available. I do have the basic med "certificate" but because of some new cardiac issues I grounded myself about 7 months ago. If these issues clear up I will be getting my BFR and flying again.
Hi Cary,
I am thinking positive thoughts for you and hope your issues clear up.
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