DA40NG bubble canopy vs normal one

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Pehu
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DA40NG bubble canopy vs normal one

Post by Pehu »

I am contemplating between "standard" canopy vs bubble canopy for DA40NG. I am 6'3" myself so rather tall.

A bit of google did not reveal me the differences between these two canopies. Bubble canopy gets you the sunvizors - which btw are incredible sucky. My current plane does have these and you need tighten them all the time, they don't hold their position.

The current price for the upgrade was almost 10k EUR which does sound quite expensive so I'd like to contemplate this a bit before committing.
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Re: DA40NG bubble canopy vs normal one

Post by ultraturtle »

I am also 6' 3", and in my opinion you will not fit comfortably with a standard canopy. Tight fit even with the bubble canopy, I need to recline the seat a bit. Recommend you find a DA40 to sit in for a few minutes.
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Re: DA40NG bubble canopy vs normal one

Post by Pehu »

I think this answered the question perfectly :-)

Thanks
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Re: DA40NG bubble canopy vs normal one

Post by CFIDave »

For tall pilots who also have long torsos, you not only need to take the canopy height into consideration, but also the fuselage cross-bar located right behind the canopy.

Even with the taller double-bubble canopy combined with the reclining front seats of a DA40 NG, some taller pilots will hit their heads on the cross-bar.
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Re: DA40NG bubble canopy vs normal one

Post by BlueYonder »

My husband is a shade over 6', but it's all in his torso. He also has very wide shoulders. He finds the standard canopy in our plane intolerable.

We recently visited Colin's DA42, and he tried out the right seat. The bubble was considerably more comfortable for him -- just a little more room for both head and shoulders really helped. The 42 also has reclining seats, which our DA40XL does not, and which also made a real difference.

We are currently exploring switching out to the bubble canopy and adding reclining seats -- or else upgrading to a 42 that already has those features installed. It's been made very clear that I'm not going to have an enthusiastic passenger until these mods are done.
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Re: DA40NG bubble canopy vs normal one

Post by Mdm0515 »

I'm 6' 2" but all legs and broad shouldered. My torso/head/shoulders all fit fine in the DA40 XLT but the brake/rudder pedals are difficult. For visibility reasons i sometimes use a butt cushion for overall sight line lift.

I sat in the NG last weekend and the seating is much improved in terms of sight lines over the instrument panel and general comfort. I did lose a little clearance on my knees though.

I'm probably going to buy an NG in the next several months and cabin comfort was one of the primary determinants between the gas and diesel versions
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