Potential new DA 40 owner seeking input...

Any DA40 related topics

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pietromarx
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Re: Potential new DA 40 owner seeking input...

Post by pietromarx »

I'm with Colin on this (and we used to have our DA-40s at the same airport). I, too, did the WAAS upgrade on a past airplane and found it ... non-useful. (I don't want to say useless, because it had usefulness to someone, but not to me, not even for the ADS-B install ... grrr.)

In order of usefulness (to me), I would say that the following upgrades / enhancements / improvements had the most value:

- the most recent software (always)
- powerflow exhaust (everyone wants to go faster at least some of the time)
- useful load increases (d'oh)
- ADS-B (you won't go back if you're in crowded areas)
- composite prop (less vibration, faster response)
- gfc-700 autopilot
- dynamic balancing (less vibration again)
- speed kit (smaller wheel fairings)
- everything else (SVT, charts, CO monitor, airbags, WAAS, etc.) is nice to have, but generally secondary to the above

The thing I would like the most is the supercharger as there are lots of mountains and hot air around here.
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Boatguy
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Re: Potential new DA 40 owner seeking input...

Post by Boatguy »

I agree with Andrew's point in hard IMC, potential icing, etc. The DA40 is not an "all weather" airplane.

That said, I live in California where the "marine layer", can create a 500' - 1,000' ceiling and ground a VFR flight for hours, or prevent landing at home when it occasionally creeps back in early evening. My airport has no ILS, but it does have an RNAV (GPS) approach. The layer of clouds is usually no more than 300' - 800' thick so it's traversed in no more than 1-2 minutes; two days ago it took about 30 seconds to break out on top and I was still well below the surrounding foothills.

VOR approaches are disappearing as all but the core VORs are de-commissioned. ILSs at tertiary airports (e.g., non-towered) seem to be following suit whenever they require expensive maintenance. Meanwhile RNAV (GPS) approaches are being added every day.

I don't know the OP's mission or regional weather conditions, but I think a non-WAAS aircraft is going to be more and more operationally limited as time passes.
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Rich
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Re: Potential new DA 40 owner seeking input...

Post by Rich »

On the other hand I routinely find the WAAS upgrade useful. Especially now that I get vertical guidance on almost all RNAV approaches. Couple it up and all I need to do is manage speed with throttle. Today was a great example. A VFR day but I had just picked up my plane after the GNS530W repair (because of a screen coating problem) . So I tested it by coupling the RNAV 28 approach at S39, which is LP. But I get it as LP+V, so the autopilot flew right down the pipe. 4740 ft. vertical and 14.6 nm. horizontal to the threshold. What with it being a hot day here in the desert, there were up and downdrafts galore. Keeping the speed where I wanted it was a real chore. But I did not also have to manage vertical track at all. Made it a piece of cake. (Well, almost - lots of throttle action to maintain a reasonably constant speed :scream: ) Just for grins, I cut the A/P at MDA (360 ft AGL, in this case) and flew the needles all the way into the flare. It worked all the way to the pavement.

I've had this feature longer (12 years, hence more opportunity to use it) and it didn't cost an outrageous sum. Plus:

- Garmin will no longer repair non-WAAS GNS units, save to upgrade to WAAS.
- It was, in fact, of additional value when installing ADS-B
2002 DA40-180: MT, PowerFlow, 530W/430W, KAP140, ext. baggage, 1090 ES out, 2646 MTOW, 40gal., Surefly, Flightstream 210, Orion 600 LED, XeVision, Aspen E5
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AndrewM
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Re: Potential new DA 40 owner seeking input...

Post by AndrewM »

Rich, could not agree more with all that you are saying, and this is why I too was saying WAAS was really great to have.

My key point though... if it is a choice between a sweet DA40 with or without WAAS, or a decision to move away / not purchase a DA40 just for that single reason, I would not hold WAAS as that all-critical and important deciding factor.

Yep, agree having the AP coupled all the way down is super nice (as I said in my post) but in reality how may approaches do we do real world IFR down to minimums, and more so if it is a matter of 360ft AGL in solid IFR, should we be there in these planes? I hope my next plane has WAAS, for all the reasons you have stated, and more so because there are more and more GPS approaches (LP+V) becoming available over time. But right now... in my humble view it is a nice to have, but not a "no-go" option / decision factor.
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Re: Potential new DA 40 owner seeking input...

Post by Rich »

The "ILS alternative" is not always available. Last winter RDM ILS was out of service for about 10 days as a result of snowstorm damage to the equipment. The next nearest ILS to my home field is about 100 miles away. And the airport had extended fog during that period, so no visual available.
2002 DA40-180: MT, PowerFlow, 530W/430W, KAP140, ext. baggage, 1090 ES out, 2646 MTOW, 40gal., Surefly, Flightstream 210, Orion 600 LED, XeVision, Aspen E5
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Re: Potential new DA 40 owner seeking input...

Post by Colin »

The thing I would like the most is the supercharger as there are lots of mountains and hot air around here.
The supercharger won't change Hollywood, Peter, but it will help with the mountains.
Colin Summers, PP Multi-Engine IFR, ~3,000hrs
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http://www.flyingsummers.com
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Re: Potential new DA 40 owner seeking input...

Post by Mpatrickw »

Much as a G1000 DA40 is nice to have, there is better value by doing as i did. Find yourself an early steam gauge IFR model and upgrade one of the GNS430s to a W (Garmin change the main board so you effectively have a new unit), and fit an Aspen PFD. This will cost you less than $15,000. I did my IR with this fit and you don’t need anything more. Upgrades are easier and cheaper than being trapped by the G1000 and half hearted support as the fleet gets older. I’ve doubled the value of my DA40 from what I paid for her five years ago. You can search for my posts on the work I did to her.
DA40 D - Centurion 2.0s, Full IFR panel, Aspen PFD 1000 Pro, Mode S, steam gauges, G-LWLW - Breighton, Yorkshire, UK. Avatar is my grandson Leonardo.
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Joey
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Re: Potential new DA 40 owner seeking input...

Post by Joey »

My favs are:
Power flow
Useful load
G1000 was
SVT once you do IFR with this you won’t want to go without
ADS-b

Prop? I started w a composite and switched to a hartzell aluminum one because my home base is a “rock garden” and the repairs to dings can be done by the local a&p instead of sending it back to MT.

And still lusting after the supercharged etc :D
Joey Ritchie
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JGG Williamsburg VA
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