Buying the airplane is only the beginning

Any DA40 related topics

Moderators: Rick, Lance Murray

Post Reply
User avatar
Rich
5 Diamonds Member
5 Diamonds Member
Posts: 4592
Joined: Mon Aug 30, 2010 12:40 pm
First Name: Rich
Aircraft Type: DA40
Aircraft Registration: N40XE
Airports: S39 Prineville OR
Has thanked: 145 times
Been thanked: 1180 times

Buying the airplane is only the beginning

Post by Rich »

I've tabulated all the mods I've done over the years. This is why no two airplanes of the same type remain identical as the years go by. Dates and cost are approximate.
N40XE Upgrade History.jpg
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
User avatar
Steve
5 Diamonds Member
5 Diamonds Member
Posts: 1953
Joined: Thu Aug 12, 2010 1:23 am
First Name: Steve
Aircraft Type: DA40
Aircraft Registration: N432SC
Airports: 1T7
Has thanked: 81 times
Been thanked: 493 times

Re: Buying the airplane is only the beginning

Post by Steve »

Hey Rich:

You may want to check the W&B change for the ACK E-04 if it replaced an ACK E-01. I don't have my logbooks easily available, but my recollection is that the -04 was around a pound lighter than the -01 (those D cell batteries were heavy).

Steve
User avatar
Rich
5 Diamonds Member
5 Diamonds Member
Posts: 4592
Joined: Mon Aug 30, 2010 12:40 pm
First Name: Rich
Aircraft Type: DA40
Aircraft Registration: N40XE
Airports: S39 Prineville OR
Has thanked: 145 times
Been thanked: 1180 times

Re: Buying the airplane is only the beginning

Post by Rich »

Steve wrote: Thu Apr 15, 2021 1:01 am Hey Rich:

You may want to check the W&B change for the ACK E-04 if it replaced an ACK E-01. I don't have my logbooks easily available, but my recollection is that the -04 was around a pound lighter than the -01 (those D cell batteries were heavy).

Steve
Good to know. I didn't go back and check that. In 2016, after the MTOW/MLW, the plane was reweighed so in a sense it was a reset.

The original price of the plane in '02 was about $225 K. Many of the $48K were additions that bring the plane up to closer parity (if one includes the Foreflight infrastructure) with newer DA40s except without the weight gain :D I didn't think to include the $300 Bretfin which is part of the equation.
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
User avatar
blsewardjr
4 Diamonds Member
4 Diamonds Member
Posts: 485
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 11:19 pm
First Name: Bernie
Aircraft Type: DA40
Aircraft Registration: N377DS
Airports: KCHO
Has thanked: 118 times
Been thanked: 146 times

Re: Buying the airplane is only the beginning

Post by blsewardjr »

Here's my list of completed and possible improvements to N377DS
DA40 improvement in pdf.pdf
(186.43 KiB) Downloaded 146 times
Bernie Seward, IR, AGI
2003 DA40 N377DS
KCHO Charlottesville, VA
User avatar
Rich
5 Diamonds Member
5 Diamonds Member
Posts: 4592
Joined: Mon Aug 30, 2010 12:40 pm
First Name: Rich
Aircraft Type: DA40
Aircraft Registration: N40XE
Airports: S39 Prineville OR
Has thanked: 145 times
Been thanked: 1180 times

Re: Buying the airplane is only the beginning

Post by Rich »

Other significant tweaks are not permanent parts of the plane, but likely should be included - iPad (w/FF), its mount, and the Stratus. Another $1,100 or so for the stuff that I use now, but I've gone through several iPads over the years, mostly because they became obsolete and unsupported. The current Stratus 3 replaced the earlier Stratus 2. The 3 has a few additional features I found desirable.

Also apropos of the title is the ~ $1,100 for data subscriptions I pay each year, between FF and the 2 GNS WAAS units.
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
User avatar
blsewardjr
4 Diamonds Member
4 Diamonds Member
Posts: 485
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 11:19 pm
First Name: Bernie
Aircraft Type: DA40
Aircraft Registration: N377DS
Airports: KCHO
Has thanked: 118 times
Been thanked: 146 times

Re: Buying the airplane is only the beginning

Post by blsewardjr »

I recently swapped out the Garmin GMA340 audio panel for the GMA345 audio panel and used it for the first time on a cross-country IFR flight. Subjectively it sounds better, but the real improvement is the separating Com 1 and Com 2 so that one sounds in one ear and the other in the other ear. To me it really helps when I'm trying to listen to ATC and get the ATIS at the same time. One downside is that even when Com 2 is quiet, e.g., when you are monitoring 121.5, Com 1 still sounds only in your left ear. My Ipad can now Bluetooth to the GMA345 so that I can hear the Foreflight callouts in my headset. This was possible before by directly Bluetoothing with my headset but the connection never seemed to last and it used up the battery. Finally, I tried the on the ground phone call to Center through the audio panel for my IFR clearance at an uncontrolled airport. Also worked well (although they keep me waiting 10 minutes before clearing me). All in all well worth the 1.0 AMU after trade-in of my GMA340.
Bernie Seward, IR, AGI
2003 DA40 N377DS
KCHO Charlottesville, VA
Post Reply