DA40 Adding the extended luggage compartment

[mattmowen]

I just purchased a 2004 Diamond DA40 and love it. My plane does not have the extended luggage compartment. Is this something that I can add and if so, what is the cost?

Thanks!

[linzhiming]

Hello Matt,

You should be able to, see http://support.diamond-air.at/fileadmin ... 28-1-O.pdf.

As my aircraft already came with the extended baggage compartment, I can't comment on how much it would cost vs benefits and CG effects.

One aspect I have always found strange in the AFM is that the specified arm for the standard baggage compartment seems to be less aft (more forward) compared to the arm of the forward section of the extended baggage compartment so technically the extended baggage compartment is making you worse off from a CG perspective. I wonder whether anyone in the forum could explain that. I have never seen the standard compartment but would have thought that the position of the standard compartment cannot be more forward than the backrests anyway so I wonder whether the arm of the forward extended compartment simply reflects the average midpoint arm and that the forward compartment is larger than the standard one which is why the midpoint is further aft?

Wolfgang

[Kai]

I just purchased a 2004 Diamond DA40 and love it. My plane does not have the extended luggage compartment. Is this something that I can add and if so, what is the cost?

Thanks!

I had my extended luggage compartment retro-fitted and the parts came from a scrapped plane. Price was about 1500€ but I am not sure anymore. You can order it from any Diamond retailer for a few grand and new, but I can't recall the prices.

In the end I didn't give it as much use as I thought I would because your limitation is usually the weight and not the space.

[rwtucker]

In the end I didn't give it as much use as I thought I would because your limitation is usually the weight and not the space.

Same here. It seems useful for things like golf clubs, etc. but I would never miss mine if it were not there. When I have longer pieces of equipment, etc. to carry, CG usually dictates that I rig up something at an angle in the rear seat through to the standard baggage area. However, I have the 3-blade MT prop and the 50 gallon tanks. I would think the extended storage could be useful if you don't have the serious CG problem that some of us have.

[Rich]

One aspect I have always found strange in the AFM is that the specified arm for the standard baggage compartment seems to be less aft (more forward) compared to the arm of the forward section of the extended baggage compartment so technically the extended baggage compartment is making you worse off from a CG perspective. I wonder whether anyone in the forum could explain that. I have never seen the standard compartment but would have thought that the position of the standard compartment cannot be more forward than the backrests anyway so I wonder whether the arm of the forward extended compartment simply reflects the average midpoint arm and that the forward compartment is larger than the standard one which is why the midpoint is further aft?

Our 2002 came with the original baggage compartment and was retrofitted in 2004 with the extended. The original "rear wall" was maybe 12 inches or so behind the back seats. The extended compartment ends close to 3 feet behind the seats. I figure they're supplying the median distance. The difference is about 10 inches, which is about right.

FWIW, I greatly appreciated the change. My 2002 does not have the rearward CG challenge of the newer ones, AND is significantly lighter. I've used ALL this volume on several occasions. Of course, I've never had to transport a collection of anvils in it

In 2004 we had this done at the factory for about $3600, when it first became available. It added about 8 pounds to the empty weight. It was toward the rear, which actually helps us a little bit.

Moment arms given for various load points in all airplanes for which I've had occasion to do W&B are suspect. For example, planes with movable seats (some can be moved a couple of feet) will give you a single value. And they all tend to give you a single value for the fuel location, even if the wing is swept, and a single value for each baggage compartment. Also consider variations in how various folks' weight is distributed. What happens if the baggage compartment load shifts rearward during climb? How evenly over the surface did you distribute the weight of what you're carrying. These are not Diamond-specific considerations.

[Rich]

Here's a data point, FWIW. I just heard back from a friend of mine who bought a 2003 DA40 and got an estimate from a local company (Seattle Avionics) for this mod that does Diamond work in Seattle (BFI).

He received an estimate from them:

$6431.70 KIT 1ea
$1408.00 labor 16hrs

[Kai]

He received an estimate from them:

$6431.70 KIT 1ea
$1408.00 labor 16hrs

$8000 .... wow .... insane.

[LTek1]

16 hours?? We all pull out our baggage walls, ski tubes, and extended compartments every annual, don't we? Takes about five minutes out, six minutes in (a minute spent retrieving dropped hardware, of course.) What else is there??

[Kai]

16 hours?? We all pull out our baggage walls, ski tubes, and extended compartments every annual, don't we? Takes about five minutes out, six minutes in (a minute spent retrieving dropped hardware, of course.) What else is there??

Not much: removing the old carpet/liners and glueing the new ones? Some paperwork, for sure. New weight and balance sheet? It seems very exaggerated.

[Rich]

There are additional supports installed in the rear fuselage to secure the baggage module in place. It isn't just "pull out the old and bolt in the new".

FWIW, Diamond's labor estimate is 8 hrs.