Came over on the 20th of April for a few days to convert to the DA40. The weather wasn't promising but Monday gave a glimmer of hope so off to the club we went. Sue gave me the rundown on the checklist, with a walk round to start with, then pull the plane out of the hangar and get into the left seat, which felt so good this time as a qualified new pilot.
So on with the checks, and how fantastic it was to see the plane doing so much itself, and having the gar-min 430 on board was a new and exciting experience. With all the checks done, rt call done and taxied to the hold, i looked at the checklist for power checks but the only thing to do was idle the power, apply the brakes and press the ecu button. With this pressed the aircraft went through its numerous checks which was simply fantastic.
The take off was fantastic and the aircraft was such a joy to fly, Sue went through the Garmins programmes, and the auto pilot settings, which was something totally new for me, But a pure delight.
The landings were slightly different as it seems you have to dive the plane into the ground it appears to want to float forever, but graceful too. i would say to anyone to try out this superb machine and judge it for yourself, you wont be disappointed.
Ian Bartlam
I am so delighted that you enjoyed flying the DA 40,It is a great plane and so much more fun than the older traditional type of aircraft.
It is a step into the future, particularly for those pilots with commercial flying in mind.
Posted by: susan Virr | 26 April 2008 at 06:59 PM