Diamond DA20 as flown by The Flying Colors Precision Flight Team
It’s been a busy couple of weeks and I haven’t flown since my check-ride. I got my plastic certificate recently and I was pleased to note that I really did pass and that I really am a pilot. The week before my check-ride, they decided to relocate the second 172 to the other flight school in preparation for a glass panel 172. This really caused problems for me in that I was only checked out in the 172s and now the only plane I can rent is either booked solid, I’m busy, or the weather is horrible. The solution is really simple – I decided to get checked out in some of the other planes. My first victim is the Diamond DA20-C1 Eclipse that was recently put on the line. It is a small, two-seat, composite trainer. It looks fun to fly, but it looks exceptionally small too.
I scheduled the plane for a couple of hours and I got in touch with Josh to see if he could check me out in it. He said it would be no problem and it shouldn’t take long. I was a little concerned about the fact that the Diamond has sticks instead of yokes and I was also curious about just how different low-wings handle compared to high-wings. So in order to satiate my curiosity, I hit the Internet and read everything I could. I also downloaded and installed a DA20-C1 for Flight Sim X. I knew it probably wasn’t anywhere close, but it was fun to play with anyway. I also made a little cheat sheet of V speeds and other assorted details.
I showed up a little early and headed in. I didn’t know what to expect, so I brought everything. Truthfully, I pretty much always bring everything because I have a massive Jeppesen flight bag and it is a convenient place to keep things when not flying. Yes, I carry a FAR/AIM, current sectional, and A/FD with me all the time as well as a knee-board and all the assorted flight planning materials. The rest of the kit is about fifty million pens and pencils and a bunch of Beemans. None of that matters though, because all I took was a headset a pencil, a sectional, an E6B and a notepad as that’s all the room there is.
The check out flight was a short little trip to Madisonville for some landings and some instruction on the avionics. The Diamond has round gages just like the 172, but it has a Garmin 530 which required a little getting used to. In the end, the preflight was where the most training took place.
The first problem that I encountered was the bad checklists. The cockpit is too small to use the POH, and the condensed checklist was some kind of commercial card. I’ve seen them in several pilot shops and until now thought they’d make a good addition to the flight bag. Unfortunately, they are not accurate enough and also they don’t provide for a good flow.
Another addition is the giant fuel dipstick. I have a dipstick for the Cessna, and it fits in my flight bag, but you don’t actually need one. The dipstick for the Diamond looks like a walking stick and there is no looking down the neck or wet finger method. On the plus side, there are only two sumps in contrast to thirteen on the 172. Another notable difference, is the control surface movement. The control surfaces just don’t move much at all. On the 172, you can really move the elevator and ailerons; on the Diamond, the elevator only moves a few inches either way. The biggest difference for me was the composite construction. During the preflight, this means looking for a tear rather than an wrinkle.
My only complaints about the plane are that it is hard to see and reach across the cockpit when standing outside and the wood prop and free-castering nose wheel make it virtually impossible to reliably push back by yourself. It looks like you are drunk as you weave back and forth trying to hit the tie-down . The prop just always seemed to be in the way, and due to the wood construction seems inordinately fragile (even though it probably isn’t that fragile). Lastly, the tiniest bag space in existence. I can’t think of much that would fit in behind the seat and still allow access to the safety hardware mounted up there.
Now that preflight was done, we climbed aboard and closed down the canopy. Call me silly, but closing a canopy rather than a door makes you feel somewhat like a fighter pilot. It is a great way to start off a flight. We started the engine, which contrasts the fighter pilot feeling of the canopy nicely. The small 125hp engine is reminiscent of rubber band powered balsa models. I radioed clearance, managed to call out the right call-sign, and we were all set for the run-up. The only notable change here is that you can’t visually check anything behind you (rudder and elevator). After a short delay we were ready to go.
Here is the part where I have to confess that I was taken aback. Takeoff was extremely easy and fast. I was worried about the nose wheel and takeoff. I needn’t have worried. The plane charged straight down the runway and leaped into the sky. After all of 20 seconds flying time I can assure you that the matter of stick vs yoke has been settled. I love stick flying. Mostly because my bad yoke habits (two hands where one will do) go away. It just feels more natural to me. I must also confess, that I absolutely love how sporty the DA20 feels.
Looking at the avionics, I really like the Garmin 530 and the autopilot. My favorite VFR feature of the 530 is that it lets you put in multiple way-points. This would be great on a flight like my long cross-country. As for the autopilot, I love the fact that you can set it to hold altitude and heading or the GPS track. The combination would make for a great cross-country machine if it weren’t for the limited cargo space.
We played around a little bit and before I knew it it was time to try landing. On my first attempt, and I must stress attempt, we got to execute a perfect go around due to altitude. This was surprising as I had the throttle at idle way out. The DA20 will absolutely glide quite a distance. After getting established in the traffic pattern, we made a second attempt which turned into a great landing, albeit a little fast with a long roll out. I took up nearly the entire runway, but I tried not to hammer the brakes. The third landing was OK, but I found out the brakes are easy to hit without knowing it. The fourth and final landing at TYS was great, but the plane did most of the work.
While on our way back to TYS, we heard some T-6A TexanIIs coming in from the local training area. I was thinking how cool it would be a to see one, but focused more on the tasks at hand. Well, once in the traffic pattern, a lone T-6A overflew us on our base leg. It was pretty awesome to look up and out the canopy to see the underside of the T-6A. Once we were on the ground he landed and joined up with his compatriots. Also, while we were taxiing back in to secure the plane, I noticed that Remote Area Medical was loading their DC-3 to take some relief supplies to Haiti. It was pretty neat to see the DC-3 again.
So to sum up the experience, I love the Diamond and I plan to fly it more. I’ll be taking my first passenger, my wife, up in it soon. I also retract any comments regarding rubber bands; this plane is just plain fun to fly.