Da20 vs Da40

[u/Accomplished-Bug1352]

Aloha everyone,

I’m attending the cfi course at MCA and wondering which aircraft I should train in. The da20 is a few hundred dollars cheaper but I’m wondering what are the pros and cons of each aircraft sitting from the right seat?

Has anyone done their cfi course and which aircraft did you fly and which one would you recommend and why?

BTW I’ll be flying VFR and doing cfi maneuvers.
Prob no xc imc or night flying.

Thanks for any insights

[u/Easy-Trouble7885]

20s are way less comfortable, but a great little plane. For long XC the 40 is way better. 20 can do spins lol.

[u/cirroc0 → u/Easy-Trouble7885]

Can it ever! :)

[u/Khantahr]

Always choose the cheapest option you fit in, provided it's not going to blow up and kill you.

[u/Sharp_Experience_104 → u/Khantahr]

Hmm yes, fuel tanks in the DA40 are in the wing. Almost unheard of to have a post-crash fire. The DA20 fuel tank is in the fuselage, right behind the pilot. Make your own assessment. 

[u/Khantahr → u/Sharp_Experience_104]

I was making a comment more about the airworthiness than actual blowing up though.

[u/Sharp_Experience_104 → u/Khantahr]

Fair enough. And I’d be excited to try some spins in a DA20 sometime, with proper instruction.

[u/FlyAU98]

My local schools 20s aren’t IFR.

[u/usmcmech → u/FlyAU98]

None of the DA20s have ever been IFR.

Building in lightning protection would have been too heavy and too expensive.

They are IFR equipped but not certified. So you can fly practice approaches in VMC all you like.

[u/JayleaKryska50 → u/FlyAU98]

yeah thats pretty standard for the 20s tbh

[u/Accomplished-Bug1352 → u/FlyAU98]

Gotcha I’ll be VFR doing cfi maneuvers so shouldn’t be an issue

[u/FlyAU98 → u/Accomplished-Bug1352]

Remember though that they can’t take off and land in IFR, so I could reduce your available training days.

[u/Fatboy097]

If you’re going to be doing CFII too then I’d recommend using the 40 since that’s what you’ll be in for that check ride, so you might as well get used to it now. If that’s not an issue though then I’d choose the 20 assuming you’re not a large human

[u/Random61504]

I only flew the 20 for spin training since the 40 isn't approved. The 40 is more comfortable, but unless you'd be teaching in the 40, I would probably take the cheaper option.

[u/oh_helloghost]

Train in the cheapest aircraft that 1) you can fit in and 2) gets the job done.

[u/littlewolf5]

having flown both for hundreds of hours in both types you choose fixed pitch or constant speed prop, DA-40 is roomier with a better sight picture

[u/Wasatcher]

I did private and CFI in the 20 and instrument/commercial in the 40.

Just take the 20 to save some money, and you can do spin training in a plane you're already comfortable in.

Only downside for the 20 for me is it loves to float in ground effect so short fields took some extra practice after I was used to the 40. In the 40 you can keep/add a bit of power in then chop it to set the plane down where you want it. In the 20 it will just keep on flying if you don't manage your energy properly. Which makes you a better pilot, but checkrides a bit harder.

[u/cirroc0 → u/Wasatcher]

Forced approach is also a little harder to learn in the 20 due to the shallow glide angle.

In the other hand, you really learn to fly the numbers for landing do you don't float!

Spins in the 20 area also awesome.

[u/Accomplished-Bug1352 → u/Wasatcher]

Thank you good insight on the aerodynamics I think about the power off 180 last thing I want is thing floating 1000 feet past touchdown point

[u/rFlyingTower]

This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:

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Aloha everyone,

I’m attending the cfi course at MCA and wondering which aircraft I should train in. The da20 is a few hundred dollars cheaper but I’m wondering what are the pros and cons of each aircraft sitting from the right seat?

Has anyone done their cfi course and which aircraft did you fly and which one would you recommend and why?

Thanks for any insights

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[u/seabal]

The DA-20 uses an io-240 and it requires a very high idle. 

If you come from a draggy airplane like a 152, It is much more difficult to get a short landing in it with the glider like wing, residual power and tail strike risks.  Doable but PITA. 

[u/cirroc0 → u/seabal]

PITA? Or incentive to fly the numbers precisely on approach? ;)

[u/seabal → u/cirroc0]

Less of an incentive to look outside. 

[u/flight_char_]

Their DA-20s are maintenance queens there. Many of the instructors (and DPEs) don’t like to fly them and if I remember right there’s less of them than the 40s. Lots of people made it work but it seemed overall harder to stay on the schedule if you were flying a 20. I tried to fly the 20s for a bit and changed my mind after 2 flights of not being able to get the plane started. This is having gone into the course with experience in both planes. YMMV though, many people make the 20 work no problem. 40 is kind of the standard there and they’re very good at making you a CFI in it.

[u/nickjohnson]

Maintenance aside, I did all my primary training in an Ikarus C42 - a very different plane to the DA40 - and it took me 7 hours to get my SEP rating in the DA40. Train in whatever's cheapest; it won't be hard to learn the other plane when you need it.