Prop strikes and tail strikes ?

Guest Discussion
41

Good decision IMHO. I also had to abandon my desire to fly Cirrus. There is the reason why almost all places renting SR22s require instrument rating.

42

Paul (and,uhm, bandit1),

Forgive me for asking, but I just have to: How many hours did you spend looking at and flying a Cirrus before making that 150k-plus-dollars-decision? As Sanjay, I am very interested in how people make decisions like that. Thanks!

FWIW, the reason rental places require an instrument rating is simple: insurance value. They mostly rent newer models, so they hand you over a machine that is worth ten times more than the usual 172 junker from 1974 and at least four to seven times more than the the usual “high performance” Bonanza or Mooney you can find with similar performance to an SR22.

43

Not sure about bandit1 but I am a renter so it wasn’t a $150K decision to me.

Let’s compare SR20 and DA40 from VFR pilots point of view.

  1. Hourly cost SR20 $200+ vs DA40 $180. Diamond wins by a small margin.

  2. Airspeed. SR20 wins by a small margin so 1+2 is about the same.

  3. Comfort. SR20 wins hands down.

  4. Useful load. About the same.

  5. Avionics: Avidyne vs G1000. I am unfamiliar with Avidyne but I am guessing that it is just another glass panel. So no preference here.

  6. Initial training. DA40 - few hours of transitional training + G1000 training. SR20 - cirrus transition training that seems quite expensive. The point goes to DA40

  7. Takeoff and landing performance. Runways that I am using are usually less than 2500ft long. DA40 has no problem on such runways. SR20 is OK too but it requires more runway than DA40. SR20 also requires a very exact control of the airspeed to avoid tail or prop strikes.Precision means frequency. Embarrassing DA40 landings can be deadly in SR20.

  8. Probability of death. DA40 is a very safe airplane. Accident statistics of DA40 are excellent. It is very gentle airplane, it can fly slow and does not stall easily. Best of all it does not burn after crash [:)] SR20 is also safe airplane if you fly frequently but if you do not then it is dangerous. If you crash you burn. If you stall you crash.

  9. Upgrade possibilities. DA40 - currently none. SR20 - SR22. Although IFR requirement makes this a non-option.

For me going from DA40 to SR20 meant that I would have to spend thousand$ on training and in return would be able to fly a more comfortable airplane at a bit higher speed with less safety.

If I would get IFR rating and would fly many more hours then cirrus (SR22) would be a better airplane for me.

44

It sounds like you are saying one has to be a be a better pilot to fly a cirrus, or at least diamond drivers can be sloppy and it won’t matter. I will take this as a compliment to my piloting skills! Thanks!! [;)]

This isn’t really meant to sound snarky, but I I have a ton of Diamond time (my initial training for PPL). I have never felt either required less or more attention or skill than the other.

45

Good enough analysis. DA 40s are docile airplanes, great floaters. and there is no arguing with the safety statistice. Their wing tanks are a little better, too- not many post crash fires. Cirrus not so good in this department.

I like the way you work through the problem. You’ll make a good instrument pilot if you want to go that route.

46

Paul,

Thanks for elaborating. You make many good points. The one underlying notion I wouldn’t agree with is that getting away wih as little training and as little precision is good for a pilot. Any pilot, regardless of experience or involvement level. If something is worth doing at all, it is worth doing it well…

Also, I don’t think the prop and tail strike thing has any basis in fact.