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Must have been flying the DA 40 backwards to only achieve 120 kts. All the two bladed prop DA 40s I have flown in cruise nicely at 147-150 kts.
Cabin is smaller 45 inches wide, but I am 6’ and plenty of head room. Also, with no effort, put my two motorized folding pedal bikes in the back of the plane, via simply lifting up the hatch and dropping them in – could not get them through the baggage door of the SR 20 – and would hate to wrestle them over the front seat in the SR 20.
The weight carrying capacity of the DA 40, if you stay in the envelope, is impressive particulary climb out when overweight – we know this is a no no but the plane performs beautifully overweight.
The stability and glide capability, with engine out, of the DA 40 is unbelievable. Simply put the DA 40 is extremely stable and in turbulance the flex in the wings does not give you the hard jar I felt in the Cirrus – and with 400 passanger lbs holds straight and level flight at 50 knots – not bad.
All in all I find it a better IFR machine than the SR 20 due to its easy flying characteristics, and love the GS 1000 – Garmin is certainly setting the standards and I think it will be tough for the others to keep up.
In conclusion I grin all the way to the bank when I look at insurance rates, but we have all made good choices for both are great planes.