Attempted theft of a Katana in Utah

[rchcfi]

My one rant with the Katana is not the airplane itself, but with those who want to make it seem bigger than it really is.

A year ago I was flying into Provo (the tower hadn't opened yet), was handed off by approach and cleared for the ILS. Upon switching frequencies I was met with a bunch of Katanas stepping all over each other trying to jockey for position in the pattern. There must've been 6-8 in the pattern at the same time. Just inside the outer marker I heard this guy say "Revolution 4CT is midfield downwind about ot turn base." WTF is a Revolution I asked myself as I'm trying to visually acquire all the targets out there. On about a 3 mile final I heard this guy call that he was turning base. This really got me perked up as that would put us at about the same place when he turns final. I finally queried the guy as to what I was looking for. He said he was the newer model Katana which is a Revolution. C'mon guys, just call it a Katana! Come to think of it, he was probably wearing epaulets and $300 Serenghettis and after full-stopping, was going to go to the mall to pick up those pretty Mormon babes in his uniform.

 

[minitour]

I really like the diamond aircraft. It's a decent machine for short trips.

That Eclipse REALLY moves. We just ferried a DA40/G1000 and a DA20C1 back from London. First we had to load four guys into a C172 (ya...crunch the numbers on that baby).

On the way back to the States to clear customs, that DA20 was much faster than me in the 172 and every bit as fast as the DA40...that thing moved!

I'm not a big fan of where the fuel cap is in the Eclipse...but it's still an impressive machine.

-mini

 

[moonlight]

I, as well, don't have a problem w/ the airplane itself as I do w/ those that fly them. Funny, 'cause Provo was going to be the center of my rant as well. Until the tower was put in, that place was a zoo. "Wolf this....wolf that." I've had to go around, extend downwind, s-turn, at that airport more than any other I've flown into. We've been cut off, turned inside of, and sometimes flat out ignored (even though we were in a jet) going in there. I've been on a 7 MILE FINAL going in there, w/ a UVSC DA20 crossing the numbers, and by the time I get to the runway, they're still sitting on it. At a stand still, mind you. I've only been in there once since the tower went operational, but I sure hope the controllers were able to settle those guys down. Very clearly, their attitude was, "This is our airport, we can do what we want." Rant over...thank you, I feel much better w/ that off my chest.

 

[sky37d]

IRant over...thank you, I feel much better w/ that off my chest.

And for that we are all glad.
Now, back to the show:beer:

 

[Jafar]

Can we get some security at U42?

How about a $8 an hour security guard or something for christ's sake?

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,635182899,00.html

http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?ContentBlockID=199c00f2-2b12-42f5-bd94-358e3e40f449

 

[Alin10123]

i was checking out this site to see if i could get some reviews of the DA20 as well as it's a quicker XC aircraft than i train in. Why all the bashing?
I see there are a few of you say that it's a nice aircraft especially for the price.

BTW... that tail section look a little thin... is it just me? or an optical illusion? Or is it thicker than it looks?

 

[LarryinTN]

No, it's pretty thin. The composites let them build it much thinner than they can with metal.

For a two-seater it's fast (120kt-125kt cruise) and it's a lot of fun. Looks great on the ramp, too.

 

[McNugget]

Nice airplane, fun to fly, bad seat cushions, really hot sweatbox in summertime.

 

[Alin10123]

No, it's pretty thin. The composites let them build it much thinner than they can with metal.

For a two-seater it's fast (120kt-125kt cruise) and it's a lot of fun. Looks great on the ramp, too.

120-125? haha, their website says 138 knot cruising speed. When i asked the instructor that did my checkout he just laughed and said it's probably just propaganda. But he says it most definately does not cruise at 138.

I will admit, if i was more comfortable it would've been much more fun. I guess i'm just too tall of my torso is just too long or something becuase my head keeps banging on the canopy.

 

[Alex429595]

I flew a DA-20 for a few hours last summer. Great performance, very fast, and it will glide forever power off. I have heard it tends to develop a lot of MX headaches however.

 

[Alin10123]

I flew a DA-20 for a few hours last summer. Great performance, very fast, and it will glide forever power off. I have heard it tends to develop a lot of MX headaches however.

MX? What's that?

By the way... am i the only one that has trouble fitting into there??? I'm only 6'3. I only consider myself slightly taller than average.

 

[LarryinTN]

120-125? haha, their website says 138 knot cruising speed.

Yeah, I guess it does. I don't have the POH handy but I seem to remember 120kt-125kt cruise speeds in the performance charts for the DA20-C1 that I rent. I'll have to look and see under what conditions they get that 138kt number.

It'll certainly do the 120-125 figure.

I've never flown the older rotex powered Katana's but they're slower.

 

[LarryinTN]

I'm pretty comfortable in the Katana. I'm 5'10".

 

[Jafar]

The A1 model with the rotax is definitely slower, it's got 45 less HP. The last eclipse I flew seemed to cruise at 125 or so. They're no where near as fast as the 4 seat Star. Now that Diamond put Hartzell props on the Star you can run at 2700 RPM continuous. I get 155 KTAS all day long in that thing.

 

[Jafar]

MX? What's that?

Maintenance.

I don't know about that. It's never seemed to me that they have a lot of maintains issues. Frankly I've had more problems with the Garmin avionics in the airplanes. So far, a 430 has died on me in a C1, a PFD has died in a G1000 Star, and the zoom knob broke on the MFD in a G1000 Star.

But as far as Diamond airplanes, I was always under the impression they usually required less maintenance than their other counterparts.

 

[Alin10123]

Maintenance.

I don't know about that. It's never seemed to me that they have a lot of maintains issues. Frankly I've had more problems with the Garmin avionics in the airplanes. So far, a 430 has died on me in a C1, a PFD has died in a G1000 Star, and the zoom knob broke on the MFD in a G1000 Star.

But as far as Diamond airplanes, I was always under the impression they usually required less maintenance than their other counterparts.

On maintenance. Well... the diamond that i flew the engine didn't sound 100% ok. But the instructor says that it's normal. But it made sort of a ticking noise. The noise sounded like "pinging" when you use a low grade fuel. The noise gets louder when there's no flaps and the engine is working even harder. Maybe it's a fuel injected thing i dunno. But the instructor said it's normal and they have'nt had a problem and not to worry. That noise did make me uncomfortable though. Even a 30 year old cessna i've flown before didn't have that problem.

 

[NW_Pilot]

My one rant with the Katana is not the airplane itself, but with those who want to make it seem bigger than it really is.

A year ago I was flying into Provo (the tower hadn't opened yet), was handed off by approach and cleared for the ILS. Upon switching frequencies I was met with a bunch of Katanas stepping all over each other trying to jockey for position in the pattern. There must've been 6-8 in the pattern at the same time. Just inside the outer marker I heard this guy say "Revolution 4CT is midfield downwind about ot turn base." WTF is a Revolution I asked myself as I'm trying to visually acquire all the targets out there. On about a 3 mile final I heard this guy call that he was turning base. This really got me perked up as that would put us at about the same place when he turns final. I finally queried the guy as to what I was looking for. He said he was the newer model Katana which is a Revolution. C'mon guys, just call it a Katana! Come to think of it, he was probably wearing epaulets and $300 Serenghettis and after full-stopping, was going to go to the mall to pick up those pretty Mormon babes in his uniform.

My aunt lives in Provo :laugh:

 

[NW_Pilot]

Maintenance.

I don't know about that. It's never seemed to me that they have a lot of maintains issues. Frankly I've had more problems with the Garmin avionics in the airplanes. So far, a 430 has died on me in a C1, a PFD has died in a G1000 Star, and the zoom knob broke on the MFD in a G1000 Star.

But as far as Diamond airplanes, I was always under the impression they usually required less maintenance than their other counterparts.

I will tell you why they are used and abused rentals! The few diamonds I have flown were private owned Excellent condition.

 

[Alin10123]

Have any of you guys flown the twin engine Da42? That looks like a nice aircraft. What do you guys think? It's a twin, cruises pretty fast at 172kts, only burns 12.5gl/hr total, and it takes JetA fuel which is much cheaper than 100LL.

Is there a down side to it? How does it fly? Hows the wing loading?
I think the regular 2 seater Katana has really low wing loading so the wind has a field day with it all of the time. It basically flies like a glider.

Does the DA-40 and the DA42 fly a lot more stable than the regular DA20?

thanks

 

[Jafar]

Have any of you guys flown the twin engine Da42? That looks like a nice aircraft. What do you guys think? It's a twin, cruises pretty fast at 172kts, only burns 12.5gl/hr total, and it takes JetA fuel which is much cheaper than 100LL.

Is there a down side to it? How does it fly? Hows the wing loading?
I think the regular 2 seater Katana has really low wing loading so the wind has a field day with it all of the time. It basically flies like a glider.

Does the DA-40 and the DA42 fly a lot more stable than the regular DA20?

thanks

There aren't many 42's out there yet, UVSC will be the first flight school to operate them, there's 2 of them coming down from Canada in the next few days. I intend to start my multi in one. (Got my private at UVSC part 61.) It's essentially a DA40 with twin engines. The cockpit and fuselage are virtually identical. Wing loading for a DA42 is 21.1lbs/sq ft. For the DA40 it's 17.4 lbs/sq ft. For a DA20-C1 it's 13.2.

I agree the 20 flies like a glider. The 40 is much more stable and pleasant to fly, in my opinion. Handles crosswinds better, less wild in turbulence, just an all around better airplane. Now granted, I have very little time but most of it has been in either the 20 or the 40.

Not that I have much to compare it to, but I love the 40. Fast, climbs well, stalls are a non-event, just a nice airplane. Throw in the G1000 and it kicks ass. The visibility out of a 40 is also better than a 20. The only high-wing I've ever flown was a C-210 and the first thing I thought was "How do you see out of this thing?"

I can't wait to get my hands on that DA42.