DA40 - Cabin interior and wings plus pictures
One other thing in DA40 that makes it match my criterions for a modern aircraft is the ease of access, and cabin layout. All of those who flew a PA28 with passengers on the backseat know what it is about… DA40 access for front seats an back seats is easy, specially because a rear side-door is available.
One noticeable thing is that the front seats can not be adjusted, as they are integral part of the fuselage. The stick is part of the seat, and the rudder pedals can be adjusted. There’s not too much space in the cabin compared with a PA32 or Bonanza. Diamond did however put a lot of effort on designing the back seats. As already mentionned, they are easy to access, and there is enough space for two adults (w&b permitting), but the most enjoyable thing is that the back seats are sligthly higher tha the front row seats, so the passengers can have a decent forward view. To convince yourself, sit down in a PA28 / 32, and then in a DA40. You will have no doubts which is better as a PAX.
Now, regarding the wings. As I said in previous post, the wingspan is ENORMOUS, for a total of 12 meters (close to 36 feet), leading to a high glide ratio, and low wing loading. An other interesting thing is that flaps are very wide, but not so deep, as ailerons. You can see that on the next picture.
You can also constat the the wingtip has a mini winglet. On DA42, the winglet is huge, close to 50cm high. The new version (DA40 XL) also has a larger winglet.
As I’m in my photo library, I can not resist to the pleasure of giving you a photo of one of the famous local mountain, known as Cervin or Matterhorn. Picture from FL130.
