Thanks for all the feedback on the DA-40. Sounds like the plane is
pretty straight forward. I've got a glider rating, and I currently fly
a warbird with a center stick and a castoring nosewheel, so it sounds
like the main differences between what is "normal" are covered there.
I'll be interested to see how it flies. I've always thought they looked
like interesting planes.

I got to fly an SR-20 once and I was surprised at how little the side
stick mattered. By the time I had climbed through about 200 feet, it
seemed perfectly normal. It was definitely a plane where you would want
the trim operational at all times though.

Thanks,
Eric Bartsch
1959 Pilatus P-3 A-848
http://www.hometown.aol.com/bartscher/P3A848.html