"Dude" wrote in message
...
Poor?

It has the same engine as a 172 SP or an Archer, but it gets an extra 20
knots.

I suppose you could slow it down to Archer speeds and get more range.


The same engine burns the same gallons per hour no matter what you put it
in. The Lycoming IO-360 burns about 10 gph whether it is in a DA-40 or a
172S. Since the DA-40 goes farther in that hour it should go farther than
the same amount of gas in a 172S. The reason the 172S has a longer range is
that it has bigger fuel tanks. The DA-40 does offer an option of bigger
tanks; it will then fly farther than the 172S. Useful load for the two
planes is about the same, so essentially you could carry a little more
payload in the DA-40 than in the 172S for the same trip.