Diamona DA-20 Katana Review (not for the tall!)

Hi,
So I didn't find many reviews of the Katana prior to my 'checkout'
flight 'attempt' in one. This afternoon I took a 1.2 hr checkout
flight with a CFI from Diamond Air (www.ksql.com) at San Carlos
airport (KSQL).

Summing up my opinion: If you're over 5'8", or have a long torso,
forget about the Katana. I'm 5'11" and it wasn't too good.

Specific gripes:

My back is killing me! - my head was partially tilted to the
center, and this was using a loaned headset (my lightspeed wouldn't
let us close the canopy!

The rudder pedals are of poor design - making it difficult to
differentiate between 'rudder' and 'rudder+brake' - without enough
space above the pedals for a normal size 10 shoe to effectively
modulate the brake/rudder seperately.

The stick forces required for 'the maneuvers' were much higher
than I expected at speed (around 100kts). At low speeds this wasn't an
issue.

Slips don't help nearly as much as in a C172/152 for losing
altitude (due to small cross section fuse.)

The big round ball of fire called The Sun. It was blinding just
going anywhere near West - even at our 2:30pm departure from SQL.
There are no sunvisors - so you find yourself leaning back beneath the
painted section of canopy.

Space - my standard kneeboard (student vfr style) barely allowed
for full control movement - and blocked easy access to the throttle
and prop controls. This is *not* an xc machine, and definitely not a
machine for light travel for two... for that I think you'll need
something else.

Good stuff:

The canopy and excellent view. I really liked the low wing
visibility for scanning for traffic. I can't say (haven't flown yet)
about the pipers, but I think having the wing a good few feet below
your eyes allows for a much smaller blindspot - had an easy time
spotting traffic.

The view, view, and more view.

Constant speed prop - this was the first time I flew a plane with
a CS prop - and it was nice. I think this contributed to the smooth
and quiet experience, although this could also be the transition from
25 year old cessnas to a 5yr old composite plane



Overall - I'm glad soo many people on these newsgroups recommended
'try before you buy' - or in my case: 'try before day dreaming!' I'll
go and try a Piper low wing in a week or so and think I'll like it
much more than the Cessna fleet.

blue skies...
Noah