Day: March 7, 2010

The IRIS Diamond Star DA40 XLS is a reasonable model of this new style type of GA plane ie made from composite materials with radical design features. It looks good and flies very well and it has its own sounds which are unique to this plane. In general terms the instruments are good, being specially developed for the Iris DA40 they are clear and functional with a few minor niggles. The DA40 has a range of over 700nm so it is quite useful for those 4 to 5 hour flights and at a cruise of around 150KIAS, it’s no slouch. Being equipped with a “glass cockpit” ie the G100 it can be flown for both VFR and IFR flight. In terms of performance, size and design you would have to compare the DA40 to the Cirrus SR20, the Columbia C400 (much faster) with the choice coming down to personal preference and how fast that you want to get there. The Interior looks a little flat, I would have expected more detail in the seating but there are 2 interior colours available (as in the real deal). As I have noted on several previous occasions, it does not have facilities for loading, maintenance or repair during use, and that would have made it a much better plane in my opinion. This is the first GA plane developed by IRIS FSS and it shows great promise for the future. In the words of Flying Officer KITE: “Jolly good show” (courtesy of the BBC).