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Old 4th Sep 2012, 10:18
  #14 (permalink)  
Immortal
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: FMMI
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Besides the cost and cruising performance, please go ahead and sit in all of your contenders.

You'll find out that there is a huge difference in all the aircraft you are naming. I have experience with a DA(V)-20, P2002 and the Aquila. The specs may seem comparable, but the space you have in an Aquila is just incomparable with a Katana. Aquila is also blessed with German build quality and if you compare that to a Tecnam and money is no issue, you'll end up buying the Aquila.

In the end they all perform about the same, the 10 knots difference is not worth choosing one over the other.

For example a 400 NM trip with 110 kts cruise: 3 hours 20 min.
120 kts cruise over same distance: 3 hours 37 min.

Those 17 minutes are in my opinion not worth choosing one over the other.

Look at:
-reliability (maintenance/Rotax)
-space inside the aircraft and comfort (as mentioned wing loading)
-build quality

Just a note, all the aircraft you are looking at are certified in the CS-VLA category. That means that IFR flying is never possible, because the certification standard does not allow that.
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