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Sunday, September 07, 2008

Fantastic weather and a Diamond Katana

After yesterday's issues with the weather, today was [as forecast] very very nice. I had no flying planned, so I just sat it out and admired the blue skies and gentle winds while others did the aviating.

I was on my way out to one of my photography spots when I noticed an unfamiliar aircraft about to land. I headed back to the airport to see a Diamond Katana from CTC in Hamilton taxying up. The two pilots [both CTC trainees] had come down from Hamilton, and after a quick walk over to the main terminal for a feed, they headed back to Hamilton.

Having never managed to get up close to a Katana before, I took the chance to get some photos. I think that these turned out quite nice.

ZK-SFG - Diamond DA20 Katana - CTC WingsZK-SFG - Diamond DA20 Katana - CTC WingsZK-SFG - Diamond DA20 Katana - CTC WingsZK-SFG - Diamond DA20 Katana - CTC WingsZK-SFG - Diamond DA20 Katana - CTC Wings
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3 comments:

  1. Flyinkiwi9 September 2008 at 10:13

    These planes are really hard to spot in the air. Trust me on this.

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  2. Rodney10 September 2008 at 21:39

    I bet they are :-)

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  3. Charles11 September 2008 at 02:59

    I have about 150 hours in the Da20-C1A Evolution, ( DV20) which is the somewhat updated Katana with a Cont Eng and Garman Avionics.

    I can testify it flies better than almost anything I ever tried, is light and very nimble, yet easy to control and surprisingly stable. Only an open cockpit could offer a better view, as the glass extends down to about my belt while seated.

    One cool thing is because of it's sailplane heritage it will glide forever..nearly.

    I can understand why some might think it would be hard to spot. It is small and sleek. But a school in my area uses them and I've never had more than average trouble seeing one in the pattern from my C182.

    I came very close to buying one a couple of years ago, but finally settled on a Skylane. The Diamond is one great plane.

    BTW

    I also have 25 or so hours in the 4 seat version. Equally nice. I really want to fly a Twin Star one day.

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