Mike Stiteler

A member of the Philip Greenspun's Homepage community since December 5, 2008

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December 5, 2008, on Diamond Katana Review -- DA20-A1 Rotax-powered:
Hello Phil, A friend and I rented a DA20 for 24 hours in Scottsdale, AZ back in the late 90s. During our one-hour check rides, we found it to be an exceptionally stable and enjoyable airplane to fly, remaining fully controllable with the stick all the way back in my lap in a what passes for a stall in a Katana. When I say we rented it for 24 hours, I mean we had the plane for 24 hours straight for a single flat rate. We only had to purchase our own fuel but could fly for as many hours as we could get in during the 24-hour period. The simple GPS provided a single line of digital text! We flew from Scottsdale to Albuquerque for a nice brunch, on to Page (KPGA at the edge of the Grand Canyon), then finally landing in Flagstaff at sunset (this was a day-VFR version). We had to climb the airport fence the next morning in order to get out at sunrise and have the plane back to Scottsdale in time to meet our 24-hour deadline. I think we paid $200! It was the trip of a lifetime, and the...