Aircraft model
DIAMOND AIRCRAFT IND INC DA20-C1
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The DA20-C1 Eclipse is a two-seat composite trainer with a long glider-like wing, a bubble canopy and side-by-side seating. It cruises at 138 knots on 125 hp, which is far quicker than a Cessna 152 on similar power, and the visibility from under the canopy is better than anything with a conventional cabin. Flight schools and university programmes buy them in quantity.
It has an excellent safety record, helped by benign handling, a crashworthy composite structure and the fact that most are flown in structured training environments. The trade-offs are real. It is a two-seater with 585 lb of useful load, so two adults and full fuel is close to the limit. The composite airframe must be hangared or at least kept out of prolonged sun, and damage repair is specialist work that not every shop can do. The castering nosewheel means steering by differential braking. Parts come from Diamond in Canada and Austria and can be slower and dearer than American equivalents.
Compare with…
Put DIAMOND AIRCRAFT IND INC DA20-C1 side by side with up to two other models.
- DIAMOND AIRCRAFT IND INC DA20-C1
What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Continental IO-240-B |
| Horsepower | 125 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | FAR23 |
| Production start | 1995 |
| Production end | current |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 138 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 525 nm |
| Service ceiling | 13,120 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,000 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 42 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,543 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,214 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 585 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 438 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,764 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,179 lb |
| Usable fuel | 24.5 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 7 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $80,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $420,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 2,000 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $28,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $38,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 551 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 335 |
| Median year built | 2006.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 32 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 95.521 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 17.912 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 71 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 21.193 |
| Airworthiness directives | 0 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 335 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 335 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 335 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 6.5 of 101 |
| Severity | 5.2 of 102 |
| Access | 9.9 of 103 |
| Support | 9.7 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 5.3 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 36.6 out of 506 |
- Accident record: class median 25 · 181 models in class.
- Severity: class median 5.
- Access: class median 987.
- Support: class median 72.
- Liquidity: class median 20.59.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories.