Aircraft model
DIAMOND AIRCRAFT IND INC DA40 F
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Diamond Star is a composite four-seat single with a long glider-like wing, a forward-hinged canopy for the front seats and a separate rear door. It cruises at 150 knots on nine gallons an hour with only 180 hp, which is efficiency in the Mooney class achieved with fixed gear, and it is unusually pleasant to fly — light, responsive, and with a stall that is about as benign as certified aeroplanes get. Flight schools and universities buy them in quantity.
Its safety record is the best of any piston single in service by a wide margin, which is attributable to the benign handling, the crashworthy composite structure and the fact that most are flown in structured training environments. The trade-offs are load and cabin. Useful load with full fuel is about 645 lb, so it is a three-person aeroplane, and the rear seats are tight for adults on long flights. The composite airframe must be hangared or at least kept out of prolonged sun, and damage repair is specialist work. Parts come from Diamond in Canada and Austria and can be slower and dearer than American equivalents. Visibility from the canopy is exceptional.
Compare with…
Put DIAMOND AIRCRAFT IND INC DA40 F side by side with up to two other models.
- DIAMOND AIRCRAFT IND INC DA40 F
What it is
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Lycoming IO-360-M1A |
| Horsepower | 180 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | FAR23 |
| Production start | 1997 |
| Production end | current |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 150 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 720 nm |
| Service ceiling | 16,400 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,120 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 49 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,312 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,148 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 885 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 645 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,535 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,650 lb |
| Usable fuel | 40 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 10.1 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $169,900 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $311,387 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 2,000 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $34,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $48,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 24 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 14 |
| Median year built | 2006.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | — |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | — |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 1 |
| Transfers per 100 active | — |
| Airworthiness directives | 13 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 3 |
| Rate confidence | none |
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 3-4 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 9.8 of 103 |
| Support | 2.1 of 104 |
| Liquidity | —5 |
- Accident record: class median 32.28 · 202 models in class.
- Severity: class median 12.5.
- Access: class median 775.
- Support: class median 147.5.
- Liquidity: class median 19.9.
- 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.