Cessna 152 vs Diamond DA20-A1 Katana

Side-by-side specs, range, and real operating costs for up to 5 aircraft.

Aircraft

Search for an aircraft above to begin your comparison.

Mission Performance

Tap to isolate

Values normalised across compared aircraft. Fuel Economy is inverted (lower burn = higher score). See table below for raw figures.

Mission Performance Details

Metric Cessna 152 Cessna Diamond DA20-A1 Katana Diamond Aircraft Industries
Stall Speed 43 kts 41 kts
Approach Speed 56 kts 54 kts
Cruise Speed 107 kts 117 kts
Range 477 nm 450 nm
Service Ceiling 14,700 ft 14,000 ft
Rate of Climb 715 fpm 680 fpm
Fuel Burn 6.0 gph 4.4 gph

Flight Profile

Service ceiling, range, and climb rate.

Tap legend to isolate

Arc represents the climb-cruise-descent profile based on published service ceiling and range. Climb rate annotated on ascent. FL180 (18,000 ft) shown for reference.

Fuel Burn & Range

Range, endurance, and what the fuel costs by the hour.

Cessna 152 Avgas
6.0 gph
baseline
477 nm range 25 gal usable 4h 10m endurance 17.8 nm/gal $39 fuel/hr
Cessna 152: 6.0 gallons per hour at cruise, 477 nautical mile published range, 4 hour 10 minute endurance, 17.8 nautical miles per gallon.
Diamond DA20-A1 Katana Avgas
4.4 gph
−1.6 gph
450 nm range 20 gal usable 4h 32m endurance 26.6 nm/gal $29 fuel/hr
Diamond DA20-A1 Katana: 4.4 gallons per hour at cruise, 450 nautical mile published range, 4 hour 32 minute endurance, 26.6 nautical miles per gallon.
Avgas range each cell = 1 hr of cruise · width scales with speed

Bars show published still-air range. Endurance is usable fuel divided by the published cruise burn. Estimates only. Always verify against the POH.

Runway Performance

Density altitude adjusted estimates

Outside Air Temp
0°F57°F115°F
Field Elevation
SL4,0008,000 ft
Density Altitude

Takeoff over 50 ft obstacle

Landing ground roll

Base distance DA penalty
Scale: 6,000 ft

FAA 10%/1,000 ft DA rule of thumb (FAA-H-8083-25B). Turboprops and jets are less sensitive in practice. Always verify against the POH.

Estimated Operating Costs

Scale:
Cessna 152Avgas
$70 /hr
Cessna 152: $70 per flight hour — fuel $39, maintenance and reserve $31.
Diamond DA20-A1 KatanaAvgas
$74 /hr
Diamond DA20-A1 Katana: $74 per flight hour — fuel $29, maintenance and reserve $45.
Cessna 152 Piston
$7,597 /yr
Cessna 152: $7,597 per year — insurance $900, hangar $5,657, annual inspection $1,040.
Diamond DA20-A1 Katana Piston
$8,546 /yr
Diamond DA20-A1 Katana: $8,546 per year — insurance $1,500, hangar $5,846, annual inspection $1,200.

Estimates only. Costs vary by location, pilot profile, and market conditions. See individual aircraft pages for source notes.

Capability & limits

Each bar stacks your selected occupants against full fuel and the aircraft's useful-load limit (the black line). The open gap between them is spare payload. Add an occupant and the gap closes; once it's gone, fuel has to give.

190 + 30 lb Occupants
×
1
Cessna 152
2 / 2 seats 25 / 25 gal fuel 439 lb wet payload 589 lb useful 1,670 lb MTOW
Diamond DA20-A1 Katana
2 / 2 seats 20 / 20 gal fuel 394 lb wet payload 514 lb useful 1,609 lb MTOW

Occupants at 190 + 30 lb each. Fuel at 6.7 lb/gal jet-A, 6.0 lb/gal avgas.

Dimensions & configuration

Representative planforms, drawn to shared scale.

Cessna 152
33.2 × 24.1 ft 8.5 ft tall
1× Piston Fixed Unpressurized
Diamond DA20-A1 Katana
35.6 × 23.5 ft 6.9 ft tall
1× Piston Fixed Unpressurized

Payload-Range Map

Full fuel ← → Max payload

Origin: · two fingers to move map

Cookies and analytics. We use Mixpanel and Google Analytics to understand how this site is used. Mixpanel records session replays (interaction patterns, scroll, and click timing). Page content is masked: we do not see what you read or type. Cookies are set only if you accept. Read our privacy policy.