The Jet A DA50 RG against the turbocharged SR22T, two premium piston singles with opposite answers on fuel, cabin width and speed.
The DA50 makes sense when Jet A availability, cabin width and long-term fuel use shape the mission, but its retractable gear and diesel support network mean efficiency is not the same thing as simplicity. The SR22T is the stronger travelling tool for an owner who regularly uses altitude and values speed, CAPS, training availability and a mature resale market. If most trips stay low and carry family rather than chase weather or terrain, the Diamond's cabin can matter every minute while the Cirrus speed saves very little. Check nearby engine support before letting either brochure decide.
The table below uses the same versioned PlaneFit dataset as the Finder. Prices and operating costs are planning estimates, not quotations.
| Decision factor | Diamond DA50 RGView aircraft profile | Cirrus SR22T G7+View aircraft profile |
|---|---|---|
| Typical market year | 2025 | 2026 |
| Estimated purchase | €1.18m | €929k |
| Annual cash cost at 80 h | €56k | €77k |
| Five-year cash outlay | €1.46m | €1.31m |
| Cruise speed | 172 kt | 213 kt |
| Advertised range | 820 nm | 1021 nm |
| Seats | 5 | 5 |
| Realistic payload | 432 kg | 404 kg |
| Runway need | 734 m | 634 m |
| Landing gear | Retractable tricycle | Fixed tricycle |
| Ratings and endorsements | Complex airplane endorsement | None beyond the certificate |
| Data confidence | Normalized for direct comparison | Normalized for direct comparison |
| Main trade-off | Spacious, efficient and modern, but expensive for a non-pressurized single and not especially fast for its acquisition cost. | Excellent high-altitude speed, but the turbo system adds heat, fuel burn and maintenance while useful payload is lower than the SR22. |
A factual first pass. Mission, condition and configuration can outweigh a brochure advantage.
Over five years including purchase, the Cirrus SR22T G7+ is the cheaper of the two up to about 246 hours a year. Above that the Diamond DA50 RG costs less, because its lower cost per flight hour eventually outruns the difference in purchase price. If you expect to fly near that figure, the two are effectively the same aircraft financially and the decision belongs to mission, cabin and how each one flies.
| Five-year cash, including purchase | Diamond DA50 RG | Cirrus SR22T G7+ | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 h / year | $1.52m (€1.41m) | $1.34m (€1.24m) | $189k (€175k) to Cirrus SR22T G7+ |
| 100 h / year | $1.6m (€1.48m) | $1.46m (€1.35m) | $134k (€124k) to Cirrus SR22T G7+ |
| 200 h / year | $1.72m (€1.59m) | $1.67m (€1.55m) | $42k (€39k) to Cirrus SR22T G7+ |
The gap narrows as utilisation rises, which is the part a headline price comparison hides. Every figure uses the same planning model as the rest of the site: indicative market prices, a fixed annual base and a direct hourly cost, before financing, depreciation and tax.
Advertised range is a still-air, best-case number. With 4 people aboard and realistic reserves, plan on about 549 nm from the Diamond DA50 RG against 684 nm from the Cirrus SR22T G7+. On a return trip without refuelling, that is the radius that decides which destinations are on the list at all.
Against the 28,815 airports in the PlaneFit database that publish a runway length, the Diamond DA50 RG has enough runway at 21,064 of them and the Cirrus SR22T G7+ at 23,536, comparing each aircraft’s take-off requirement of 2,408 ft and 2,080 ft against the longest runway on the field.
This is a planning comparison, not a statement that any particular operation is legal or advisable. It ignores surface, slope, elevation, temperature, obstacles and how heavily the aircraft is loaded, all of which extend the requirement. It also compares take-off distance only: landing distance is frequently the binding constraint and PlaneFit does not hold approved landing distances, so a field in these counts is not necessarily a field you can get back out of, or into.
The Diamond DA50 RG requires a complex airplane endorsement that the Cirrus SR22T G7+ does not. That is training time and instructor cost before the first trip, and insurers normally attach minimum-hours conditions to the same requirement, which is where it shows up again in the running cost. US requirements under 14 CFR 61.31, stated for orientation rather than as advice.
Five-seat retractable-gear Jet A personal transport. Its central ownership trade-off is: Spacious, efficient and modern, but expensive for a non-pressurized single and not especially fast for its acquisition cost.
Planning snapshot: $1.27m (€1.18m) indicative price and $60k (€56k) annual cash cost at 80 hours.
Read the full aircraft profileTurbocharged five-seat high-altitude personal transport. Its central ownership trade-off is: Excellent high-altitude speed, but the turbo system adds heat, fuel burn and maintenance while useful payload is lower than the SR22.
Planning snapshot: $1m (€929k) indicative price and $83k (€77k) annual cash cost at 80 hours.
Read the full aircraft profile