Climb into your WABAC machine and set the dials for the mid-1990s. Once the whirring sounds and flashing lights stop, get out and glance around at what was then your local airport. Very different from today, huh? A lot of all-metal airplane designs, which hadn’t changed much in 40 or so years, right?

If you’re lucky—or if you mis-set the machine’s controls for a couple of years later—you might see a curiosity: A T-tailed, all-composite, canopied two-seater with sailplane-like wings pulling duty as a trainer. That’s Diamond Aircraft’s DA20-A1 Katana, a sleek little machine with unmistakable European roots. …