The mission of Diamond Pilots Association (DPA) is to provide Diamond aircraft owners, operators and pilots worldwide with technical, training, and operational resources to enhance their experience flying these remarkable aircraft, and to foster a Diamond pilot community through social interaction.
DPA is a non-profit society with a volunteer Board of Directors consisting of owners, operators and enthusiasts. DPA has established a formal relationship with Diamond Aircraft Industries to provide official information regarding the fleet of Diamond aircraft.
President
ATP ASEL, AMEL, MEI, CFII
Ed McDonald is a lifelong aviation enthusiast. At an early age, Ed caught the aviation bug and hasn’t been cured of it since then. Following high school he studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alberta (Edmonton, Canada) while serving in the reserves with the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) as an Aerospace Engineering Officer. Following university he cross-trained to the piloting profession and was awarding his wings and promptly became a jet instructor with the RCAF. Tours flying the C130 Hercules and Twin Otter followed, in both the reserves and regular force.
Ed entered the airline industry and flew the B737-200, Airbus A330/340, and Boeing 767/777/787 for the next 32 years, retiring in 2020 as a Boeing 787 Captain.
During that period he returned to his engineering roots and was an Engineering Pilot with Canadian Airlines overseeing a program to install GPS Flight Management Systems in the Boeing 737. This lead to creating a business designing satellite-based instrument flight procedures, JetPro (www.jetpro.ca), which is still active today with instrument flight procedures at over 150 airports in Canada.
His first aircraft purchase was an L39 ZA Albatross to be used as an aircraft to flight check the instrument procedures JetPro designed. Next, a Piper Seneca. The Seneca was sold in 2021 and replaced by a new, Diamond DA62, C-FPWP. In addition to these aircraft, Ed, his son Austen and another partner built a Lancair 320. JetPro also owns a Nanchang CJ6.
Not satisfied with just flying the DA62 performing flight checking activities, the DA62 is now used for other purposes. Ed and the DA62 performs Diamond DA62 conversion training as well as teaching multi-engine and IFR.
The DA62 is proving to be a wonderful aircraft in all these roles and is a pleasure to fly.
Vice President
Comm/Instr, ASEL, AMEL, AMES, Glider
Steve is a lifelong pilot (literally: his parents were both pilots) and a retired engineer in the medical devices field. He holds Comm/Inst ratings in ASEL, AMEL and AMES; in addition he has earned CFI (Glider) and Sport Pilot Seaplane ratings. In 2021 the FAA honored Steve with the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award. A noted aviation photographer based in northern Colorado (KEIK), Steve owns an A36 Bonanza that he uses for aerial and air-to-air photography, and a Diamond DA62 that he flies to visit far-flung grandchildren and as a volunteer pilot with Angel Flight West.
Secretary
Private/Instrument ASEL, DA40-180
Dan spent his youth pretending to fly with a Jane’s book, and after life finished getting in the way finally punched his ticket in 2019. He is based near Seattle at KPAE, spending a lot of time glaring at the freezing level during winter months. When not flying, he is managing a toddler with his wife and writing code at Epic Games in the compression/texture group.
Commercial/Instrument Pilot
Rich Doyle was born in 1946 in NYC and grew up adjacent to the city in New Jersey. He first started flight training at Teterboro airport in 1965. However, upon returning home from his first solo to find that his friends and neighbors had invited him to join hundreds of thousands of other young men in experiencing the joys of military service.
After completing an all-expense paid tour to a certain Southeast Asia country he returned to civilian life and relocated to Colorado, where he resumed flight training. He earned his Private Pilot License in 1971. Assisted considerably by provisions of the GI Bill as it was at the time he went on to earn Commercial, Instrument Rating, and Flight Instructor Certificates in 1973, 1974, and 1976, respectively.
Since 1969 he has lived in several Western States: Colorado, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. He currently resides near Prineville, OR. With most of his hours at higher elevation airports and surrounding mountainous terrain, he has extensive experience dealing with the challenges of significant Density Altitudes. He has owned several aircraft types over the years and has flown and instructed in several more.
In 2002 he purchased a Diamond DA40. This was initially in partnership, but he is now sole owner. It is now flown only by Rich for personal use. Over the years the plane has received several useful modifications. Some are now Diamond-standard available via Optional Service Bulletins, others are 3rd party devices. As a result, Rich has had extensive experience with various nuances of the DA40-180.
Private pilot, ASEL, G
Ron began flying Hang Gliders in 1976 and advanced to fly in the US National HG Championships in 1985 and 1986. Ron moved over to gliders in 1990 and has logged many hours in soaring in central California and the Sierra Nevada mountains over the next 25 years, advancing from pure gliders to motor gliders and finally into the DA40NG that he is flying today. With 1600 hours in aircraft, Ron is now advancing towards his IFR rating. Based at KRHV in San Jose CA, Ron spends time not flying as a technology leader at Propel Software.
Private pilot, ASEL, AMEL and instrument rated
Russ began flying in 2017, purchased a DA40NG in 2019 and a DA62 in 2023. Before flying he logged about 30,000nm of ocean sailing, both racing and cruising. He is a retired technology executive.
Private/Instrument ASEL, AMEL, DA42-NG
Chris earned his pilot certificate in 2005 and has been a Diamond aircraft pilot since 2008, flying a DA40-XL for many years until upgrading to the DA42-NG in 2020. He is based out of Portland-Hillsboro (KHIO) and enjoys volunteering for Pilots-n-Paws and Angel Flights West. When not flying, he manages the Diamond Aviators Network forum website and works as a Principal Microprocessor Architect at NVIDIA.
Private/Instrument ASEL, DA40NG
Paul is based at Addison (KADS) near Dallas, and owns a 2019 DA40NG in shared access arrangement with three other pilots. Paul has been flying since 2005, and is a volunteer pilot for Flights for Life. He has been a regular contributor to the Diamond Aviators Network as ‘chili4way’. Paul is retired from a career in semiconductor technology development, program management, design automation, technical marketing, and customer engineering.
Private Pilot - ASEL, AMEL, Instrument, Advanced/Instrument Ground Instructor (AGI) - DA40-180
Charles has been licensed since 1984 and received a Certificate in Commercial Pilot Technology from the College of San Mateo prior to earning his BS at the University of California, Berkeley. He is based out of KCCR and tries to fly every weekend for an expensive breakfast or lunch (cheap food, expensive AvGas). Charles is a member and past Commander of the San Francisco Sheriff’s Air Squadron – a group of aircraft owners and pilots who are sworn San Francisco Sheriff’s Deputies that fly as volunteers for law enforcement. He has owned his DA40-180 (Legacy G1000 upgraded to WAAS) since 2005 with well over 1500 DA40 hours logged. Notably he is one of very few insulin dependent diabetics that maintained a 3rd class medical for many years until the introduction of BasicMed.
Student pilot
Paul is too busy to write a proper bio
Private/Instrument ASEL
David resides north of Atlanta and owns a 2008 DA40 XLS hangared at KLZU. David has been flying since 2011, both for personal pleasure and business. He enjoys flying charity missions for AngelFlight, and occasional aerobatics (not in his DA40 ;-). Among his many flying adventures, David once recovered his iPhone after accidentally dropping it from 11,500 feet in northern Arkansas, and flew a DA40NG over an active volcano in Iceland. David is a retired semiconductor executive, and currently serves as President and CEO of ECIA, the Electronic Components Industry Association. He also serves on several non-profit and trade association boards.
PPL(A) SE/IR, ME/IR, DA42
Emir began flying at the age of 16 as a glider pilot, and he’s planning to celebrate 40 years as a pilot next year. When he worked more intensively in the IT industry he flew his DA42 for business trips, while in the last few years he’s been flying mostly for pleasure. Emir is based in Croatia at a small airport close to the country’s capital, with the possibility to reach DAI’s main office in Austria in less than 40 min of flight time. When he’s not in the air he’s under water, usually diving in the Adriatic Sea or Mexican flooded caves.
Commercial Pilot, ASEL, AMEL, Instrument Rated
Trevor began flying in 2008 in a Cessna 172N before graduating to a Mooney M20J in 2015. After training for his Commercial Multi-Engine add-on in 2021 in a flight school Diamond DA42, he became hooked and purchased his own twin Diamond. Trevor flies frequently around the US west coast and the Pacific Northwest. His favorite mission is to provide volunteer transport for passengers traveling to medical care. He is an active pilot with Angel Flight West and also a board director with the organization.
Private Pilot, ASEL, Instrument Rated
Scott is based at David Wayne Hooks (KDWH) in Spring, TX near Houston, and owns a 2008 DA40 XLS. After learning to fly at the Ellington Field Aero Club in 1987, Scott purchased a 1979 Grumman Cheetah where he accumulated 560 hrs and an Instrument Rating. After a 24-year hiatus from flying as PIC due to children and career, Scott purchased N905PA in 2017 and has logged 1700 hrs in his DA40 in the last 5 ¼ years traveling all across the USA including most of the States between Key West, Florida and Alaska, as well as from Bangor, Maine to the Grand Canyon. Scott’s interest in aviation is focused on travel, visiting family, friends and new places, including some of the backcountry strips of Alaska, Idaho and Montana. Scott is also an avid Cyclist and Golfer, so his clubs and bike can often be found in the back of his DA40. Scott is currently making plans for an around-the-world trip in a Diamond in 2024. Scott retired from ExxonMobil in 2017 and also leads the ExxonMobil Flying Club.
Student pilot
Scott is too busy to write a proper bio
DPA is a non-profit society with a volunteer Board of Directors consisting of owners, operators and enthusiasts. DPA has established a formal relationship with Diamond Aircraft Industries to provide official information regarding the fleet of Diamond aircraft.