Highlights: Three members of the DPA Steering Committee met with Diamond Aircraft for an hour on Wednesday, July 24 (see photo below). We proposed working with Diamond to develop a series of three articles based on the 2023 Diamond Owner Survey results. We separately met with Garmin and Hartzell Propeller. Both are open to hosting a DPA-organized fly-in at their headquarters in 2025. We offered Diamond, Garmin, and Hartzell opportunities to engage with us as we develop our 2024 survey beginning in September. We met with TJ Shembakar, President of the Cirrus Owners and Pilot Association, to learn about their history and relationship with Cirrus. Several Diamond Owners met up at SOS Brothers for a beer on Wednesday (and other evenings.)
Diamond Aircraft: Paul Koch, Scott Ramsey, and Gordon Ramsay met with Kevin Sheng (CEO of Diamond Canada), Trevor Mustard (Sales/Marketing – Canada), Ray Kolyn (Supply Chain/After-Sales – Canada), Alexei Lancerotto (Product & Sales Management – Austria), and Stefan Poelzlbaur (After-Sales – Austria) on Wednesday from noon to 1 pm. Additionally, Scott displayed our Diamond Pilots Association banner in the Diamond booth during Airventure.
Diamond Fest. We confirmed that DiamondFest will occur September 13-14 in London, ON. The reception will be on Friday evening, and Saturday morning is open for DPA-organized sessions. Hartzell Propeller will send a representative and supply one informational session about their composite propellers. Diamond views DiamondFest as a “Homecoming” for Diamond Owners (not just for prospective owners) in North America and wants it to be a significant fly-in event. A downside of the Canada location is the inaccessibility to US pilots flying under Basic-Med.
DPA Annual Survey. We reminded Diamond about the quality of insights developed and shared by our 2023 survey. We invited them to engage with us as we prepare for our 2024 survey starting in September. We will follow up on this between now and DiamondFest.
DPA Website Articles. We proposed a series of three DPA articles (based on the five owner concerns highlighted in the 2023 Diamond Owners Survey results) to Diamond for collaborative development. We did not address specific concerns during the Airventure meeting.
Garmin: We met with Zach Evans, the Garmin representative for the OEM account with Diamond Aircraft, for about 45 minutes, and Tyler Johnson, the product manager for Garmin’s database subscriptions.
Zach [re]confirmed that Garmin does not charge aircraft manufacturers to develop software updates and that each OEM determines which features they include in their G1000 Nxi systems. OEMs decide which software features they want from Garmin’s mainline SW + OEM-specific elements (e.g., airframe and Austro Engine interface software). Each program has dedicated resources allocated from the Systems, Software, Airframe, and Programs teams on Garmin’s side. Garmin then collaborates constantly with the OEM to bring these software updates to market.
Zack explained that the G1000 Nxi system is still being designed into new airplane models (a recent example is the Epic E1000 GX). We learned that Garmin uses the term “federated” (instead of “modular”) to describe avionics panels that are not “integrated” (e.g., G1000 or G1000 Nxi). Zach introduced us to his colleague, who will help us plan a fly-in to Olathe, KS.
The meeting with Tyler was about ways Garmin (databases) could help Diamond onboard new airplane owners. Owners pick up new airplanes, only to have their databases expire shortly after that. Tyler explained that they have transition programs with other manufacturers and would discuss this with Zach and Diamond. There may also be an opportunity for a collaborative DPA article that explains the Garmin DB product options and monthly update process to Diamond owners.
Hartzell Propeller: Paul and Scott met with Lauren Denison, Hartzell’s OEM account manager for Diamond Aircraft. Hartzell is interested in supporting DPA and helping us develop articles of interest to our members. Hartzell recently developed and obtained FAA and EASA STCs for a carbon composite propeller (“Polaris”) for the DA40NG. TCCA has yet to approve the STC. In addition to the propeller replacement market, the new propeller is now offered as a factory option for the DA40NG for airplanes built in Canada and Austria.
Hartzell would be interested in welcoming DPA to their HQ in Piqua, OH (I17), perhaps in the spring of 2025. In addition to a Hartzell factory tour, the fly-in could include a trip to the USAF Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB.
Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association (COPA): Paul and Scott met TJ Shembekar and Ethan Narber at the COPA Booth. TJ is the current COPA President and was previously the CFO and board member. Ethan is the COPA Director of Operations, and Scott met with him last year at Airventure.
The scale of COPA is impressive. Their “Migration” is planned three years in advance, with substantial advance financial outlays to secure venues and hotel accommodations. When the event is at a non-towered field, COPA pays for a temporary control tower. The venues rotate triennially among the East Coast (Florida), the South Central (Texas), and the Southwest (Phoenix). TJ is proud of its work keeping track of member and Cirrus airplane locations to help inform these decisions.
Diamond Owner Meet-Up at SOS Brothers: Scott Ramsey organized a place for all Diamond Owners to meet at the SOS Bros tent Tuesday-Saturday 5-6 pm and advertised it at the Diamond Display with the banner. Several owners/pilots joined each evening, with the largest group on Wednesday night, when the following Diamond Owners meet at SOS next to our DPA banner: Scott Ramsey, Gordon Ramsay (and four other Australian colleagues), Trevor Moody, Russ Irwin, Matt Horan, Mike Meadows, David & Sue Passmore, and Paul Koch. John Schaefer (DPA Member) also attended later in the week.
