Bellingham, WA (KBLI), August 29, 2026
Diamond Pilots Association held our 5th annual Pacific Northwest gathering on Saturday, August 29, at Bellingham Airport in Washington State near the Canadian border. Several Diamond aircraft, including DA40s, DA42s, DA62s and even a DA62 MPP, arrived from both sides of the border and graced the ramp. Approximately 25 Diamond pilots, owners and fans joined us in Bellingham.
This year’s event was hosted by Zefting Aviation’s Brett Zefting. An authorized Diamond and Austro Service Center, Zefting Aviation has emerged as a major local service center for Diamond owner/operators around the region.
Parking is plentiful at KBLI so even the long-winged twin Diamonds were able to park at the event.
Lunch was sponsored by Aerista’s Cody Henigman. The southern BBQ spread was appreciated by all. An ice cream stand for dessert ensured no one went hungry.
For the first time, this year’s event included talks on a range of topics of interest to Diamond owners and pilots.
Diamond’s west-coast sales lead, Nick Newby, attending with his wife Michelle, gave the audience an introduction to the Diamond DA50.
Trevor Moody, a twin Diamond owner and instructor, provided a safety presentation reviewing accidents and incidents in the DA42 and DA62. Trevor focused on what pilots can learn from these events to increase the safety of their own flying. Stay tuned for an upcoming DPA article from Trevor, detailing his findings.
Brett Zefting shared his years of experience maintaining Diamond aircraft and had several important lessons for owners.
Finally, the Diamond Pilot’s Association president and DA62 owner Ed McDonald provided an update on his work with Vyzerion AI and Austro. Vyzerion AI is now providing detailed engine analysis of Austro engines based on data we can download from our Austro engine control units (ECUs). You can learn more about this joint DPA-Vyzerion AI program here.
Ed’s presentation is attached below. Remember that Diamond Pilots Association members receive a 50% discount on Vyerion AI’s engine data analysis.
We want to thank our event host and sponsor, particularly Brett Zefting of Zefting Aviation for the space and Cody Henigman at Aerista for providing the lunch.
Thanks also to Greg Bell for his photos from the event.
Additional photos
Attachments
Ed’s presentation covering on-condition aircraft maintenance:
One Response
Great report thanks!