36 | SEPTEMBER 2019 FLYINGMAG.COMI was strolling the grounds of EA A
AirVenture Oshkosh in Wisconsin
with my dad, who’d come down
from his farm in nearby Waupaca
to see the night airshow. At the
Diamond Aircraft booth, we met John
Armstrong, an independent Diamond
distributor from North Carolina who
was working the exhibit. I was show-
ing my dad the DA40 single when we
struck up a conversation. John could
tell I was enamored with the airplane,
which I’ve always admired for its
sleek lines, IMA X-movie-screen-like
canopy and fun-f lying qualities.
Ever the abiding salesman, John
suggested I buy one. I explained that
I wasn’t quite in a financial posi-
tion to purchase a new airplane at the
moment, what with a baby on the way.
But I liked that DA40. That’s when
John told me about a new shared-
leasing program he was creating
with the manufacturer’s blessing
called DiamondShare. The idea, he
explained, was that one pilot would
purchase a new Diamond aircraft and
three others would be recruited to
lease hours in the airplane at a fixed
monthly price. The math worked out
so that the monthly payments from
the three lessees covered the bank
note on the airplane. The owner essen-
tially got a free airplane (minus depre-
ciation), and three pilots gained access
to a brand-new Diamond that they
otherwise couldn’t afford. The fuel
they burned was the only additional
expense. Talk about a win-win—orrather a win-win-win-win—for the
four pilots involved.
After the show, I spoke with a pilot
friend who I knew was interested in
a partnership in a DA40. I put him in
touch with John, figuring we now had
two pilots in the same geographic area
who were willing to lease hours—if only
we could find someone to buy the air-
plane. Imagine my surprise when I got
a call three weeks later from my friend
saying he’d just signed the paperwork
to take delivery of a brand-new 2012
DA40, which he planned to base in a
hangar at Caldwell Airport near both
our homes in northern New Jersey.
I was the first of what eventually
would be three DiamondShare mem-
bers in that airplane for what turned
out to be a terrific deal for every-
one involved. The program worked
just as John explained.
The next two years were a period
of aviation bliss for me—that is,
until the airplane owner announced
he was moving to Delaware. What
could I do? Poof. Just like that
“my” airplane was gone.
I joined a local f lying club based
out of Morristown Airport that had a
gaggle of Skyhawks, but very soon, I
was promoted to the position of edi-
tor-in-chief at Flying. That meant I
would be assuming the lease of a 2013
Cirrus SR22T, which I based for the
next two years at Signature Flight
Support at KMMU, just a quick hop
south from KCDW—and nearer the
home my wife and I had moved toin Hunterdon County, now with our
second child on the way.
Bliss doesn’t quite describe my
time in the SR22T. Aviation nir-
vana? That’s a closer approximation
to what I experienced as I happily
f lew as the sole pilot of that airplane
every where, including, of course, to
Oshkosh, trips that seemed perfectly
tailored for such an exceptional trav-
eling machine. Is there any wonder
the SR22 is the best-selling piston GA
airplane in the world?
Alas, negotiations with Cirrus to
lease the airplane for a third year
ran into a hitch when Cirrus needed
the airplane back. Again, I was with-
out wings. While considering my
options, John and I started talking
about possibilities for me to rejoin the
DiamondShare program. There was
just one problem: No airplane was
available in my area. But, he said, he
knew of a pilot who was seriously con-
templating buying a DA62 and basing
it at KMMU. Would I be interested in
becoming a member in it, he asked?
The word “yes” couldn’t have come
out of my mouth any faster.
With the airplane purchase com-
pleted and the DA62 safely delivered to
its hangar at KMMU—coincidentally
in the same spot as I kept the SR22T,
right next to the Trump Organization’s
corporate Sikorsky S-76—I signed the
contract and mailed a sizable check to
cover the deposit and first two months
of membership. Then I waited. And
waited some more. The next step inDA
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My circuitous path to the left seat of a seven-seat, million-dollar-
plus, jet-A-burning Diamond DA62 twin didn’t come to fruition
overnight. In fact, it took several years for me to arrive at this
point. It all started with a chance encounter back in the summer of
2011, before the DA62 even existed as a certified product.