Welcome
The Plane
Why Share
The Costs
Contact
UPDATE: Our 4th and Last Pilot Has Joined The Group!
Diamond Flyers, LLC was formed in October of 2009 to own and fly a 2004 Diamond DA40 G1000. The aircraft is based at Port City Air at KPSM in Portsmouth, NH.
We are happy to announce that our final LLC share has been acquired.
Share a Diamond. It is the best way to own and fly a glass panel aircraft at an extremely low cost.
Check back in. We'll keep you updated on the costs and let you know how things are going.
Diamond Flyers, LLC was formed in October of 2009 to own and fly a 2004 Diamond DA40 G1000. The aircraft is based at Port City Air at KPSM in Portsmouth, NH.
We are happy to announce that our final LLC share has been acquired.
Share a Diamond. It is the best way to own and fly a glass panel aircraft at an extremely low cost.
Check back in. We'll keep you updated on the costs and let you know how things are going.
The Plane
(click photo to enlarge)
Recent improvements include the new Powerflow exhaust system which is now standard on all new Diamonds. That included the installation of a brand new two blade Hartzell propeller. It has a new graphic design installed in October 2008. The plane had an annual in September, including new tires, new starter, and rudder cables. It currently has approximately 930 hours of hobbs time.
Features include:
- KAP 140 autopilot
- 10 GPH or less fuel usage
- 150kt TAS with Powerflow Exhaust
- Traffic
- Terrain
- Extended Baggage
- Leather Interior
- Engine Preheater
- Canopy, Wing, and Tail Covers
- Brand new graphic design
- Equipped with 4 noise canceling headsets.
- New Garmin Aera Touch Screen GPS Coming Soon.
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Why Share a Diamond?
For most people, individual ownership of an aircraft is too expensive. New glass panel aircraft can cost over $350,000. Even if you can afford the cost of acquisition, the time spent actually flying the airplane is always too low to justify the fixed costs.
Most private pilots fly little more than 75 - 100 hours a year. Despite your best efforts to fly as much as you possibly can, it is still going to be parked in your hangar most of the time, while you are paying 100% of the fixed costs. Does this really make sense? Sharing a Diamond makes sense for a lot of reasons.
Low Initial Investment. Sharing a late model pre-owned Diamond with 4 people dramatically reduces the initial investment required per person, with no reduction in flying time.
Fly more. With 4 owners, you will have more than enough time available to fly the same number of hours as if you owned the plane yourself, but at a fraction of the cost. In fact, with partners, you will likely fly more than you would otherwise. Pilots train together, learn together, travel and experience the adventure of flying together. They create more reasons to fly.
Fly more at less cost. Not only will you fly more, but you will fly at half the cost. With two or more pilots sharing the fuel costs, you get all of the hours of experience and fun at half or less the hourly cost of flying yourself.
Learn. With multiple owners, you learn more. Everyone has different levels of experience and ways of planning their flights and organizing their cockpit workload. You learn just as much in the right seat as you do the left. Our members include an airline captain ATP and another with over 1,200 hours in Diamonds. We have some great practical experience that we can share with a new member.
If you want to own an aircraft, Diamond is the plane of choice for a whole lot of great reasons.
- Latest Technology. Diamond employs the latest in aircraft technology from composite construction to the latest in avionics.
- Easy to fly. Diamond is the most docile, stable, easy to learn aircraft you can fly, yet can cruise at 150kts with a great range. The perfect balance of fun local flying and economical long range travel with the best safety record in general aviation.
- Inexpensive to operate. A Diamond is incredibly reliable, easy to maintain, with low insurance, fuel burn, and annual maintenance costs..
Safety. I want to know that I am in the very best, most technologically advanced airplane I can be in. I want it to be safe, easy to fly, comfortable, and useful for a variety of recreational and travel purposes. I first bought a Diamond because I was tired of flying old rental airplanes with old technology and no knowledge of what kind of condition they were really in. I wanted to be able to take long trips without the limitations of rental restrictions. Owning made the most sense and Diamond was the clear choice.
Diamond Has The Best Safety Record In General Aviation
The Costs
Diamond DA40 Operating Costs:
Annual. The annual on this aircraft has generally been between $1,600 and $1,900. The new Powerflow exhaust system has added some additional inspection time so we are being conservative and estimating $2,500. There are also some mandatory checks and part replacements that will be required at certain hour and time limits but those costs are accounted for separately as discussed below. The last annual was done in September, 2009 and included new rear tires and a starter replacement. There was also a 5 year mandatory rudder cable replacement.
Insurance. The normal cost for our insurance for our two pilots with instrument ratings and over 700 hours would normally be about $2,400. However, we have two low time pilots - one with an instrument rating and one without. As a result, our insurance is higher - about $3,900. This differential is paid by the lower time pilots.
Shelter. The aircraft is in a steel quonset shelter that also covers 3 other aircraft. A hangar would be nice, but the shelter isn't a problem and keeps our costs down. Although it is open to the weather on two sides, the aircraft has covers and a Tanis heater.
Software. Currently we have a Jeppesen G1000 update which is $335 per year. We plan to get an XM subscription for a Gamin Aera handheld GPS. We will get the lowest level of service which is only $30 a month.
Admin. New Hampshire has an annual fee which is only about $270. There are also some tax return prep services each year which are only a few hundred dollars at the most.
TBO. We have allocated $18 per flight hour for engine and prop overhaul based on our current remaining hours. A separate account will be set up and money paid in periodically based on hours flown by each pilot.
Component Repair and Replacement. Any aircraft component failures are shared equally by each member rather than allocating them on the time flown by each pilot. This is a 2004 aircraft and the age and hours impute a level of component wear and tear and a reasonable expectation of replacement cost at some point. The members have agreed that the best way to share that cost is equally and not to allocate based on the flight time per member going forward. Members will be assessed equally as necessary to repair or replace any components when a failure occurs.
The Rest. However much we fly - fuel, oil, charts, and just general stuff that will vary by flight hours. There is no hourly set usage fee. Each member is responsible for their own fuel as used. Just fill it up at the end of each flight.
Capital Accounts. The members maintain sufficient capital in the account to cover projected quarterly expenses. Statements are issued monthly with projections of all upcoming expenses and capital additions are made quarterly.
Contact
If you are considering sharing a Diamond, I am happy to answer any questions you may have.
Please contact me.
Jim Siverts
Portsmouth, NH
603-502-3789