Like Revell on Steroids: A Visit To the Diamond Aircraft Factory

Colin's Fault

My latest adventure with the Williamson Flying Club was inspired in part by one of the Flying Summers Brothers, master of a Diamond DA42 Twin Star that he habitually navigates back and forth across the continent. The DA42 is a modern composite airframe sporting twin diesel engines. It is a very different animal from my aluminum Piper. Through Colin, I knew that Diamond's North American factory was located in nearby London, Ontario. Remembering how much everyone enjoyed our 2019 tour of Lycoming, I suggested a club tour of the Diamond factory for 2022. Dan took the idea and ran with it.

Preface: A Guest at the Williamson Sodus Airport

DA50 RG leaving the Williamson Sodus Airport on December 1, 2021. Photo by Ed C.

In late 2021, Diamond Aircraft was working on achieving FAA certification for their latest single engine model, the DA50 RG. Part of this process involved working with the Rochester FSDO (Flight Standards District Office) and Diamond was in need of affordable hangar space in the region (which ruled out anything on the field at ROC) able to accommodate the airplane's 44 foot wingspan. That was how the pre-certified DA50 RG came to live at my home airport for some period of time in late 2021.

To Fly or Not To Fly...

Some of our members are timid about flying out of the local area. Some are intimidated by controlled airports. I pitched the Diamond factory idea as a driving trip to avoid excluding people who were anxious about negotiating the international aspect of flying to London. Some of the participants wanted to fly, but did not have passports necessary for flying to Canada. Fortunately, they could still cross at the land borders with enhanced drivers licenses.

As for me, I already knew how to manage the international flights and already had most of the tools and experience that I needed to do it easily. All I had to do was shell out $30.53 for a 2022 CBP decal for the Warrior. As a result, while the other seven participants drove to London, Warrior 481 was the only aircraft that flew there with me and Dan aboard. See my Canadian Checklist page for an updated cheat-sheet summary of the international flying logistics. Unfortunately, two other participants had to bow out the night before due to a household case of COVID.

 

Apple Blossom Time

  

Date	Aircraft	Route of Flight	Time (hrs)	Total (hrs)
13 May 2022	N21481	SDC (Sodus, NY) - YXU (London, Ontario)	1.8	2443.0

I planned for a 9:15 am engine start, a 9:30 am wheels up time, and an 11:10 am arrival in London, Ontario. I padded the ETA provided to Canadian customs (CBSA) by 5 minutes for taxi time to the ramp. Canadian customs expects arrivals within 15 minutes of the stated time.

Preparing to depart the Williamson Sodus Airport. Photo by Dan.

Weather for both the departure and return flights was forecast to be pristine and Mother Nature most certainly overdelivered.

Photo by Dan.

Roughly one week out from our annual Williamson Flying Club Apple Blossom Fly-In Breakfast, the much ballyhooed apple blossoms of the region were evident as we climbed away from Williamson that morning.

Dan and me in Warrior 481. I should have lowered Dan's seat. He's taller than I am.

It was a strikingly beautiful day to be in the IFR system, which may seem like an odd choice, but flying IFR simplifies the logistics of international flying.

Where the Lewiston Pumped Storage facility releases stored energy back into the Niagara River.

We made a perfunctory pass north of Niagara Falls. How many times have I taken-in that view?

The Great Radio Controversy

I have a simple set of practices for radio use. I dedicate the active and stand-by frequencies on #1 (the GNS-430W) for in-flight use. Radio #2 (the KX-170B) is used for listening to ATIS/AWOS/ASOS, monitoring Guard on 121.5 MHz, and communicating with Ground at towered airports.

Despite the fact that we received no complaints about radio quality when transmitting on #1 to Rochester (119.55 MHz), Buffalo (126.15 MHz), or Toronto (133.4 MHz), Tower at London International Airport (119.4 MHz, airport #237) complained that I was barely readable. I switched to #2 for the remainder of the flight, but suspected that the issue might have resulted from a coincidence of unfavorable antenna geometry in the moment.

A dammed portion of the Thames River (near London, get it?) called Lake Fanshawe. Photo by Dan.

Moments before touch down on London International's 8,800 foot long runway 15. Photo by Dan.

I was surprised by how busy London International was at the moment of our arrival. After years of flying past it between Le Roy / Sodus and Oakland County International, I had never actually noticed the level of activity there. Moreover, the potential radio issue clearly threw my rhythm off and my radio work with London was solidly in the amateurish category. Nonetheless, I managed to deliver us safely to the Executive Air ramp located roughly midfield.

Mirror, mirror...

Tidying up the cockpit after landing. Photo by Dan.

We arrived comfortably on the early side of our 15 minute arrival window. I made the call to CANPASS, provided our ArriveCAN receipt numbers, and we were promptly cleared into Canada over the phone. Stone simple.

Dan on the ramp at London International's Executive Air.

Canadian "black ops"?

On the other side of the apron from Executive Air was the Diamond Flight Centre (with the "e" at the end because: Canada), a flight school with a flight line comprising several Diamond Katanas and a couple of Twin Stars. Adjoining the main hangar was the Katana Kafe, our aptly-named lunch destination.

Katana Kountry

Bluntly, I have never seen so many Diamond aircraft all in one place.

It was obvious that the Diamond Flight Centre placed on emphasis on courtesy and awareness of prop-blast. While the trainers on the flight line were all parked with their tails pointed directly at us on the Katana Kafe patio, each arriving student would park facing us, shut down, then manually pivot the aircraft 180° to park them in the proper orientation. No prop blast was ever directed toward the Kafe diners. Well done!

We observed several aircraft of various types operating at London with the same distinctive red markings, all branded with the letters ITPS. ITPS stands for International Test Pilot School. The London-based facility literally trains test pilots in everything from the pictured Cirrus to supersonic jets and helicopters. How cool is that?

Dan and I waited outside the Diamond Flight Centre for Tom, Alicia, Brad, Scott, Kim, Eric, and Denny to arrive. When we had a quorum, we threaded our way through a gaggle of student pilots and into the Kafe.

From the patio, we had a great view of arrivals and departures on runway 15. They were not only numerous, but varied. Tom tried (OK...succeeded) to look cool for my picture. I did not have the heart to tell him that I was actually photographing the helicopter.

In the distance, we saw an aircraft on approach, a large silhouette with two bright landing lights gleaming on either side of the fuselage and trailing faint black smoke in its wake like some kind of dark angel. It quickly resolved into a military C-130 cargo plane. The C-130 pilot flipped his props into beta just as the landing aircraft drew even with where we were sitting.

The C-130 taxied past us, parked, and the crew trooped inside the Katana Kafe for their reserved table.

The fine dining at Kintana Kafe was outstanding and everyone enjoyed their meals, from fish and chips to the London broil, to the open face smoked salmon sandwich. It is a place worth returning to, even if it is not particularly close or convenient to home. It is a shame that customs is such a hassle as London's Katana Kafe would make an excellent meal stop between New York and Michigan.

When a twin engined DA42 taxied in to the flight line, it caught everyone's attention. The Twin Star cuts a striking profile.

The House That Christian Dries Built

Diamond Aircraft is located on the south end of the airport in the former Central Aircraft Factory. During World War II, Central produced Westland Lysanders and de Havilland Mosquitos in support of the Allied war effort.

Westland Lysander photographed at The Greatest Show on Turf, 12 July 2014.

A rare surviving de Havilland Mosquito photographed at the Greatest Show on Turf, 12 July 2014.

Sometime during the post-war period, the facility produced board games before sitting abandoned for several years. Christian Dries of Austria's Diamond Aircraft Company purchased it to serve as Diamond's North American manufacturing plant. It seemed fitting that the facility was returned to its roots as an aircraft manufacturer. It was even more fitting that the site once produced Mosquitos, early composite aircraft made of wood and glue instead of plastic that nonetheless utilized some manufacturing processes congruent to those implemented by Diamond. Diamond also has manufacturing facilities outside Vienna, Austria and in Zhejiang Province, China. They were purchased by a Chinese company in late 2016.

Inside, we met our tour guide, Tony Boros. Tony was a fantastic speaker who was both a flight instructor and an experienced Diamond craftsman. This gave him a rather holistic perspective on the airplanes as a manufacturer and as an end user. In a comprehensive two hour tour, he described the history of Diamond and walked us through the entire manufacturing process. Much like the Lycoming tour, no photography was allowed on the manufacturing floor. If the factory photos in this post seem superficial, that is by necessity.

Diamond aircraft are entirely composite, formed primarily from fiberglass and carbon fiber. Fuselages are produced in left and right halves and essentially glued together like giant Revell models (albeit, in a much more precise manner). The process to build a composite wing spar was eye-opening. With the approximate cross section dimensions of a 2x4, strength is imparted by laying down layer after layer of fiberglass cloth and resin. When asked about spar failure, Tony indicated that they tried to test it to the point of destruction, but the fixture in the test apparatus broke first at an equivalent loading to 29 Gs. For context, aerobatic category aircraft only need to be certified to +6 Gs. These are durable airplanes and, unlike some early composite airframes, no lifetime limitations are imposed on them. Tony cited examples of Katanas with 20,000 airframe hours that were still going strong.

We learned about safety features designed into the Diamonds to protect pilots in the event of a forced landing, from special energy-absorbing foam seat mounts to Kevlar-lined seat pans meant to prevent punctures from below.

"Makes me a little anxious about flying my Piper Deathtrap home," I remarked to Tom after learning about the advanced safety features of the Diamond. While I was joking, I did appreciate that Diamond was seeking new ways to protect pilots and passengers.

At the end of the tour, we were reunited with N150RG, the DA50 aircraft that spent time at our home airport during FAA certification work with the Rochester FSDO. The matte charcoal grey DA50 was surrounded by other completed aircraft painted in a wide array of eye-catching colors from electric blue to a striking copper and black scheme. Newer Diamond models use a resin that is less prone to absorbing solar energy than what was used on the earlier Katanas and Twin Stars. To paraphrase Henry Ford, the earlier designs can be had in any color the buyer wants, so long as it's white. For airframes constructed using the newer resin, the diversity of possible colors is striking, but each hue still has to be carefully tested to assure that it does not absorb and transfer damaging energy into the composite skin of the aircraft. As an analytical chemist, I was very curious about the details of that testing.

(Part of) the Williamson Flying Club at Diamond: Scott, Kim, me, Eric, Denny, Brad, Alicia, Tom, and Dan. Photo by Tony.

Overall, it was an impressive and informative tour. Hats off to Tony for a great job! Everyone agreed that the tour was an engaging and educational experience. It is a genuine shame that these aircraft are way beyond my budget.

Creative Lodging

Dan reserved a two bedroom suite at $65/night for us at nearby Fanshawe College. It was clean and cheap and perfectly fit the need. While it wasn't a Hyatt, it wasn't a hostel, either. My room had the curious feature of a missing switch for the overhead light. The switch was replaced by a piece of tape covering wires in the switchbox. Something tells me that this would not pass muster for a commercial property in New York. But, when in Canada...eh? 

Scott and Kim passed on the Fanshawe Residence and booked at the nearby Knight's Inn. After checking in, Scott was reasonably certain that the door to their room had been kicked-in previously. This was compensated for by a stunning, full wall tropical mural airbrushed with 1970’s passenger van panache.

The Fanshawe Residence was one of the rare places we encountered where masking was still strictly enforced. This poster stimulated the "dad joke" portion of my brain.

Dinner that night was at the Powerhouse Brewery built in the shell of a former Kellogg cereal factory. 

Say what you do and do what you say.

Kim, Scott, Tom, Alicia, Brad, Dan me, Eric, and Denny. Photo by Georgia.

Everyone seemed to enjoy their choice of beer, the food was good, and our server Georgia was a remarkable blend of personality, efficiency, and high energy. A good time was had by all. The porter was particularly delicious and remarkably smooth. I had two. 

In the company of Eric and Denny, who graciously drove Dan and I around, I learned that there truly is something afoot at the Circle K: a complete lack of lemonade. My evening craving went unsatisfied.

That night, back at the room, I busied myself with flight planning for the trip home, filling out the eAPIS manifest, and calling the Buffalo CBP office to inform them of our arrival. I nearly had a heart attack when I saw on the CBP webpage that the Buffalo office is closed on weekends. What?! How did I miss that? Are we stuck here? Fortunately, this applied to a downtown office; the airport office is staffed seven days a week. Lesson of the evening: when in doubt, keep scrolling.

Resource Constrained

Date	Aircraft	Route of Flight	Time (hrs)	Total (hrs)
14 May 2022	N21481	YXU (London, Ontario) - BUF (Buffalo, NY) - SDC (Sodus, NY)	2.1	2445.1

After a surprisingly good bagel breakfast sandwich at Timmy Ho's, Dan and I arrived at Executive Air to discover an unexpectedly crowded ramp. I had requested minimal fuel (18 L / side) for the Warrior, but this had not been fulfilled. Running the entire show was one guy who was trying to marshal airplanes, fuel aircraft off the truck, and manage the office singlehandedly. I impressed upon him the need for timeliness: we had a 10:30 appointment with customs in Buffalo. He added some fuel and managed the billing expediently. Single engine ramp fee is a mere $15. In conversation, he revealed that Executive Air was just a part time weekend gig for him and that he worked full time as part of the DA62 design team at Diamond. Prior to coming to Diamond, he worked as an engineer for Airbus.

Still, I had to wonder. Why is an aircraft engineer spending his weekends putting fuel in other people's airplanes?

DA62. Photo by Dan.

We were parked next to an absolutely beautiful Diamond DA62.

The Great Radio Controversy: Part 2

I picked up our clearance on the Executive Air ramp: London Two departure procedure, then as filed (which was direct Buffalo). In a nutshell, the London Two departure procedure involved flying runway heading according to whatever vectors tower assigned, one of the more pointless departure procedures I have encountered to date. I was glad that I downloaded London's procedural documentation for free from FltPlan.com rather than paying $100 to ForeFlight for the Canadian data package.

We were offered an intersection departure on runway 15 from taxiway Alpha and I accepted. At the hold short line, I called tower on 119.4 MHz using the #1 radio. "How do you hear?" I asked.

"You're about a 2 out of 5," Tower responded. "If you have a second radio, you should use that." So I did. 

Ephemeral traffic, four o' clock low. Photo by Dan.

When pushed from Tower to Toronto Center on 135.3, I made contact on radio #1. "Loud and clear," reported Center (or is that Centre?) when I asked. The next sector was on 119.7, quite close to the problematic London Tower frequency. "You're five by five," Center responded on the next frequency. Radio #1 continued to work flawlessly for the remainder of the flight, just as it had the previous day before reaching London.

Weird.

Searching for emergency landing sites over Ontario is rarely a challenge.

Toronto Center was much busier that morning than I have heard in a long time. Though we mixed with some traffic, most of it was either well below or well above.

The Lake Erie end of the Welland Canal. Photo by Dan.

Freighter in the Welland Canal.

Toronto Terminal vectored us around an active skydiving drop zone over the Welland / Niagara Central Rungeling Airport (CNQ3) and handed us off to Buffalo as usual once we crossed the canal. With Buffalo, I seemed to regain my radio mojo. Maybe I do not speak Canadian as well as I thought I did?

Pitstop

We began descending for a customs stop in Buffalo just west of Niagara Falls. As in past trips to Canada, Buffalo's customs office is the best choice on weekends because it is open whereas Rochester's is not.

The Niagara River from over Grand Island. Photo by Dan.

Just prior to landing on runway 14 at KBUF. No, Warrior 481 does not have a scimitar prop. Photo by Dan.

Crossing the approach end of runway 14 at Buffalo, a strange electronic sound zipped through my headset from left to right. I wondered what sort of energy we had just flown through and whether it cooked any of my internal organs. However, I landed the airplane and found the TAC-Air ramp without undue mental anguish, so at least my brain survived reasonably unscathed.

On the TAC-Air ramp, we had a brief but pleasant interaction with a Geiger counter wielding customs officer. I paid $12 for the privilege, a $5 landing fee and a $7 handling fee even though TAC-Air did not actually do anything but direct us to parking. The previous FBO, Prior, used to waive the handling fee for aircraft arriving solely to clear customs. We spent less than 30 minutes in Buffalo, a significant portion of it waiting for the TAC-Air printer to spit out a receipt for the fees I paid.

Hand flying VFR at 3500 feet after departing Buffalo, I was stuck by how much the world around us had transformed into summer; a lush green landscape below, building cumulus above. Thermals bubbled up from the ground in a way that does not occur during the colder months.

Downtown Rochester, NY

Downtown Rochester, NY with a facet of the former Bausch & Lomb building reflecting sunlight like a beacon.

Kodak headquarters and Frontier Field.

Irondequoit Bay.

Eventually, the view beyond the window contained a large number of familiar landmarks. We were home. And we had done it in far less time than those faced with a four hour drive from London.

"Welcome" Home!

Photo by Brad. From a car. On the ground. Going slowly.

The efficiency of flying versus driving was not lost on our friends, either. As we crossed the border back into United States airspace, I received a text message from Alicia saying, "Welcome home...fxxker." It was accompanied by the above picture of my friends enjoying their beautiful Saturday morning drive home from Canada.

Obviously, a great time was had by all!