My Diamond is gone...

News and Announcements.

Moderators: Rick, Lance Murray

User avatar
Kai
5 Diamonds Member
5 Diamonds Member
Posts: 1355
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2010 6:14 pm
First Name: Kai
Aircraft Type: DA40F
Aircraft Registration: XXXX
Airports: VTCY
Has thanked: 127 times
Been thanked: 99 times

My Diamond is gone...

Post by Kai »

Just sold my DA40F here in Thailand. As hard as it was to maintain it here and to fulfill legal requirements, as hard it was to sell. After over a week of negotiations, paperwork, overcoming banking and other legal issues, as well as the delivery of the plane, it is now in the hands of new owners.

I will keep maintaining and moderating this forum, of course. Nevertheless, if there is any of you IT-wise Diamond owners out there who would like to run this forum, pm me.
DA40F - N405FP/HS-KAI (sold)
Antoine
5 Diamonds Member
5 Diamonds Member
Posts: 2043
Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2010 11:00 pm
First Name: Antoine
Aircraft Type: OTHER
Aircraft Registration: N121AG
Airports: LSGG
Has thanked: 87 times
Been thanked: 220 times

Re: My Diamond is gone...

Post by Antoine »

Dear Kai
This is a very understandable step. Hopefully you have not given up flying? I would have loved to take over from you, but that was before an Extra 400 came by. I am certain other people will step forward.
Thank you so much for all you did to help us be a great community. Wishing you a wonderful new plane!
Antoine
User avatar
Lance Murray
5 Diamonds Member
5 Diamonds Member
Posts: 1163
Joined: Tue Jul 06, 2010 11:25 pm
First Name: Lance
Aircraft Type: DA40
Airports:
Has thanked: 7 times
Been thanked: 118 times

Re: My Diamond is gone...

Post by Lance Murray »

I am sorry to hear this Kai. I can only imagine how much of a challenge owning a private airplane would be in that part of the world. You certainly did get to do some interesting things with your airplane.
User avatar
Kai
5 Diamonds Member
5 Diamonds Member
Posts: 1355
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2010 6:14 pm
First Name: Kai
Aircraft Type: DA40F
Aircraft Registration: XXXX
Airports: VTCY
Has thanked: 127 times
Been thanked: 99 times

Re: My Diamond is gone...

Post by Kai »

Antoine wrote:Dear Kai
This is a very understandable step. Hopefully you have not given up flying? I would have loved to take over from you, but that was before an Extra 400 came by. I am certain other people will step forward.
Thank you so much for all you did to help us be a great community. Wishing you a wonderful new plane!
Antoine
Dear Antoine,

No worries, I will keep flying. As mentioned in other posts, I am about to finish my own small airstrip and hangar-home in Spain. I just need another flying machine for this mission. So will look into this once I am back in Europe in February.

Btw, Extra is being built in Dinslaken, only 10 kms away from my hometown and was always my base when visiting friends and family. I am sure we will run into each other one day, Antoine!
DA40F - N405FP/HS-KAI (sold)
User avatar
Kai
5 Diamonds Member
5 Diamonds Member
Posts: 1355
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2010 6:14 pm
First Name: Kai
Aircraft Type: DA40F
Aircraft Registration: XXXX
Airports: VTCY
Has thanked: 127 times
Been thanked: 99 times

Re: My Diamond is gone...

Post by Kai »

Lance Murray wrote:I am sorry to hear this Kai. I can only imagine how much of a challenge owning a private airplane would be in that part of the world. You certainly did get to do some interesting things with your airplane.
Thanks, Lance! Last year I was grounded for two months as the DCA did not renew my license for the most stupid reasons. My plane was grounded for another month because the repair shop played stupid when I asked them to repair a leaking crankshaft which was still on guarantee. Another couple of weeks of flying were lost because the same administration did not renew our airfield's permit to operate and all of our club's planes were grounded. Needless to say that for some reasons my airplane was not allowed to fly IFR and the rainy season here makes flying small aircraft dangerous for a few months of the year.

Some of the problems with the administration can be attributed to the fact that the officials are scared to take decisions ever since the military coup took place. Foreign pilots were also always eyed at with scepticsm and in some cases maybe envied. So they try to delay as much as possible. Last year was the worst for GA in Thailand in decades. Our club had 8 or 9 planes of which as of today only 3 are flying. The other ones are grounded mostly for administrative reasons.

Sorry for whining around. But I am happy that I am now free for other flying adventures.
DA40F - N405FP/HS-KAI (sold)
Antoine
5 Diamonds Member
5 Diamonds Member
Posts: 2043
Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2010 11:00 pm
First Name: Antoine
Aircraft Type: OTHER
Aircraft Registration: N121AG
Airports: LSGG
Has thanked: 87 times
Been thanked: 220 times

Re: My Diamond is gone...

Post by Antoine »

Hi Kai
Funny: yesterday, after a day of skiing I was relaxing in a hot bath with ... my Mac and scanning through european airparks.
My favourite is Biscarosse, but there is one in North-eastern Spain (IIRC) that you could probably buy outright for two or three burritos. It is huge and there is only one finished house (out of dozens planned). The runway and taxiways are operational!

Yes we will run into each other. In fact it is long overdue and I would like to suggest we provoke it a bit!
User avatar
Colin
5 Diamonds Member
5 Diamonds Member
Posts: 2006
Joined: Sat Aug 21, 2010 8:37 pm
First Name: Colin
Aircraft Type: DA42
Aircraft Registration: N972RD
Airports: KFHR
Has thanked: 319 times
Been thanked: 527 times

Re: My Diamond is gone...

Post by Colin »

Let's see a link to that airpark, Antoine.

I am sorry to lose Kai from the population of Diamond pilots. Some of the most epic flights that a DA40 ever made were piloted by him.
Colin Summers, PP Multi-Engine IFR, ~3,000hrs
colin@mightycheese.com * send email rather than PM
http://www.flyingsummers.com
N972RD DA42 G1000 2.0 s/n 42.AC100 (sold!)
N971RD DA40 G1000 s/n 40.508 (traded)
Antoine
5 Diamonds Member
5 Diamonds Member
Posts: 2043
Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2010 11:00 pm
First Name: Antoine
Aircraft Type: OTHER
Aircraft Registration: N121AG
Airports: LSGG
Has thanked: 87 times
Been thanked: 220 times

Re: My Diamond is gone...

Post by Antoine »

him ? ... or his dog?

Here's the spanish airpark. If someone has a burrito leftover we can make a 50/50 bid and see what happens:

Airpark Spain is situated 200m above sea level in a large valley between the Sierra
Carascoy mountain range and the Sierra Espuña national park, in the Mercia region
of south-east of Spain. It obtained planning permission in 2002 for an ambitious
Airpark project of 140 plots. 70 plots of these would be connected by taxiway to a
1,217m asphalt runway. An aeronautics centre supplying spare parts, accessories
and aviation mechanic services; rental hangers; a pilot training school, glider
facilities and a base for commercial flights, i.e. charter, taxi, air sight-seeing; an
hotel, cafes, bars and shops and on-site sports facilities (tennis courts, gym,
swimming pool etc.) were also planned.
However, only the runway, taxiways, roads, main services and 3 houses were
completed. Today one property is inhabited and the other two properties have fallen
into disrepair (Fig.17).

Source http://www.euroga.org/system/1/assets/f ... opment.pdf
User avatar
Kai
5 Diamonds Member
5 Diamonds Member
Posts: 1355
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2010 6:14 pm
First Name: Kai
Aircraft Type: DA40F
Aircraft Registration: XXXX
Airports: VTCY
Has thanked: 127 times
Been thanked: 99 times

Re: My Diamond is gone...

Post by Kai »

Antoine,

yes, lets provoke a bit to meet up. I am near Dinslaken from the 31st of January until the 3rd of February. After that mostly near Muchamiel, Alicante, Spain.

Regarding the Airpark Spain: I have landed there a few times and visited a fellow Diamond owner who has or had his house there. The idea of the airpark was that the planes could taxi to the houses of each owner. Everything was designed to work out this way but Spanish land developing laws do not go along with the needs of an aircraft to taxi to a private property. For example the way the street lighting has to be done, would not allow an aircraft to pass.

On the other hand the regulations regarding airfields do not allow an airfield near or in the vicinity of dwellings. There must be minimum distances. So the owner only had two chances: giving up the airfield or the idea of building houses. But the airfield in the middle of the Murcian desert makes no sense whatsoever.

So he sold the entire project to a real estate developer and sausage producer from the area who wanted to make a gated community without the airport. He went bankrupt when the real estate bubble burst. I guess the banks have it now. I would not want to live there by no means.

The only 2 or 3 houses finished have to
DA40F - N405FP/HS-KAI (sold)
Antoine
5 Diamonds Member
5 Diamonds Member
Posts: 2043
Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2010 11:00 pm
First Name: Antoine
Aircraft Type: OTHER
Aircraft Registration: N121AG
Airports: LSGG
Has thanked: 87 times
Been thanked: 220 times

Re: My Diamond is gone...

Post by Antoine »

Hi Kai

I will be in Berlin (mostly work and party with my team) the coming week end and then unfortunately commitments in Switzerland as of monday. When the Extra flies again(late march?) I intend to do some x-country so maybe in Spain. You are also most welcome to meet us at Ile d'Yeu where I plan on spending a lot of my free time.

The airpark seems to have a website, but all pics of houses are computer generated. maybe 2 burritos is too much...

http://www.globalcosta.com/airpark/englisch/start.htm

Your friend must be quite disappointed!
Post Reply