Flood of Used Diamonds?

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krellis
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Flood of Used Diamonds?

Post by krellis »

One of the largest flight schools (maybe the largest) in the Atlanta area with three campuses abruptly shut down last week. They operated a fleet of DA20's, 40's and 42's.

I suspect many were on leaseback but there may now be a substantial number of Diamond aircraft on the market.

It's possible that the school may be bought, but most of the employees were let go.

Having experience with the maintenance facility there I would strongly suggest anyone considering buying an airplane from this school get a REALLY good pre-buy and better yet, insist on an annual-type inspection.
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linzhiming
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Re: Flood of Used Diamonds?

Post by linzhiming »

Is that a closure for good or a temporary closure due to the Corona virus?

https://www.planeandpilotmag.com/articl ... anta-area/
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Rich
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Re: Flood of Used Diamonds?

Post by Rich »

It didn't occur to me until just now, but Hillsboro Flight School right here in Oregon also has a large continuing contract training Chinese pilots. A large proportion of the traffic at our local airports is due to this activity.
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Colin
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Re: Flood of Used Diamonds?

Post by Colin »

It's actually *three* Atlanta flight schools that have been shut down. The one that was operating a Diamond fleet was apparently financially mismanaged for a while before the virus became an issue.
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krellis
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Re: Flood of Used Diamonds?

Post by krellis »

All three were campuses of Falcon Aviation Academy - KCCO, KFFC, KAHN.

No idea if this is permanent or not and there is conflicting information going around. The Corona virus has had an impact. Falcon Aviation had bought a nearby motel that they converted to student dorms. Apparently they never got a certificate of occupancy for the facility and had to move all of the students to apartments. They also were in arrears on property taxes. The previous CEO (and possibly still owner) was killed in a Citation crash within the past two weeks.

They are reportedly keeping one or two instructors on staff to finish up their domestic students, but I haven't seen any activity at their main campus in Newnan (KCCO).
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TwinStarScott
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Re: Flood of Used Diamonds?

Post by TwinStarScott »

In the very early stages, twelve of these Falcon Aviation aircraft signed the G1000 petition - 7 DA42's & 5 DA40's. If anyone knows what eventually happens to any of these aircraft, please advise. Thanks!
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