Diamond pilots complete around-the-world flight

After 220 flight hours, two Swiss pilots completed their around-the-world flight to increase awareness of greener aviation.

On April 22, 2022, Earth Day, Matthias Niederhäuser and Robin Wenger touched down in their DA50 RG at Zürich Airport (ZRH) in Switzerland, bringing a successful conclusion to the Diamondo Earthrounding project.

In the latest Diamond Aircraft Airmail newsletter, the two pilots tell of their 111 days flying around the world, noting some of the highlights and the challenges.

The pilots wrap up their report with a word for general aviation pilots:

To the GA community

We guess the idea of taking a small aircraft on a flight around the world has been in the heads of many private pilots. We can assure you, it is worth it! However, one should not take it lightly, it won’t be a holiday trip and making it work takes a lot of coordination, paperwork and perseverance. You need to be ready to endure many situations where patience is key. However, you will be rewarded by the trip of a lifetime and invaluable experiences to take away for you further flying.

We find ourselves in the beginning of a transition period where GA flying will be one of the first sectors of aviation where part of the operations can be flown on aircraft producing close to zero emissions. However, until we are there, it is quite a way to go and bridging technologies including carbon offsets and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) will play an important role in making aviation more sustainable.

We believe if we as consumers do not change our patterns, we will likely be questioned more on the necessity of our flying and our corresponding carbon footprint. There are things every pilot can do on a voluntary basis to support the environment at little extra cost and we want to help build better solutions for this transition period.

The pilots also named their favorite flying destinations, favorite airport restaurant, and the best advice they were given during their epic journey.

Favorite flying destination

• Hawaii
• Palau
• Greenland and Iceland
• Panama
• And of course the Alps of Switzerland — and perhaps some mountains of Austria

Favorite Airport

• St. Barts (TFFJ), French Caribbean
• Port Allen (PHPA), Hawaii
• St. Mary’s (EGHE), United Kingdom
• Monument Valley Airport (UT25), Utah
• Iqaluit (CYFB), Canada

Favorite airport restaurant

Hogg’s BBQ at Moore County Airport (KDUX), Texas
Woody’s at Monterey Regional Airport (KMRY), California
Rock & Roll Diner at Oceano Airport (L52), California
Katana Cafe at London International Airport (CYXU), Canada
Volanti at Scottsdale Airport (KSDL), Arizona

Best piece of flying advice

• Airspeed/Altitude/Brain: In each situation you need at least two of them.
• Three most useless things in aviation: The altitude above you, the runway behind you, and the fuel left in the truck.
• First fly the aircraft.
• Despite TAS and ForeFlight: Keep a good lookout!

You can read the full post here