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Hi guys! I'd like to share with you a quick video review of the diplomat aero (Steel nib) I made recently! I think this is an amazing pen and just wanted to share my thoughts and the unboxing experience with you guys if you are interested in getting one of your own! Video review link! I'd have to say that if you're on the fence about getting one, you should just pull the trigger and get one! Let me know if you guys have an questions or comments! Links to where to get one; Diplomat catalog; http://www.diplomat-pen.com/product-category/diplomat/aero/ Get one here!; https://www.overjoyed.xyz/product/diplomat-aero-blackorange-fountain-pen-fine-45591

The Diplomat Aero is the third pen from the Diplomat range that I’ve added to my collection in recent times – and definitely the most interesting of the three, in terms of design! I wasn’t keen on it at first glance, but given my positive experiences with two of its stablemates – the Esteem (https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/271382-the-diplomat-esteem-conservative-german-styling-great-writing-experience/) and the Excellence A (https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/296585-the-diplomat-excellence-a-another-great-german-fountain-pen/) – I decided to take the plunge. So I contacted Kevin of JustWrite Pens (www.JustWrite.com.au), and asked if he had any left in stock. The answer came back in the affirmative – and in due course, yet another pen had made its way to my door. As with the Excellence A, the Aero is not an inexpensive pen – the recommended retail (with stainless steel nib) is up around US$195, though (once again) I was able to get a significant discount, with a site-wide 25% discount on offer during June 2015. The Diplomat Aero is not a perfect pen – it has a couple of drawbacks that I’ll outline in the review below – but it’s such a striking pen to look at, and writes so wonderfully smoothly, that I’m happy to overlook them. ______________________________________________________________________ 1. Appearance & Design (9.5/10)The Aero comes in exactly the same kind of box as the Excellence A – a generously-sized box with aluminium wrap-around lid. Inside the box I found the pen itself – a brown cigar-shaped object that tapers sharply at both ends. The barrel and cap are both deeply scored with “groove-like depressions” along their length that give the pen its distinctive look – according to Diplomat’s advertising materials, it’s designed to resemble a Zeppelin airship. http://i.imgur.com/Fp77kci.jpg http://i.imgur.com/mt6j03u.jpg I love the look of the pen when capped – the chocolate brown colour of the bulk of the pen, topped and tailed with brushed aluminium ‘finials’. It *does* look a bit like a(n elongated) Zeppelin airship – a very unusual shape, but it’s really grown on me! Uncapping the pen reveals a brushed aluminium grip section, with a fairly severe step-down from the barrel – but the length of the grip is sufficient to ensure this doesn’t create any issues in terms of comfort. 2. Construction & Quality (8/10)The Aero is a robust pen, very well made, with a full aluminium casing, and anodised surfaces – in this case, a matte brown finish. With two caveats (see below) this is a pen I’d expect to cop a lot of abuse without trouble (though if you want to retain the finish, you’ll need to take all due care!). The pen barrel appears to be quite thick, the cap a little less so – but both are extremely sturdy. The grip section threads securely into the barrel, and the cap snaps on to ensure an airtight seal, ensuring the ink won’t dry out in the nib. Be warned: at least initially, a bit of firm pressure is required to get the cap to fit snugly. http://i.imgur.com/aM7dn24.jpg http://i.imgur.com/3P4X3Wz.jpg I only have two real concerns with the quality of the construction: first, there’s the aluminium clip. I’ve read a couple of comments online that suggest it’s a little fragile. It’s certainly quite stiff and inflexible – like the rest of the pen, I believe it’s made of anodised (matte silver finish) aluminium, which I suspect may have a lower tolerance to bending and springing. The clip itself is also made of two parts – a smaller, bent section that attaches to the pen under the cap finial, and the ‘body’ of the clip itself, which runs the length of the cap. The two parts are either soldered or screwed together (or both – it’s hard to say which!). The consequence of this is that it feels a little flimsy to me – I can see how it might fairly easily snap off if it got snagged on something (at least one online review has reported this problem). http://i.imgur.com/d7Ul107.jpg http://i.imgur.com/EYwQUSU.jpg [Forgive the poor focus - my setup isn't the best!] A second, smaller concern is the ‘paintwork’ on the pen – the words ‘Diplomat’ and ‘Made in Germany’ are painted (in white) onto the anodised surface of the cap (near the base), while the logo is painted in black onto the finial. With extended usage about half the logos has worn away, and it looks likely the remainder will follow, leaving the finial a bare brushed aluminium dome. Similarly, the white text on the brown anodised aluminium has begun to wear off in places. Neither of these greatly concern me – they’re cosmetic details. What’s more, to be honest, I didn’t find the logo very attractive – if anything I think the pen looks better without it! 3. Weight & Dimensions (10/10)Like its more conservative ‘cousin’ (the Excellence A), the Aero is a substantial pen – if you prefer a lightweight pen, you should look elsewhere. It weighs 41.5g capped, and 30.5g uncapped – unlike the Excellence, the bulk of the weight is in the barrel, not the cap. http://i.imgur.com/XgmBDxs.jpg The pen is 140mm capped, and 129mm uncapped; ‘posted’ (i.e., with the cap sitting loosely on the back of the pen), it’s somewhere around the 160mm mark (my calipers max out at 155). At the join between cap and barrel (the widest point), the pen’s diameter is 15mm. The grip section is nearly 30mm long (from ‘step’ to nib), and tapers gently from a maxmimum diameter of ~12.3mm down to 10mm. http://i.imgur.com/UX9dHAM.jpg 4. Nib & Performance (9/10)The Aero takes exactly the same nib as the Excellence A –#6 size, made of stainless steel (though gold nib options are also available). Once again, I was only able to obtain the pen with a M nib – which I found to be a wonderfully smooth writer, laying down a generous amount of ink with hardly any feedback. These two pens (the Excellence A and the Aero) are among the smoothest writers in my collection – though the Esteem is not far behind (once I’d sorted out its skipping issues). The one thing that differentiates these two higher-end pens, in terms of writing experience, is the slight slipperiness of the aluminium grip section – at least in winter, when my hands are dry. I find I have to grip the pen just a little tighter than is ideal. I would have expected this to be a deal-breaker – but surprisingly, it isn’t. It takes a couple of minutes to adjust… then off I go. http://i.imgur.com/D3kH279.jpg I should also mention, for the sake of completeness: I don’t find these nibs to be very ‘flexible’. They’re not quite nails – you can gain some line variation by exerting pressure – but they’re at their best when they’re gliding across the page rather than being forced down into it. I haven’t tried the gold nibs – but my understanding is that for the additional price they’re not significantly softer. The stainless steel nibs are probably be the best value option for most users. http://i.imgur.com/BLfBikp.jpg 5. Filling System & Maintenance (9.5/10)Diplomat pens take standard international cartridges and converters. The lower-priced Esteem did not come with a converter included in the price; thankfully, both the Aero and the Excellence A do. The Diplomat-branded converters are well-made, sturdy… and will hold about 0.7-0.8mm of ink. This is not a particularly innovative system – but it makes refilling the pen as straightforward as can be. http://i.imgur.com/rjQaXaW.jpg 6. Cost & Value (9/10)The RRP of this pen is around US$195 – I’ve seen it for sale at AU$195 in various Australian stores, which is pretty good given the current exchange rate. This wasn’t available on the JustWrite website at the time I enquired about it, and still hasn’t been returned to his listings – but at my request he was happy to send it out. 7. Conclusion (Final score [sUM/6]: 9.17)I like the Aero almost as much as I like my Excellence A – they’re both wonderfully classy looking pens. The Aero is the more striking / interesting of the two in terms of appearance, but is shaded by the Excellence A because of (a) the writing experience (i.e. the slight slipperiness of the Aero’s grip), and ( concerns over the clip and the disappearing text and logo. Those are very small concerns, though – I’m really glad I invested in this pen. It won’t be everyone’s preference, aesthetically or practically – but it’s a real winner in my books.

My black diplomat aero wich I bought in the netherands has a cap that starts spinning when I post it and I don't know if it is normal or if it is broken. If it is broken, does annyone know how to fix it or how to get a replacement. Thanks already.

Last month, after about a month's regular use of the new Diplomat Aero fountain pen and ballpoint, I wrote a review. In summary it's a terrific new model from this excellent German maker of all metal larger format fountain pens. They are now a favourite for me. I thoroughly recommend the Aero as you'll see in my review. While released later in 2013, the Aero could not be found easily here in Australia. The dealers were a bit slow off the mark. But now it's readily available. This is a pen you have to see in-store to really appreciate how good it looks and how superbly made and finished it is. (image by Diplomat) My review is located at: http://www.fountainpenbiz.com/blog/diplomat-aero-german-quality-gets-style Cheers.

I have been an avid lurker in here, but not until now have I posted anything. And what better way to do it than to provide the initial impressions of my eagerly awaited Diplomat Aero matte silver. Apologies in advance for any faux-passes (not sure of the plural?), I hope for your forgiveness in this regard. Also, apologies for any mistakes in my language, English is not my first language. Without any further ado, here goes. This post should be read with the consideration that I have up to now only owned pens priced no higher than GBP 20. In my modest collection I have some Lamy Safaris and Nexx'es (Nexx'?), as well as M models of the latter. These nibs on these pens range from EF to M. I also have a Sailor Calligraphy pen. I quite like these pens and use them daily. I like the Lamy nibs, though would prefer them a little smoother. I greatly appreciate the rubber grip on the Nexx pens. My Sailor Calligraphy pen is a little odd to use; I usually flip it upside-down to write with a superfine line. I had a Rotring Art Pen once, but recall getting very annoyed with it being dry and scratchy, and now it is lost somewhere in my apartment (I actually am searching for it, as I would like to give it a second chance). In case it is relevant somehow, I am left-handed. (One or two of my Lamy pens have the LH nib, though I do not find any difference between this and the ordinary M nib). I bought the Diplomat (with the first paycheck from my new job ) because I wanted to try out a higher-end fountain pen, and the design appealed a lot to me. Zeppelins, yay! The packaging: http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh197/Ludegirl/Ludegirl009/IMG_6998.jpg As has been mentioned elsewhere, the packaging is lovely. I like the aluminum cover for the box itself, and i like the presentation of the pen on a satin pillow, printed with the Diplomat logo. Lovely! The pen itself: http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh197/Ludegirl/Ludegirl009/efc5d45f-0f5a-4af4-96bb-f4657dd5ada1.jpg http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh197/Ludegirl/Ludegirl009/IMG_7001.jpg It looks very good to me, and feels very substantial. The aluminum feels 'toothy'/rough to the touch, I like that. The pen feels solid, and unscrewing the barrel to get to the converter has a nice swishing sound, due to the metal construction. I have inked it up with Iroshizuku Fuyu-Gaki, which on the picture has managed to escape slightly onto the nib. Using it: This nib is very smooth! I love it! It applies just the right amount of ink for me, and I can also turn it upside-down, to produce a finer line. It is a pretty firm nib, I do not experience any flex with it. I got the M steel nib for it. There are also 14k gold nibs for it, which will double the cost of the pen. YMMW, but I did not find it worth double the amount of money (...which I could use to buy more pens ). It seems you can get the nib in sizes from F to B. I am not entirely sure whether they make an EF. It is a heavy pen, to me at least (particularly considering that my other pens are very light). I am not sure how I feel about that, I had not expected something like the Nexx, but it is a heavy instrument for me to use. I do not post my pens, and would particularly not do it with this one, it would be too heavy. I must admit it is heavier than I expected, seeing as it is made of aluminum. To be fair, I have seen its weight listed online, but do not have a frame of reference yet for when pens feel heavy - especially seeing since my other pens are very light weight. I do not think I would buy a pen heavier than this one. When I post the cap, it feels like it stays put. As mentioned, I do usually never post my caps, and still do not think I will do it with this one. But I noticed that it was very well balanced even if posted. I still prefer it unposted though, as it is lighter this way. But I might experiment some more with this. Personal preference, I suppose. The grip feels smooth to me, perhaps a bit too slippery. It is an interesting contrast to the more toothy feel of the body. The smoothness combined with the weight of the pen makes it feel a little uncontrolled to me, but on the other hand, the pen feels balanced. I will conclude on this when I have used the pen more. The barrel seems to unscrew fairly easily. Though it does not have a screw-on cap, I have already noticed it unscrewing a bit. I make sure to twist the cap slightly in the other direction when I open it. I have seen others comment that the cap is pretty tight, and you do have to use a bit of force to get it open - and close securely. I hope this mellows out a bit, but on the other hand, I like that it locks on securely, so the cap will not accidentally pop off. Price: I feel I found a fairly good deal on this from a German pen-site, where it cost €85. Shipping was a little expensive though, so I ended up paying a bit over €100 for the pen. I have seen it retail for about GBP 120 from the few pages I looked at. For me in Denmark, and with the exchange rates, I found it much cheaper to purchase from a German site than a UK one. In conclusion, I like this pen a lot, though I have some slight concerns with it, such as the weight and slippery-feeling grip. I think it is very fairly priced, and it was in close competition with pens costing twice or triple the price. I feel like I have gotten good value for money. It feels like a deliciously designed tool with an amazingly smooth nib. If you consider getting an Aero, make sure you will be comfortable with the weight, and prepare for being a little careful when taking the cap off it. All in all, I am happy, and will now go experiment with different sorts of ink... I hope you have enjoyed the review, and I hope it is of use to someone. EDIT: I had previously commented on the pen being a bit too wet perhaps, and dripping a bit of ink. Turns out it was an error of my behalf, I had not 'squeezed' out a few drops again after having filled the converter. Now it works perfectly, and I am happy. ^^

Alright, I bought a P51 Aero a while ago, sold it, and now I find out that I can't live without one. I've had to make do with pencils and cheap ballpoints, but writing isn't fun. I've decided to get myself a great P51 that'll last me decades, I'm not selling it this time. I have a few questions though... #1. Aerometric vs Vacumatic This is a common topic, but here are my main concerns. I am looking at refurbished pen sites (not eBay), so the Vacumatics should work fine out of the box. However, my concerns are twofold. I don't want to ever have to experience my pen turning into a sopping inky disaster, or otherwise lose faith in it because it ruined my things. The second is taking my pen on planes, I expect to do this a hell of a lot and I want to know if the Vacumatic would give me any trouble in that regard. In fact, I want to know if the Vacumatic will give me any trouble at all. It's not so much that I don't want to look after it (I'm OK with being attentive to my pen), I just don't want an unpredictable pen. #2. Flighter The Flighter is one of the best-looking pens I've ever wanted. However, I want a date-stamped pen, and one in excellent condition (i.e. frosty with no visible signs of use). How much is this going to cost me? I think buying new old stock is out of the question as I'd like to stay under $300. Is it a realistic goal to find an almost-mint to mint Flighter in this range? If I can't get a date-stamped one, can you at least tell what decade it was made in for certain? #3. Cleaning What's the best cleaning regimen for a P51? I'd like to know what do do with it on recieving it (before first fill) and then any monthly/bimonthly routine I should have to keep it in absolute tip-top shape for many, many years. #4. Nibs Is there such thing as a Medium/Broad nib, that is, neither Medium or Broad? This term continues to pop up and I think it has something to do with UK-made pens. I'm looking for a Medium (again) but I'm open to thinking about a Broad nib (I have small handwriting though). #5. Dealers I've looked through most of the pens for sale right now and I haven't found what I'm looking for. Until an Aero in Midnight Blue or Black, date-stamped and in frosty condition comes along (or a good M-nib Flighter), where should I look? My first P51 was bought from parker51.com, any other dealers that would have what I'm looking for? Is it important to have the nib retouched or no? Thanks!