Nov. 01/05
Diamond Star Flies to Hawaii

Hawaii’s first DA40 Diamond Star recently arrived in Honolulu. Owners Steve and Lori Baker monitored the 15 hour and 30 minute non-stop ferry flight from Oakland, CA to Honolulu through occasional satellite phone calls with ferry pilot Fred Sorenson of Flight Contract Services, Las Vegas, NV.

Sorenson, a 32,000 hour ATP and veteran of 400 trans-Pacific flights commented that the DA40 performed flawlessly during the entire flight. "This was the first experience we have had with a DA40 so we didn’t know what to expect operating the airplane 25% above its maximum certified gross weight. The aircraft was very stable, climbed well, and was able to maintain excellent true airspeeds throughout the flight," he said. Equipped with a total of 178 gallons of fuel, 138 of that in two temporarily installed fuel tanks, the DA40 averaged 136 knots at 6,000 MSL over the 2,118 nm trip and landed with 50 gallons remaining for an average fuel burn of 8.9 gallons per hour. "The DA40’s outstanding performance and excellent handling characteristics made this one of the most enjoyable Pacific crossings we have made," said Sorenson.

Baker, an ocean marine pilot, purchased his DA40 from Galvin Flying Services, a Diamond Regional Distribution Center located in Seattle WA, and plans to use it for flying the Hawaiian Islands. "I thoroughly researched all the new airplanes available and concluded that the DA40 equipped with the Garmin G1000 glass cockpit was best choice. I wanted a safe, proven and reliable airplane that had good performance as we do a lot of open water flying in the islands," said Baker. "I took delivery at the factory in Canada and attended the factory G1000 transition training course, for confidence with the new avionics system, before flying the airplane to Nevada for installation of the ferry tanks."