Dave Peterkin

DA42 Owner, Barbados

"When I bought my DA42, I did not compare it to any other plane. From the inception, I was interested in the ability to fly on JET-A fuel. The fact that it has such great economy, that it is composite and not aluminum and therefore doesn't corrode out here on the islands was key, too."

"I live in Barbados, and use my DA42 a lot to travel with my wife and another couple to the near-by islands. The DA42 is very capable for these missions - I carry enough fuel for the round-trip, as many of the places we fly to don't have any fuel, and I can still carry two couples plus overnight bags easily."

"I recently flew my DA42 from Barbados to Fort Lauderdale, FL. That's a 1,400 nm trip over open water, and I was able to comfortably do it with one fuel stop, due to the DA42's great endurance. Having the twin safety is key - from my home base in Barbados, pretty much every trip involves flying over water."

"I use my DA42 for search and rescue missions around the islands, from my home base in Barbados. The visibility is great from the cockpit, it is a very stable plane, and its 7 hour endurance makes it very viable for this mission."

"I am very pleased with my DA42 purchase. It has great maneuverability, it is a very stable aircraft with its long wings, and it is a real joy to fly. The glass cockpit is very impressive with the G1000 - it has everything you need right there in front of you. Having a twin was essential for me for flying over water most of the time, and the great endurance is critical for longer trips like Barbados to Florida: many other aircraft just couldn't do this trip. I would agree that the DA42 is a superbly capable aircraft."

"The sales and service experience was really great. In fact, I just flew back from Barbados to Fort Lauderdale for my 100 hour, and felt everybody really took care of me at Premier Aircraft Sales."