Conway, I'm in the same boat - or technically, aircraft. I have just purchased an IFR ice protected Aztec, in the US. I intend to operate it over there for a while - a year, maybe, to get ME and IFR rated, as well as getting some solid IFR practice - then fly it back myself, in this case, to NZ. I'm a 1500 hour VFR PPL, with quite a bit of mountain flying experience, but mountain flying ain't much use over the big blue, methinks. I'm afraid I can't help - yet - with much useful info on ferrying, although I wonder if you/we might get further asking Americans, rather than Aussies & kiwis. More people to ask, for a start. Might be some economies of scale available, depending on the aircraft you end up getting - ferry tanks, HF radios, emergency gear and so on. And contacts to share, etc. If you feel like it, email me -
[email protected] - and we can swap notes. I'm going over to the US in a couple of weeks, and intend to start shaking some trees. I know some guys who've done it, who are all based in the USA. Prruners - all info welcome. Would be keen to find a sensible grown-up to come along on my flight...I imagine an over-grossed Aztec would still fly with two people? Hell, Conway, maybe we could study hard and train properly, plan it thoroughly, and co-pilot for each other? It's the toilet facilities that worry me the most - well, not really - maybe it's the small matter of SAR in the event of a survivable ditching. Oh, and a GPS-independent method of navigation. Not wildly confident that my pilotage would get me from California to Hawaii with quite the same precision that the old boys used to do it with, with sextants, ded reckoning and protractors. Clearly, an undertaking like this would require some serious planning and training, and would be unlikely to be cheaper than paying someone else to do it for you - still, it's not just the money, is it? Adventure and all that...
Incidentally, I've imported several aircraft from the US, and have hitherto found that removing the wings and putting them in containers eliminates a lot of dramas - and a container only costs US$2200 or so, maybe $3K for a big one...