Flying to Bermuda is HF required
 

Perhaps someone could help me out here?

I hope to rent in the US and fly to Bermuda. I would hope to be in a pressurised single TBM/PC/etc and flying at say FL 250 to FL280.

Standard VHF comms, GPS/RNAV - but NO HF.

Does anybody know if HF is compulsory from US to BERMUDA - or any other options I may have?

Appreciated.

You are planning to take a single 800nm over water and you are worried about HF?

Oh of course it is pressurised! Does it have a back up for your GPS or RNAV? What are you going to do when your pressurisation fails halfway? What are you going to do when your comm fails? What are you going to do when you run out of coffee?

Of course we are all going to applaud you for flying a SE to Bermuda and get sued by your Mom/Sister/Daughter/Wife/Elderly auntie when you become sharkbait.

Sheila And A Gig? what's the gig, dancing on water?

Nice reply, factual and oh so usefull.
Wonder what you would have suggested to Eric the Red or Columbus ?

Columbus was on a bloody boat that floats

cldrvr,

My apologies, I appear to have caught you on a bad day. I do thank you for your comments.

Is there anybody else out there in aviation that might offer me some advise on the specific question posed.

Armstrong, Glenn, Collins, Amerigo, Columbus, Scott, Amundsen, Shackleton................

Fine mate you go ahead and fly a single over water for 800NM, you are the pilot what is the effective range of VHF at FL250 and you can answer your own question.

Cld,

Steady old chap! The Sheila only asked if the Colonials have made it compulsory.


PT6A (TBM/PC12) - across water - no problem. Aviations most trouble free turbine GA engine.

Sheilanagig,

Would the company you are planning to rent from be able to help you with an answer? Or possibly they can't, thats why you are posting on here? Another place to look is AOPA. They might be able to help you with that sort of information.

cldrvr - how do you suppose probably 95% of the single engine aircraft get from one side of the Atlantic to the other, or to the Caribbean islands or the Bahamas? Or around the world, for that matter....

The guy wants to fly a single 800nm over water, ok; then he asks us if HF is required.

I assume he will fly an N -reg on a FAA license, he must have a copy of the FAR handy somewhere; look up 91.511, with the obvious title "radio equipment for overwater operations" and see if your equipment meets the 30 minute rule.

Ferny:

Thank you I will try AOPA.

and indeed Mr CLDRVR, thank you too for some very pertinient information, exactly the kind I knew kind hearted Pruners would have, and are always willing to share with fellow aviators.

Yes, you must have HF radio communication. I had to charter a Lear 35 once because the HF radio in one of our aircraft, a Sabre 65, failed on a trip to Bermuda. I had dropped the boss off in Bermuda and had taken the other passengers on to LA in the 900.

He was not amused.

HF
 

Yes - it is mandatory. And also a good idea!
The correspondent who said that many aircraft make the trans atlantic crossing without was correct. But they go by the northern route where it is not a requirement as the overwater crossings are not too great.
But Bermuda is a long way from home - and, to someone who rarely flew a single after basic training, it seems an awful lot of water.

Howdy Con-Pilot, long time no hear, hope you're well.

However, how dare you try to provide a straight answer to the question that was asked! Disgraceful.......:)

Doing good thanks. :ok:

Er, sorry, hum I guess because I was sober. :p

Well Sheila, I guess you don`t get much practice at HF in your `Bus,but a few suggestions for your trip...Are you up to date on `dinghy`drill,ever done underwater escape training,your pax.too; you can also put into practice all that ground-school stuff about Crit points, LPD`s,PNR`s ,island holding fuel,and a good `howgozit` chart; don`t forget to wear your immersion suits(not in the bag) as you won`t have time to sort it;spare ELT`s,flares,etc, if the PT6 goes sour(and I`m sure no-one would wish that !).As you are a sailor,take your tide tables,and make a note of the Atlantic sea temperatures.I`d make sure I went `feet-wet` from the nearest land point,only after checking actual consumption against the book..
Also, if you did find yourself `gliding`,put your ELT on immediately,not when you are about to ditch . Take a raincoat for when you arrive,and have a safe trip...honestly !!!

Dimbleby,

Whilst I agree with you that the PT6A is one of the most reliable turbine engines. They can and do fail, as happened to me about 14 years ago. The engine broke up and I was very happy to be overland and with the luxury of another 3 strapped onto the wings!

cldrvr has in fact made some very sensible and useful observations. Single engine operations over such an expanse of water is nothing short of barking mad.:eek:

barking mad.

As in Charles Lindbark :E

why not give the man the infos he asked for without the patronizing ?

when you get there; send a post from M.R. Onions bar or The Robin Hood, great ex-pat hostelry. You'll certainly deserve a drink.

Let's hope the risk is an educated one and the trip throughly planned...

Which US airport are you departing from?

Yes you will need HF.
I regularly fly from JFK and FLL to BDA, If you think I can help feel free to PM me.
I think some very good advice has been dispensed already, IMHO rent a twin or take a scheduled flight.
Good luck!

What a bunch of wusses......ooooooo single-engine over the water.......ooooo

Seriously, yes, you do need HF.

To all the wusses......there is an entire industry made up of people flying single engine aircraft all over the world...or light twins, loaded with enough fuel, that they might as well be singles for the first couple of hours. If it isn´t your cup of tea, leave it, but just because you are a baby, don´t figure the other person is a suicide candidate.

Of course, you don´t ride motorbikes, sail away from sight of land, scuba-dive or well, much of anything "dangerous," right? Just prop up the pub bar and get fatter, certainly dumber and happier.

Have a good trip!