Ferrying a Plane from USA to Sydney - Any tips?!
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Join Date: May 2008
Location: Sydney
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Ferrying a Plane from USA to Sydney - Any tips?!
I have finally taken the plunge and bought a Diamond DA40-180 in the USA & will be ferrying it back to Sydney with a ferry pilot. 80% of people think I am mad and should crate & ship it back. The other 20% want to come 
My ferry pilot has done a few Atlantic crossings but never done the Pacific. He is a very experienced pilot & a friend, hence why I have chosen to fly with him, rather than a professional company. He has over 700hrs on type and every FAA qualification under the sun, but no CASA qualifications or an ASIC card. I have both FAA & CASA PPL and an ASIC card. Ferry insurance has been arranged.
The aircraft is being brought across on its US reg, and then re-registered with CASA. It runs on Avgas. The plane is being 'tanked' as we speak by a company in Tracy, CA. It was bought in Florida, so we have a good idea of its performance when it was flown to California.
Our planned route is looking like this:
Santa Maria (KSMX)
Kuno (PHKO)
Christmas Island (PLCH)
Pago Pago (NTSU)
Nadi (NFFN)
La Tontouta (NWWW)
Brisbane (YBBN)
As, La Tontouta doesn’t have AVGAS, we may skip it & fly to YBBN direct from Nadi, or tank fuel from Nadi. Fuel has been organized on Christmas Island as I know this can be problematic.
Looking for any tips & suggestions, customs experiences, things to avoid, good places to stay etc. I have spoken to a few professional companies and they have given me some very good (& free) advice, but obviously as I am doing it myself I don’t want to annoy them too much, hence this post.
I have searched & the last post of something similar was nearly 3yrs ago, so looking for some more current info. I appreciate that this venture is more risky than shipping it, but was part of the appeal of buying in the USA. I am treating this as a once in a lifetime experience.
Any info welcome
Many thanks
My ferry pilot has done a few Atlantic crossings but never done the Pacific. He is a very experienced pilot & a friend, hence why I have chosen to fly with him, rather than a professional company. He has over 700hrs on type and every FAA qualification under the sun, but no CASA qualifications or an ASIC card. I have both FAA & CASA PPL and an ASIC card. Ferry insurance has been arranged.
The aircraft is being brought across on its US reg, and then re-registered with CASA. It runs on Avgas. The plane is being 'tanked' as we speak by a company in Tracy, CA. It was bought in Florida, so we have a good idea of its performance when it was flown to California.
Our planned route is looking like this:
Santa Maria (KSMX)
Kuno (PHKO)
Christmas Island (PLCH)
Pago Pago (NTSU)
Nadi (NFFN)
La Tontouta (NWWW)
Brisbane (YBBN)
As, La Tontouta doesn’t have AVGAS, we may skip it & fly to YBBN direct from Nadi, or tank fuel from Nadi. Fuel has been organized on Christmas Island as I know this can be problematic.
Looking for any tips & suggestions, customs experiences, things to avoid, good places to stay etc. I have spoken to a few professional companies and they have given me some very good (& free) advice, but obviously as I am doing it myself I don’t want to annoy them too much, hence this post.
I have searched & the last post of something similar was nearly 3yrs ago, so looking for some more current info. I appreciate that this venture is more risky than shipping it, but was part of the appeal of buying in the USA. I am treating this as a once in a lifetime experience.
Any info welcome
Many thanks
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: US
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Just make sure u bring a good pair of goggles. makes all the difference when the saltwater is stinging your eyes.
Best of luck, will be a great experience
oh yeh and dont fly through any bangers
Best of luck, will be a great experience
oh yeh and dont fly through any bangers
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Christchurch, New Zealand
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Yea I'd head to Magenta for gas (after clearing customs at Tontouta?), it's basically right in Noumea which is not be a bad place to spend a couple of nights before the final leg.
Join Date: Aug 2007
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Don't forget to obtain overflight/landing approvals from the various countries before you set off.
I recall that the payment for fuel in Christmas has to be in cash and AUD but that was some time ago so it may have changed but worth checking.
I would be inclined to use Monterey and Hilo for the first leg as it shaves about 30 min flight time off the first sector which you will appreciate on the day. There is a hotel at MRY adjacent to the tarmac which enables an easy departure. Like Kona, Hilo also has an ILS but the hotels are a little closer.
Enjoy the experience and please tell us how it went.
I recall that the payment for fuel in Christmas has to be in cash and AUD but that was some time ago so it may have changed but worth checking.
I would be inclined to use Monterey and Hilo for the first leg as it shaves about 30 min flight time off the first sector which you will appreciate on the day. There is a hotel at MRY adjacent to the tarmac which enables an easy departure. Like Kona, Hilo also has an ILS but the hotels are a little closer.
Enjoy the experience and please tell us how it went.
Join Date: Feb 2004
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Had 5 friends (?) do several ferries some years back.
4 ended up in the water, 2 never found.
I believe that one of the lucky ones was kicking sharks away for a time.
The one who made it across without problems was in jets.
Current cost to container a plane over?
USD $3600 plus a $1000 to secure the aircraft.
Mmmmm.......what would I do, and why would I know the cost of shipping?
4 ended up in the water, 2 never found.
I believe that one of the lucky ones was kicking sharks away for a time.
The one who made it across without problems was in jets.
Current cost to container a plane over?
USD $3600 plus a $1000 to secure the aircraft.
Mmmmm.......what would I do, and why would I know the cost of shipping?
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Australia
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If the prices above are correct, as much as I love flying, I would be ripping the wings off it and putting it in a container.
Being about 1275 miles from the nearest land in a single engined aeroplane is really not the best idea.
If you choose to do it however, I wish you the best of luck. It will be the best adventure of your life.
Cheers
Being about 1275 miles from the nearest land in a single engined aeroplane is really not the best idea.
If you choose to do it however, I wish you the best of luck. It will be the best adventure of your life.
Cheers
I can see the spirit of the Australian aviator is alive and well!
I would fly the plane, rather than crate it. That's what planes are for - if you would rather crate it, perhaps you should buy a boat?
Join Date: Jul 2008
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Two vital safety videos for you to watch first:
AMELIA and
THE RESCUE OF FLIGHT 771 (Scott Bakula).
P.S. take a clean hanky, and some flippers. (when a shark is circling, you only have to swim 1kt faster than your buddy
)
AMELIA and
THE RESCUE OF FLIGHT 771 (Scott Bakula).
P.S. take a clean hanky, and some flippers. (when a shark is circling
, you only have to swim 1kt faster than your buddy)
Personally I wouldn't fly SE anywhere like that but each to their own. The older you get the smarter you get. Still having said that aviation is all about risks, calculated risks & as that saying goes..........chance favours the prepared mind.............
As 'XXX' said & some others I think said take plenty of $US green backs, a lot of the Pacific Is. are broke & bribery is rife.
Obviously you will be taking all the survival gear you can muster inc Sat Ph. You can call yr lawyers with one of these great devices & set up a live one on one arrangement for a new will whilst yr treading water with the sharks wondering whether to eat you raw or wait a while 'till you soften up..............oh no that's crocs like that I think:-)
Anyway great luck to you & yr friend, life without risk is not life at all
Wmk2:-)
p.s..............Norfolk Is is a "safe" place for a ditching I hear, high probability of survival & there's already a new aviation museum there you could add to if you needed to park yr new shinny plane off airport, trouble is it's hundreds of feet below the water!!!!!
As 'XXX' said & some others I think said take plenty of $US green backs, a lot of the Pacific Is. are broke & bribery is rife.
Obviously you will be taking all the survival gear you can muster inc Sat Ph. You can call yr lawyers with one of these great devices & set up a live one on one arrangement for a new will whilst yr treading water with the sharks wondering whether to eat you raw or wait a while 'till you soften up..............oh no that's crocs like that I think:-)
Anyway great luck to you & yr friend, life without risk is not life at all
Wmk2:-)
p.s..............Norfolk Is is a "safe" place for a ditching I hear, high probability of survival & there's already a new aviation museum there you could add to if you needed to park yr new shinny plane off airport, trouble is it's hundreds of feet below the water!!!!!
Last edited by Wally Mk2; 21st Nov 2009 at 21:31.
PPRuNe Handmaiden
Charles Kingsford Smith
james ozzie in Brisbane on an aviation themed website on the Dunnunda forum on a thread about flying the Pacific - really needs to ask? 
Sh!t - time to retire that username, and get yourself another, me thinks.
Sh!t - time to retire that username, and get yourself another, me thinks.
Join Date: Oct 2002
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And if you ditch off Norfolk a journalist will write a lovely article about how sexy you are.....
http://www.pprune.org/dg-p-reporting...-reporter.html
You're braver than I am. I've done it once but wouldn't even think about it in a single anything. I can also vouch for Hilo being a great spot. Awesome place to spend a night. Would like to go back for longer.
Best of luck.
http://www.pprune.org/dg-p-reporting...-reporter.html
You're braver than I am. I've done it once but wouldn't even think about it in a single anything. I can also vouch for Hilo being a great spot. Awesome place to spend a night. Would like to go back for longer.
Best of luck.