Aircraft ferry pilots
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Hong Kong
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Mach E Avelli,
I remember standing next to the tanks with my Leatherman thinking the same thing, but an old Chieftain and avgas convinced me to go with the devil I knew. Who knew what was under the floor.
I went to the bag tanks with a long filler neck after that. The plan was to put the filler neck out the door and throw something on the tank. Fortunately I never had to prove it.
There has got to be a good book in all this stuff!
Jb
I remember standing next to the tanks with my Leatherman thinking the same thing, but an old Chieftain and avgas convinced me to go with the devil I knew. Who knew what was under the floor.
I went to the bag tanks with a long filler neck after that. The plan was to put the filler neck out the door and throw something on the tank. Fortunately I never had to prove it.
There has got to be a good book in all this stuff!
Jb
Why thank you. Always willing to answer sensible and genuine questions as best as possible. But only within my personal sphere of knowledge. I rarely get into the Tech Log stuff these days because I fear technology has passed me by....but ferry flying and jurassic jets can do.
You refer to the nastiness that pervades Pprune at times. Sometimes, though, the attitude or turn of phrase of some posters does invite ridicule or a good old wind-up. We could just ignore it, but there's no fun to be had in that.
For those on the receiving end, the moral being engage brain before hitting the 'send' button. Try to view your post the way others will read it. Or if you intend a deliberate wind-up, ask "will some sucker take the bait and will it spur further debate?"
But trading insults or engaging in 'mine is bigger than yours' is simply juvenile.
You refer to the nastiness that pervades Pprune at times. Sometimes, though, the attitude or turn of phrase of some posters does invite ridicule or a good old wind-up. We could just ignore it, but there's no fun to be had in that.
For those on the receiving end, the moral being engage brain before hitting the 'send' button. Try to view your post the way others will read it. Or if you intend a deliberate wind-up, ask "will some sucker take the bait and will it spur further debate?"
But trading insults or engaging in 'mine is bigger than yours' is simply juvenile.
Last edited by Mach E Avelli; 7th Jun 2013 at 01:22.
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Humberside
Age: 58
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Ferry it yourself?
Do it yourself for the experience, with or without a ferry pilot? Easy ferrying across the Pacific.
I guess your insurers may view it differently.
They usually require a minimum of 5 trans-oceanic flights before they will even consider cover.
Yes ferry pilots are territorial but on long range ferry flights, there is bigger issue.
Weight, ie the lack of useful load. Especially if the range of the aircraft has been extended.
I get countless requests for low time pilots wanting to get into ferrying.
I can understand the attraction in that it presents a great opportunity to build hours.
What they don't realise however is the special skill set that's needed.
The insurance Pre requisites are in place for very good reason.
Also being in very close proximity to someone who your not familiar with on long legs with long days and short nights can be challenging in itself.
Trans Oceanic flights aren't for inexperienced pilots, if someone is lucky enough to want their aircraft ferrying and they're lucky enough to be along for the ride, they will without doubt have a great time but will see for sure their money was well spent and the trip made much more enjoyable by the skills of a good ferry pilot.
I guess your insurers may view it differently.
They usually require a minimum of 5 trans-oceanic flights before they will even consider cover.
Yes ferry pilots are territorial but on long range ferry flights, there is bigger issue.
Weight, ie the lack of useful load. Especially if the range of the aircraft has been extended.
I get countless requests for low time pilots wanting to get into ferrying.
I can understand the attraction in that it presents a great opportunity to build hours.
What they don't realise however is the special skill set that's needed.
The insurance Pre requisites are in place for very good reason.
Also being in very close proximity to someone who your not familiar with on long legs with long days and short nights can be challenging in itself.
Trans Oceanic flights aren't for inexperienced pilots, if someone is lucky enough to want their aircraft ferrying and they're lucky enough to be along for the ride, they will without doubt have a great time but will see for sure their money was well spent and the trip made much more enjoyable by the skills of a good ferry pilot.
Last edited by debiassi; 14th Jun 2013 at 21:09.
Debiassi, there are a few good ferry pilots out there, and some who I would never trust with my turbos or turbines. As I said in an earlier post, ferrying as a profession does require certain qualities, but I don't think exceptional flying skill - or even smarts - is essential. A few of the guys I associated with were, to put it kindly, pretty damn ordinary. Some, to the point of being downright rough.
Many moons ago I was at Tarawa when a C337 came through in an awful hurry. He topped off the tanks and blasted off. Lucky for him I was next at the fuel point and noticed the wing tank fuel cap on the ground. It took another hour of frantic to and fro with Nadi on HF to get the silly bugger turned around. There are other horror stories, but I won't bore you.
Now that we have GPS, a competent IFR pilot can most certainly tackle the Pacific. There is nothing in ICAO or state rules that says otherwise.
Whether insurers would accept a particular pilot would depend on many factors, such as overall experience, time on type, recency etc. Knowing insurers, there would probably be a loading on the premium if the aircraft was tanked to an overweight condition. If the trip was within the normal fuel range of the aircraft, any excess would be more likely a result of the territory being traversed e.g. politically-unstable countries.
But 'competent' is the key-word. I would rather trust someone I knew to be responsible, safe and with time on type to deliver my pride and joy in preference to an unknown, no matter what spin the ferry company may give me.
If only the GPS system collapsed and we had to return to astro, there would be a stronger case to claim ferrying as an exclusive skill.
Many moons ago I was at Tarawa when a C337 came through in an awful hurry. He topped off the tanks and blasted off. Lucky for him I was next at the fuel point and noticed the wing tank fuel cap on the ground. It took another hour of frantic to and fro with Nadi on HF to get the silly bugger turned around. There are other horror stories, but I won't bore you.
Now that we have GPS, a competent IFR pilot can most certainly tackle the Pacific. There is nothing in ICAO or state rules that says otherwise.
Whether insurers would accept a particular pilot would depend on many factors, such as overall experience, time on type, recency etc. Knowing insurers, there would probably be a loading on the premium if the aircraft was tanked to an overweight condition. If the trip was within the normal fuel range of the aircraft, any excess would be more likely a result of the territory being traversed e.g. politically-unstable countries.
But 'competent' is the key-word. I would rather trust someone I knew to be responsible, safe and with time on type to deliver my pride and joy in preference to an unknown, no matter what spin the ferry company may give me.
If only the GPS system collapsed and we had to return to astro, there would be a stronger case to claim ferrying as an exclusive skill.
Join Date: Feb 2014
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the real ferry flying
Your descriptions remind me of an average day deployed in various parts of the world, sounds great. I'm still completing my CPL/ATPL but will certainly be looking for trans-ocean ferry flying spots.
