Ferry Flights; urgent advice requested
 

I’ve recently been asked to fly a Cherokee 6 to the States. Having just finished at Oxford with a multi CPL IR and never flown outside the UK there are some things I need to learn about. I have never met or heard of the a/c owner, however he does seem to buy in and sell on many private aircraft.

Please could you list below or e-mail any points you feel I should be considering (not least taking a single engine over a large expanse of water!)

All comments and advice will be very, very welcome.

Happy Landings,


ZSB.

Insurance
More insurance

Survival equipment:
ELT - preferably with Sat. capability
Immersion suit
Survival raft, etc

Navigational equipment:
Nav Rx appropriate to available en-route & diversion airfields AND approaches
GPS x two or more

Communications equipment:
HF for the route

Weather forecasts

Probably a stack of things I can't think of...

Did I mention insurance?

Don't forget the insurance

JF

Obviously serious pre -flt is in order.Go over the Technical log with a fine tooth comb ,if your not to sure about what docs you require overall seek advice.
Good Luck .

If you're worried about that one little engine and if she's all that the books say she is get a Compression check carried out on the cylinders...quick cheap and it does tell quite a bit about a piston engines state.

The approach at Narsarsuaq Greenland is damn nasty be careful.

Most of it covered above.
Shortest legs are Stornaway, Reyk., Sonderstrom, Frobisher.
Getting permission for Sonderstrom is a nightmare ( Pentagon and Danish Govmnt.)if you land without permission they just fine you $100 (preprinted on landing invoice!) - worth it if weather not great.
You will need 12k plus altitiude across Greenland so check icing levels.
Check what register the aircraft is on UK or FAA.
Dont rush !! wait for the weather and to hell with anybodies timetable.
By next month weather is better.
GPS is great but dont forget magnetic variation !

Strongly recommended; make sure that you're able to take a leak up there!

Goodluck, E.

I would recommend some more flight experience.

Just fresh from ab-initio school with minimum flight hours and no experience after having obtained a CPL. No experience outside the UK.

Be very carefull in what you can and may.

go to http://www.google.com and do a search using ferry flight. lots of usefull info.

also try:

http://www.ponceby.com/index.html
http://www.priortrip.com/
http://www.millenniumflight.com/

regards, andreas

I'm pretty sure that the US AOPA organisation has a booklet on Atlantic ferry flights. Perhaps you can contact them. Their URL is www.aopa.org, but the members section is protected.
I believe that a course is offered in the US somewhere on this.
I have also heard that some insurance companies will not touch you unless you are accompanied by a pilot with ferry experience.

Thanks for all of your responses.

As things happen I have passed on the flight details to a company who deals with Ferry Flights called 'Wings of Eagles'. If they do the flight I might well ask to come along. All the same, I had decided not to go without necessary safety equipment (ELT, life raft, sub-mersion suite, HF comms).

Also I've got an interview on Thursday and if by a stroke of luck I get selected the course starts on Monday (here's hopeing!)leaving no time for the flight.

Happy Landings all,


ZSB

Dont even think about it without a ferry pilot with you.

It is unlikely you will be able to obtain any insurance at all without having done the trip before. So why not fly with the ferry pilot.

you will learn a lot and be able to get insurance for the next trip !