
Pilots who risk their lives flying tiny planes over the Atlantic - curtis
https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34484972
======
w1nt3rmu4e
My father did this at least once (maybe a couple of times?) in the 90s,
ferrying twin engine aircraft to the newly formed Czech Republic. This was, as
I understand it, to establish the first commuter airline in the country.

Long story short, halfway between the East Coast and Iceland one, and then
both, engines cut out. They had just a couple of minutes to figure out what
had gone wrong before they ditched. And given the temp of the water that was
very likely to be a death sentence.

With less than 10k feet to go, they noticed the fuel tanks in the back were
buckled inward. They weren't vented properly. A pocket knife solved the
problem and a few seconds later the engines restarted.

SOP for ferrying a small plane across the Atlantic is to install "external"
fuel tanks in the space normally used for passengers. Whoever installed them
in Maine didn't vent them.

The punchline was that he and his copilot were (at the time) both smokers.
After that ordeal, they both wanted nothing more than to light up. But the
cabin was full of gas fumes, so lighting a lighter was likely to blow up the
airplane.

~~~
w1nt3rmu4e
[Edit]

Oddly enough, I just talked to my father for the first time in years. It's
amazing how faulty memory narrates.

It was a Cessna 421 and the tanks were vented, but the vents had frozen over
because of a heater failure. The temp was 42F below zero. They didn't puncture
the tanks, just unscrewed the caps.

The craziest part, which I had forgotten, wasn't the problem with smoking.
Their nav equipment had failed after the engines quit. They had to dead reckon
to Iceland. They were much closer than halfway, but were still navigating
blind.

Needless to say they sighted Iceland and found the airport.

~~~
toomuchtodo
Talk to your father more. You’ll most likely regret not doing so when he’s
gone.

~~~
Flowsion
Strange comment, when you have zero information about their relationship.

------
michael_miller
I took my Cirrus SR22 airplane across the pond and back a few months ago [KFRG
CYHU CYZV CYYR CYKL CYFB BGSF BIRK EGPC]. Two things surprised me: the manner
people live up North, and how modernized technology is changing the risk
profile of the flight.

People up north (well, native people anyway) live a sustenance lifestyle of of
necessity. Far from being a "cultural attraction," for them, it's a choice
between a $20 stick of butter and a free whale from the ocean. When you're
living on government subsidies in a town plagued by joblessness, there's not
much of a choice.

The economic condition up in arctic Canada was saddening in other ways.
Imagine living in -40F climates, and not having a place to stay. There are
often 15-20 people per tiny house, with children's mattresses strewn across
the ground of the living room. On top of the living quarters, the
communications infrastructure was horrendous - a satellite backbone for
internet that was next to useless for getting a weather briefing.

While the situation on the ground was... enlightening, from the air, things
are becoming immensely more modern. Historically dangerous aspects to ferry
flights are now void: communication, navigation, and rescue are all radically
transformed.

Communication used to be a huge challenge (think clunky HF radio with a 25
foot trailing link antenna), but is now a non-event with a satellite phone. My
Iridium candy-bar phone, while expensive, now gives me the ability to call ATC
worldwide and let them know my exact position. By next year, ATC will
automatically get real-time position updates from any ADS-B equipped aircraft:
[https://aireon.com/](https://aireon.com/).

Navigation used to be a combination of LORAN, NDBs, and looking at the stars
(no joke). Now, it's GPS direct. You know exactly where you are at all times,
with 0 ambiguity. And you have an iPhone in your pocket as a backup, even if
your plane goes totally dark.

Rescue is now a matter of hours instead of days. I carried a PLB with me. If I
pressed a button, satellites would be pinged with an SOS signal and my exact
GPS location. Rescue aircraft could be dispatched immediately and on-site
within hours.

For anyone thinking about this trip, do it! The adventure will give you an
appreciation for the frontiers of technology.

~~~
unionemployee
While this is true, many of the aircraft that are ferried lack this equipment.
Even plenty of airliners are still crossing the pond with just HF and SELCAL.

~~~
cjrp
Why though? ForeFlight + iPad + bluetooth GPS module is all you need, doesn't
have to be part of the panel/approved/etc.

------
nisse72
Not ferrying per se, but an interesting story of flying a Boeing 314 from
Auckland to New York "the long way round" in December 1941, just after the
Pearl Harbour attacks, with the challenges of refueling and avoiding the war,
and without charts:

[https://medium.com/s/story/the-long-way-round-the-plane-
that...](https://medium.com/s/story/the-long-way-round-the-plane-that-
accidentally-circumnavigated-the-world-c04ca734c6bb)

~~~
avs733
Its kind of obscure but the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum has a magazine
that regularly has mind boggling stories like that that and others.

[https://www.airspacemag.com/](https://www.airspacemag.com/)

------
shagie
An autobiographical story of ferrying a Cessna C150 from Oshkosh, WI to
Gaborone, Botswana:
[http://www.cessna150-152.com/transatlantic.htm](http://www.cessna150-152.com/transatlantic.htm)

It has information about swapping out seats for a fuel tanks, a broken
antenna, bribes / extra fees.

> Although Leon could talk to air traffic controllers in Gander, New York and
> Santa Maria, the biggest problem was the disbelief from the airliners when
> they continually asked for his aircraft type.

~~~
bjoerns
great story. I used to train on a C152 and knew a few guys at the local
aerodrome who had done ferry flights from the US to the UK. Which is something
I (as a shitty weekend VFR pilot) have the uttermost respect for. But that
story about getting it from Oskosh to Gaborone, wow.

~~~
dingaling
Textron still deliver some single-engined 172s and 182s eastbound like that.
They've recently started staging through Belfast Aldergrove airport, which is
what brought it to my attention. I had assumed they'd go as deck cargo.

Daher send TBM turboprops westbound by the same route but at least they're
pressurised. Pilatus stage PC-12s through Prestwick in Scotland.

Occasionally at Belfast we see unusual types being ferried by Southern Cross,
who specialise in such work:

[http://southernx.com](http://southernx.com)

------
dctoedt
In the 1950s my dad, a USAF pilot and Korean War veteran, did a tour as a
ferry pilot, flying (among others) single-engine fighter jets over the North
Atlantic ... in winter. He recounted that he and his squadron mates were
naturally concerned about losing the engine, going in the water, and quickly
freezing to death. They kicked around the idea of doing what legendary fighter
pilot "Robbie" Risner had successfully done for his wingman in combat in Korea
a few years earlier: Get behind and push [0]. During the Vietnam War, a
variation on this idea became known as "Pardo's Push" [1]

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Robinson_Risner#Korean_W...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Robinson_Risner#Korean_War)

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pardo%27s_Push](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pardo%27s_Push)

------
bacon_waffle
Every year, there are a number of Kenn Borek planes, mostly Twin Otters, that
need to be moved from the Arctic to the Antarctic and back. These planes
mainly work out of McMurdo Station during the Austral summer, but McMurdo is
far enough from the nearest civilisation (New Zealand) that the planes can't
fly directly (nevermind that getting to NZ from Canada would be an epic by
itself).

So, they fly the length of the Americas, hop over to the Antarctic Peninsula,
and cross the continent over South Pole, to get to McMurdo. This all happens
at about the earliest and latest in the summer when the planes can fly, so
that puts them going through some pretty marginal conditions at South Pole in
particular.

It's also very important that the crews bring "freshies" from South America or
they may not be allowed in to the station at South Pole, where they're the
first outsiders in ~9 months.

~~~
aunty_helen
Yea those Kenn Borek guys are a different breed.

I think this has been posted here before but:
[https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/kenn-borek-
smithsonia...](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/kenn-borek-smithsonian-
award-1.4046501)

As for the crossing from NZ-Antarctica, even large planes struggle, there's
generally a point in the journey that they have to commit to landing as they
don't have enough fuel to get there, abort and come back. This can be an issue
as the weather in Antartica changes rapidly so you may find yourself in a
storm after getting the green light to commit, as the RNZAF 757 did a few
years ago:

[https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/news/65543703/murray-
mccullys...](https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/news/65543703/murray-mccullys-
dramatic-antarctic-flight-report-released)

(I'm not sure if the C-17 planes the USA fly down there have the same issue
but every other plane will)

~~~
bacon_waffle
The C17 usually flies from Christchurch to McMurdo and back, without taking on
fuel in McMurdo. They are such impressive machines!

~~~
aunty_helen
Impressive as they are, the last(final?) time the C-5 came to Christchurch the
C-17s looked ordinary next to them. When the C-5 was lined up, the taxing
A320's looked like dinkys. However, the C-5 was to big to head down to the
ice.

------
phillc73
I had a low hours Piper Chieftain ferried to Australia from the UK about eight
years ago. Availability of Avgas was the major limiting enroute factor. I have
some great pictures of the aeroplane being refueled by hand in India - not a
hand pump, really by hand. They were emptying 10 litre buckets into a funnel
stuck in the wing fuel tank cap.

~~~
jabl
From what I've understood, in many places around the world, Jet A1 is all
there is. Some years ago there seemed to be considerable interest in diesel
aero engines for small aircraft, but it seems the hoopla has died down
somewhat? Or maybe I'm not following it as much as I used to..?

~~~
TylerE
Diesels are still a thing. Inertia in the GA market is a bitch. '

Diesel does seem to be the way of the future though, since you can run them on
jey fuel. Standard avgas is still leaded, which is a big problem.

------
kevin_thibedeau
Dassault business jets are ferried over to the US from France in an incomplete
state. They are unpainted and empty inside with only a rudimentary set of
temporary cockpit instruments. They are consequently too light to land safely
and have to be loaded with lead ballast.

~~~
Meerax
Too light to land is something I'd never considered before today. Cool!

~~~
geff82
The problem is when having not enough load in certain areas of the plane its
center of gravity gets out of limits. For example it is quite common for small
sailplane pilots to load some kilos of lead in designated parts below their
feet to balance the plane.

~~~
dghughes
Weight and balance is a big part of flying I recall dreading that when I took
flying lessons (I think 30 years ago! I'm old).

------
teh_klev
There's a YouTube channel by a young flyer called Matt Guthmiller I quite
enjoy watching. There's a series of videos he recorded about piloting (and co-
piloting) a Cessna 210 from the US to the UK (and beyond). This is the
playlist (I think it's in the correct chronological order):

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9Uf-
ynoDUE&list=PLoruKoPAfK...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9Uf-
ynoDUE&list=PLoruKoPAfKKiKWuupTLUWY9225AvlVz8t)

I think at some point in the journey they also needed to use oxygen because
they needed to fly above 10000 feet. Looked like quite an adventure.

~~~
treahauet
He set a world record for being the youngest pilot to circumnavigate the globe
solo at 19. The record has been beaten since then, but what an accomplishment!

He’s also an MIT student studying electrical engineering and computer science.

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Guthmiller#Solo_flight_...](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Guthmiller#Solo_flight_around_the_world)

~~~
teh_klev
Yes, of course, I'd completely forgotten about that achievement.

------
bogomipz
The article states:

>"This delivery will cost the owner about $20,000 (£13,000)."

I am curious why not put the light craft on a cargo ship to cross the
Atlantic? How much more could it be? Or is the ferry piloting of light
aircraft really steeped in tradition?

I would think that anyone buying a plane is maybe not on such a tight budget.

~~~
hesdeadjim
I imagine it’s purely supply and demand when it comes to willing pilots versus
the number of planes that need delivery.

And practically speaking as a buyer having the plane flown to me is the
equivalent of two day shipping instead of ground freight when it comes to the
“I want it now” mentality.

I also figured it would cost far more. $20k is nothing compared to the cost of
the plane.

~~~
kenneth
Light aircraft are pretty cheap. A Cessna 150 can be acquired for just ~$15k.

~~~
mlevental
can you please show me where you could find a deal like that? not doubting you
just curious

~~~
mikeash
You’ll find plenty on [https://www.trade-a-plane.com/](https://www.trade-a-
plane.com/) for example. Although I would be extremely wary of actually flying
one that was selling for that price. You’re probably buying a project, not an
airplane.

------
WalterBright
During WW2, the B-17's were not shipped to England. They were flown over the
Atlantic by the crews that would fly them in combat. Many were lost that way.

Navigation was done with a sextant.

------
meesterdude
They did this a number of times in the show "ice pilots" on netflix. Had to
get training on ditching, and fly the entire route wearing emergency gear in
case the plane crashed. Pretty intense, definitely one of my favorite aviation
shows, next to "come fly with me" (which is hilarious).

------
PhantomGremlin
The Pacific is even more formidable.

There was a guy a few years ago flying a twin engine Cessna from California to
Hawaii. He didn't make it. Lucky for him the Coast Guard fished him out of the
water.

[https://www.cnn.com/2011/10/08/us/hawaii-plane-
emergency/ind...](https://www.cnn.com/2011/10/08/us/hawaii-plane-
emergency/index.html)

~~~
markab21
There was another incident like that too, a guy tried to make it to Hawaii and
calculated he'd not make it because of headwinds and had to ditch. He deployed
his airframe parachute in the plane and was picked up by a life boat from a
cruise ship.

Here is the coastguard video of the event:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBCUQlF3MMU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBCUQlF3MMU)

------
briandear
This book is an awesome read of you like ferry-pilot “war@ stories:
[https://www.amazon.com/Shark-Bait-Misadventures-Oceanic-
Ferr...](https://www.amazon.com/Shark-Bait-Misadventures-Oceanic-
Ferry/dp/1500892505)

~~~
albanc
Another book recommendation is Air Vagabonds, by Anthony Vallone [1].

Lots of hilarious anecdotes about the world of small plane ferrying and its
colorful cast of characters. One of my favorite parts is the story of a ferry
pilot who hits a giraffe while flying low over Botswana to stay awake.

[1] [https://www.amazon.com/Air-Vagabonds-Oceans-Airmen-
Adventure...](https://www.amazon.com/Air-Vagabonds-Oceans-Airmen-
Adventure/dp/1588341372)

------
mastazi
This is one of the dream jobs of aviation in my opinion. Many young pilots
dream of becoming military pilots or airline captains, but for me the dream
would be either ferry flights or bush flying to remote areas.

Some people invest large sums of money for an adventure flying around the
world (see link below that has many examples) but if you are a ferry pilot or
a bush pilot you are basically being paid to live the adventure.

While not being about ferry flights, the website
[http://www.soloflights.org/index.html](http://www.soloflights.org/index.html)
has a list of common Atlantic and Pacific routes, it's very interesting.

------
walrus01
These guys flew a Cessna 210 across the atlantic via Nunavut and Greenland:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9Uf-
ynoDUE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9Uf-ynoDUE)

------
srean
I think a discussion would be incomplete without remembering The Little
Prince, Wind Sand and Stars. Time for me to read Saint-Exupery again.

If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to gather wood, divide the
work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless
sea. -- Antoine Saint-Exupery

One biographer wrote of his most famous work: "Rarely have an author and a
character been so intimately bound together as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and
his Little Prince," and remarking of their dual fates, "...the two remain
tangled together, twin innocents who fell from the sky." \-- From Wikipedia

~~~
mulmen
Pet peeve but it matters. That quote “from Wikipedia” [1] is by Stacy Schiff
and published in the New York Times [2]. Wikipedia Should never be referenced
as a primary source. It does include citations to the proper sources.

[1]:
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Prince](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Prince)
[2]:
[https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/00/06/25/b...](https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/00/06/25/bookend/bookend.html)

~~~
srean
Fair enough.

It was a deliberate choice though. I did not want (a) to give an impression
that I was familiar with the original source and (b) felt a few readers would
be piqued enough to read the Wikipedia page for more.

~~~
mulmen
If you want people to read something providing a link and proper context is a
good start. It’s obvious that you have familiarity because you’re posting
about it.

------
Treegarden
I wish there was a longer docuementary about this

~~~
dgl
[https://youtu.be/ENVvwAT25Jk](https://youtu.be/ENVvwAT25Jk)

------
Damogran6
Dad had a Saratoga (Malibu with a piston engine instead of a turboprop)...this
takes me back.

------
yuhong
This reminds me of personal flying machines like the BlackFly. Obviously for
most of them things like this are unrealistic, but this is part of why the
Schengen Area is so important for example.

