Real World International Prop Flight

[Guest stuartpaul]

What would real-world pilots do?An interesting Sim challenge: bringing a Beech C90 back to Wichita from Tahiti/Christmas Island, in the South Pacific.I can make Hawaii easy, +/- 800 nautical miles. The problem is Hawaii to the mainland U.S. - minimum distance is +/- 2100 nautical miles. Question: Do I add additional drop tanks to extend the range from +/- 1300 nautical miles to +/- 2300 (and additional weight), or take the long way home, with shorter hops through the Philippeans, Japan, Alaska, and then down the West Coast?How do they handle such international ferrying operations in the real world? The long leg over water to get home from Hawaii seems to push it, but maybe that's what makes these types of assignments fun.Anybody out there ever do any international ferrying operations?

[KevinAu 441]

You wouldn't add drop tanks. What you would do is temporarily modify the plane to carry ferry tanks in the cabin. Or you can take the alternate route like you suggested.

[Guest jrewing]

Hi Stuart,I've not done any oceanic ferry flights myself, but I have seen several prop aircraft being prepared for flights from Oakland to Hawaii.Recently, I saw two Piper Navajos prepared at OAK with ferry tanks that occupied the entire cabin. It looked to me that, should the pilot have to ditch, s/he would have to climb over the tank to get to the exit - yikes! From a distance, it looked like the plane's tires needed air - it was the weight of all that fuel. I heard one of these Navajos taxiing for takeoff and he asked for 29 - the longest runway available at OAK.I had an opportunity to chat with a ferry pilot who was flying a new turbo C206 from Oakland to Honolulu, a trip he said was estimated to take 18 hours. He had a very long sub sandwich and several large bottles of water. He said he'd know he was getting close to Hawaii when the sandwich was almost gone!Bill Cox, who I believe writes for Plane & Pilot, often describes his ferry flights across the Pacific. You might check out some back issues.Also, check out this link for a description of a Socata TBM700 ferry flight from France to Florida.http://socata.eads.net/frame/lang/en/1024/...0/31800003.htmlCheers,John

[Guest]

Another option that's often taken is to remove the wings and ship the aircraft in a crate by ship (or cargo aircraft if you can afford it and are in a hurry).Not as glamorous of course.