Well over 12 hours spent out over the Pacific in a Navajo. Looks like a pulse-raising experience, especially as it seems the flight is taking longer than originally planned for. Anyone with any inside scoop as to how much fuel was stuffed into ferry tanks and whatnot?
Pr1268 From United States of America, joined Dec 2003, 232 posts, RR: 0 Reply 1, posted (5 years 10 months 3 weeks 4 days 22 hours ago) and read 6941 times:
The Navajo landed 2 hrs ago (as of 5:00 AM UTC July 1). 12 hours and 7 minutes in the air. This does seem like an interesting flight, considering its route and length.
The only time an aircraft has too much fuel is when it is on fire.
Jetjeanes From United States of America, joined Oct 2004, 1415 posts, RR: 1 Reply 2, posted (5 years 10 months 3 weeks 4 days 21 hours ago) and read 6906 times:
I think i would rather not choose a navaho to cross the pacific. Especially with enough fuel in the ferry tanks im surprised
it would have gotten off the ground for a 12 hr flight. I would think the pilot would have had some hesitation. How did they do it back in the old days put them on ships or what..
Type-Rated From United States of America, joined Sep 1999, 4343 posts, RR: 20 Reply 3, posted (5 years 10 months 3 weeks 4 days 21 hours ago) and read 6883 times:
If you can make it SFO/OAK-HNL then you can hop anywhere else across the Pacific just by island hopping.
I imagine those pilots will have the sound of those engines in their ears for days to come! That is a long flight!
Fly North Central Airlines..The route of the Northliners!
Nrcnyc From United States of America, joined Apr 2005, 111 posts, RR: 0 Reply 4, posted (5 years 10 months 3 weeks 4 days 20 hours ago) and read 6810 times:
so do they pee in a cup?
seriously, that must be one heck of a flight. What happens if one engine fails? or both? man i cant imagine what it would be like to bob up and down in the pacific untill the coast guard finds you.
EMBQA From United States of America, joined Oct 2003, 9286 posts, RR: 13 Reply 5, posted (5 years 10 months 3 weeks 4 days 14 hours ago) and read 6628 times:
There is a Saab 340 Ferrying from the US to Australia today as well.
Quoting Nrcnyc (Reply 4): What happens if one engine fails? or both?
You get wet.......
Quoting Nrcnyc (Reply 4): i cant imagine what it would be like to bob up and down in the pacific until the coast guard finds you.
Coast Guard...? What Coast Guard...??
[Edited 2007-07-01 15:00:25]
"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog"
Jetmatt777 From United States of America, joined Jun 2005, 2660 posts, RR: 36 Reply 6, posted (5 years 10 months 3 weeks 4 days 14 hours ago) and read 6579 times:
Quoting Nrcnyc (Reply 4): i cant imagine what it would be like to bob up and down in the pacific untill the coast guard finds you.
Quoting EMBQA (Reply 5): Coast Guard...? What Coast Guard...??
Yeah, out there you would drown or you would wind up on a deserted island like Tom Hanks did on "Cast Away".
I couldn't sit in something that small for that long over nothing but water.
Coal From United States of America, joined Aug 2006, 1625 posts, RR: 6 Reply 7, posted (5 years 10 months 3 weeks 4 days 14 hours ago) and read 6542 times:
Quoting Nrcnyc (Reply 4): What happens if one engine fails? or both?
Quoting Jetmatt777 (Reply 6): Yeah, out there you would drown or you would wind up on a deserted island like Tom Hanks did on "Cast Away".
...and hope to have a volley ball with you
Cheers Coal
Nxt Flts: QR SIN-DPS | SQ DPS-SIN | 3K SIN-SGN-SIN | SQ SIN-PEK | CA PEK-FNJ-PEK | CX PEK-HKG-CGK
N710PS From United States of America, joined Oct 2006, 1166 posts, RR: 4 Reply 8, posted (5 years 10 months 3 weeks 4 days 11 hours ago) and read 6084 times:
good luck after a few hours in really salty ans relatively cool water with the sharks as when your skin starts to tear from the water logging you will become lunch meat.
There is plenty of room for Gods animals, right next to the mashed potatoes!
C680 From United States of America, joined Apr 2005, 531 posts, RR: 0 Reply 9, posted (5 years 10 months 3 weeks 4 days 11 hours ago) and read 5980 times:
Quoting Type-Rated (Reply 3): If you can make it SFO/OAK-HNL then you can hop anywhere else across the Pacific just by island hopping.
Amen.
Actually if you can go West Coast to Hawaii, you can go just about anywhere in the world.
My preferred jumping off point is MRY - it's the shortest by a mile or two, and the FBOs there are more Hawaii bound aware for GA pilots.
Quoting N710PS (Reply 8): good luck after a few hours in really salty ans relatively cool water with the sharks as when your skin starts to tear from the water logging you will become lunch meat.
Gee, thanks for that thought - I'll have a few thoughts for you next time I hit ETP
EMBQA From United States of America, joined Oct 2003, 9286 posts, RR: 13 Reply 10, posted (5 years 10 months 3 weeks 4 days 11 hours ago) and read 5933 times:
Rbgso From United States of America, joined Jun 2006, 575 posts, RR: 0 Reply 11, posted (5 years 10 months 3 weeks 4 days 11 hours ago) and read 5691 times:
Quoting EMBQA (Reply 5): What happens if one engine fails? or both?
If you're lucky, you land on an island inhabited by the Swedish bikini team, or perhaps the Hawaiian Tropic girls.....
Or I suppose you could rig up the sort of pee-tube some gliders have - essentially a funnel with a hose leading to the outside, with suction increasing with airspeed. But I would be very nervous about putting my bits anywhere near one of those...
On the scale of balls... I give more credit to the Navajo. Turbines are a bit more reliable than Pistons. Either way, they've both got more than I ever would... you'd never catch me flying in something like that from the mainland to a Pacific island.
This is the new ETOPS 240 qualified Saab 340, right?
EMBQA From United States of America, joined Oct 2003, 9286 posts, RR: 13 Reply 14, posted (5 years 10 months 3 weeks 4 days 9 hours ago) and read 4982 times:
Quoting Tornado82 (Reply 13): Either way, they've both got more than I ever would... you'd never catch me flying in something like that from the mainland to a Pacific island.
It's a long term contract and I have been invited to do a flight..... which I might just do. But trust me, I'm getting a Business Class seat on Qantas for the trip home...!!
"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog"
PapaNovember From United States of America, joined Jan 2005, 473 posts, RR: 2 Reply 15, posted (5 years 10 months 3 weeks 4 days 9 hours ago) and read 4816 times:
Why was their altitude (the Navajo) only 6,000 ft. Wouldn't you want to be much, much higher!?
Pr1268 From United States of America, joined Dec 2003, 232 posts, RR: 0 Reply 16, posted (5 years 10 months 3 weeks 4 days 9 hours ago) and read 4816 times:
Charles A. Lindbergh carried an empty coffee can with him on his famous New York-Paris flight.
Quoting C680 (Reply 9): My preferred jumping off point is MRY - it's the shortest by a mile or two, and the FBOs there are more Hawaii bound aware for GA pilots.
Being totally silly here, pilots can take advantage of MRY's downhill runway 28L, after all the west end of the runway is over 100ft (31m) LOWER than the east end (according to the FAA's PDF http://www.naco.faa.gov/d-tpp/0704/00271AD.PDF).
The only time an aircraft has too much fuel is when it is on fire.
CcrlR From United States of America, joined Aug 2001, 2203 posts, RR: 1 Reply 17, posted (5 years 10 months 3 weeks 4 days 8 hours ago) and read 4440 times:
Quoting PapaNovember (Reply 15): Why was their altitude (the Navajo) only 6,000 ft. Wouldn't you want to be much, much higher!?
If it is pressurized, it can. But if it is not then they would have to be at a lower altitude. Any flying around 8,000 to 10,000 feet you need supplemental oxygen to survive at that altitude and you have to make certain that the engine will be able to operate at that altitude. If you check the Saab's flightplan (in the 10th post through the link), they are going to 22,000 feet. The airplane is pressurized and that may be the highest operating ceiling for the turboprop.
[Edited 2007-07-01 20:41:38]
"He was right, it is a screaming metal deathtrap!"-Cosmo (from the Fairly Oddparents)
FlyUSCG From United States of America, joined Jun 2006, 656 posts, RR: 0 Reply 18, posted (5 years 10 months 3 weeks 4 days 8 hours ago) and read 4323 times:
Quoting CcrlR (Reply 17): Any flying around 8,000 to 10,000 feet you need supplemental oxygen to survive
I used to file 10,500 or 11,500 when I did my solo cross countries in a C-172. Granted they were never more than a couple hours at that altitude. But the point is, someone who is used to it can survive there no problem. You're not exactly exerting yourself in such a way that you need all that extra oxygen you'd find at 6,000 feet. And of course we all know what the FAR's say about supplemental O2 in a non-pressurized aircraft: Any flight in excess of 12,500 feet for more than 30 minutes requires the pilots to be on supplemental oxygen. So back to the Navajo, it would have probably been more economical for them to file 10,000 or something around there. Not to mention it gives you extra time should something go wrong.
Chrisair From United States of America, joined Sep 2000, 1769 posts, RR: 4 Reply 19, posted (5 years 10 months 3 weeks 4 days 7 hours ago) and read 4052 times:
There's an interesting book on Amazon titled "so you want to be a ferry pilot."
It's a very good read. Needless to say, 12 hours over the pacific wouldn't be my idea of fun--in anything. Let alone a Piper or Cessna or SF-340.
Flinhion757 From United States of America, joined Jul 2006, 229 posts, RR: 0 Reply 20, posted (5 years 10 months 3 weeks 4 days 6 hours ago) and read 3249 times:
A Citation CJ3 can't evern do it... I would rather fly something else anyway!
EMBQA From United States of America, joined Oct 2003, 9286 posts, RR: 13 Reply 22, posted (5 years 10 months 3 weeks 4 days 4 hours ago) and read 2638 times:
Quoting CaptainJon (Reply 21): I never heard of the term ferry flight used before...what is it exactly?
Moving the aircraft without passengers for a means other then revenue........I've done several and they can be a lot of fun. Very casual
[Edited 2007-07-02 00:52:37]
"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog"
Flyboyseven From Canada, joined Feb 2007, 903 posts, RR: 1 Reply 23, posted (5 years 10 months 3 weeks 4 days 4 hours ago) and read 2589 times:
I read a book about a ferry flight to Hawaii in an Otter. It lasted around 24 hours. There was an airline pilot talking to him on the radio on his way to Honolulu, and on his way back the next day the Otter was still going. There was also only one pilot in the Otter.
As long as the number of take-offs equals the number of landings...you're doing fine.
Type-Rated From United States of America, joined Sep 1999, 4343 posts, RR: 20 Reply 24, posted (5 years 10 months 3 weeks 4 days 4 hours ago) and read 2357 times:
About a year ago, I saw two Qantas Dash 8's come thru HOU on their way to Oz. Now that's going to be a long flight!
Fly North Central Airlines..The route of the Northliners!
25 Jpax: You would be screwed either way...although the extra height does give a few more minutes of trouble shooting time.
26 Tornado82: You're braver than me too then! I don't even like flying over lakes in a GA bird, let alone the Pacific.
27 CaptainJon: Thanks! It does sound like they can be fun...More or less, it's the aviation equivalent of a road trip?
28 C680: Hmmmmm....... Yeah, give me the back end of the bus any day over *that*
29 Tornado82: If I had access to that I wouldn't be complaining. Although regardless I'm never a fan of flight when I can't see ground... that's just a a psycholog
30 C680: Rodger that. It didn't work out too well for JFK Jr either....
31 N710PS: At one point as a result of the fact my dad owns a fairly large freight forwarder and aircraft shipping company and I had an offer on the table to fer
32 Skibum9: That's not true. The FARs state anything over 12,500 more than 30 minutes requires oxygen. I regularly haul around at 10,000 on long cross countries
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