1. of Distance
Ferry Pilots PAUL SOUTHWICK
LAURENCOOPER
Ferry pilots are a special breed of person who set out
regularly to fly long, lonely distances over terrain most
often inhospitable and remote. Paul Southwick reports
on an industry where expertise is a must-have.
50
AUSTRALIAN FLYING November – December 2015
Tyranny

2. MAIN: We’re here! Kulusuk in
Greenland is a regular stop over
for aircraft being ferried across
the North Atlantic.
RIGHT: Ready for anything.
“Gumby” suits are often the only
thing between a downed pilot and
an inhospitable environment.
here have always
been pilots who
yearn to fly
further than anyone else.
Australia’s Sir Charles
Kingsford Smith was
featured on Australia’s
$20 note and has Sydney
airport named after
him. Kiwi aviatrix Jean
Batten has Auckland International’s
terminal named after her, and entitled
her autobiography Alone in the Sky.
Australia has its share of
experienced ferry pilots including
Ray Clamback who completed over
350 ocean crossings and survived
two Pacific ditchings.
All types
There are ferry pilots who fly
domestically, especially in the US,
often for owners of newly purchased
aircraft. Many ferry pilots started
out his way. There are international
flights within a continent, like
Europe or the Americas, but
achieving the most attention are
intercontinental flights including
single hops of 2150 nm ... over 18
hours in the air.
Aircraft may be single or multi
engine, land or sea, small, medium
or large; reciprocating, turbine or
jet. There is new verses old, aircraft
and engine. Many pilots will not fly
intercontinental in a second hand,
diesel, or FADEC aircraft, and few
will take an aircraft more than 50%
into its Time Between Overhauls.
Lauren Cooper, an Aussie based
in the US and now flying A320s
for Delta, liked to do the domestic
flight to point of departure to
check fuel and oil consumption,
performance specifications and for
kinks. Otherwise “for new aircraft,
you are the test pilot,” she says. Data
gathered is used for planning and on
the flight. James Creamer, another
US-based pilot, likes to check
engine compressions.
The pilot may be alone in a single
aircraft, one of two pilots in a single
aircraft, one of two or more single
pilot aircraft in a group; or with
multiple pilots in multiple aircraft.
Professional companies ensure
pilots are never alone and have
watchers following every flight, the
entire way, in real time.
Pacific, Atlantic and overland
routes are different. Atlantic routes
are shorter but often made in
extremely cold weather, with limited
daylight – maybe just four hours,
and over frozen land. There is
spectacular scenery and good ADF
coverage. Survival time in the water
can be just minutes.
Being able to hanger aircraft
is invaluable, otherwise engine
warmers will be needed. 0400
wake-ups to clear snow and ice, and
sending ahead de-ice fluid come to
the fore. It is expensive to buy en
route, if it’s available at all, and a
professional de-ice costs US$2000.
Even aircraft certified for Flight
Into Known Icing (FIKI) may
not have enough fluid, so weather
diversions are common.
Pacific distances are much
longer with nothing in between,
but over warmer seas.
The longer eastbound route
to Australia via Europe can add
US$20,000 to the delivery costs of a
Cessna Caravan. It has shorter hops,
more stops, multiple forced landing
opportunities, and varied language,
cultural and weather challenges.
Clayton Cowled, corporate pilot
for Mitchell Water, says delivery of
the company’s Cessna Citation M2
from the Kansas started in below
freezing snow but flew through 45ºC
in the Middle East.
The people
There are three categories: amateurs
who have little idea what they are
doing or the real risks involved,
individuals who happened upon
ferry flying for a living and use
shared, street-wise knowledge,
to minimise risks; and those in
companies run by individuals with
professional backgrounds in aviation
and specialising in ferry flights.
These companies have sophisticated
systems, proprietary knowledge,
back-up, operations support and
advanced safety protocols.
In the US there are only about 15
full-time trans-Atlantic ferry pilots
– and they all know each other. It
is male-dominated, but there are
several just as capable female pilots.
In fact Cooper says the traditional
female traits of patience, lower
weight and multi tasking suit the job.
Spike Naysmith, a 20,000
hour former F-4 Phantom pilot,
dedicates his book So You Want to
be a Ferry Pilot to friend Dave Briggs
who disappeared on a flight over the
Pacific. No trace of pilot or plane
was ever found.
Whilst this article was in the
research stage, one pilot spoke of
turning down a flight “because
something didn’t feel right.” Before
the article was complete a pilot who
accepted a ferry of the same twin
crashed and died en route.
Leu Morton, flying a Cirrus
SR22, survived the best documented
ditching of all time in January 2015.
On a trip from California to Maui
he experienced fuel problems and
was filmed deploying the aircraft
parachute by a Coast Guard C-130
that directed him to a passing ship
250 miles off Hawaii. It was a gentle
let down and he barely got his feet
wet. Later he released a “selfie” video
of the incident.
Creamer says the loss ratio in the
fuel-laden, and 30% over maximum
all up weight aircraft, is one in 300
flights. Not attractive odds. Ferry
pilots all seem to believe that they
themselves can beat them.
Newbies are greatly at risk not just
from flight inexperience but intense
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November – December 2015 AUSTRALIAN FLYING
JAMESCREAMER

3. pressure from owners to delivery
quickly and cheaply, regardless.
Cooper: “Lack of time on type can be a
killer, I strongly recommend spending
some of the fee on training from a top
instructor, it could keep you alive.”
Pilots also tell stories of
interception by armed jet fighters,
ATC direction into mountains, false
arrest and detention in appalling
conditions, being mistaken for
smugglers, trigger-happy rebels
taking pot shots, requests for bribes,
sickness and more.
A satellite phone for emergencies
seems wise. Tyson Teeter, co-owner
of SouthWind Global Aviation in
Kansas tells of a pilot detained in
India on suspicion of terrorism for
declaring one. He cleverly made his
one call to the well-connected local
owner of the plane, who quickly had
him released. Otherwise it could
have been weeks in jail waiting to
appear before a judge.
Variables
Distance necessitates auxuillary
fuel tanks at about US$1000
each, Teeter says. “Our tanks are
manufactured from aluminium.
Rubber tanks cannot be leak-
tested and tend to leak. Also, they
are difficult to secure. We do not
ship the tanks back. The cost to
manufacture the tank is less than
the shipping.”
The seats the tanks displace are
normally stored around the tanks
and are reinstalled on delivery.
Weather is a variable pilots try to
eliminate. Northern winters have the
best tailwinds, but that is the coldest
time. A few aircraft, like the Cessna
182, are flown untanked making
winds critical. Icing is dangerous
for the overloaded aircraft. Freezing
levels can be down to sea level.
Pilots in the north know each
other as they are often sitting out
the same storm, at the same hotel,
at the same time of the year, before
heading off, at the same time, when
the weather breaks.
In the Pacific tropical storms
with 100 kts or greater winds are
common, especially December
through March.
Plan, plan, plan
Experts say trips are 90% planning
and 10% execution. Important are
last possible turnaround or diversion
points under multiple scenarios.
James Creamer: “The more
comprehensive the pre-flight
planning the more time the pilot
has to concentrate on flying and
monitoring the plane.” Pilots keep,
and owners want, detailed 30
minute logs.
Preparation also includes
accommodation, transport – often in
the middle of the night, and return
flights. Larger ferry companies have
operations teams for this.
For permits and clearance pilots
use specialist services like from Mike
Grey of White Rose Aviation, in the
UK. Mike has 27 years experience
specialising in obtaining over flight
and landing permits. Clearances are
entered as numbers in Item 18 of the
ICAO flight plan.
The FAA website has much useful
information, as does CASA in
Australia, and CAA in New Zealand.
In small, tanked aircraft, it
is a very tight squeeze. Pilots
use specialised crystallising and
deodorising unisex “Travel John”
devices for when the call of nature
must be answered without hesitation.
TOP TO BOTTOM:
Clayton Cowled’s view out the window as he ferries
a Citation M2 to Australia.
A 74 US gallon ferry tank installed in a Cessna TTx.
Pilots need to have some tolerance for “innovative”
refueling methods in remote areas, such as this one
employed on a Columbia 400.
CLAYTONCOWLED
Ferry Pilots52
AUSTRALIAN FLYING November – December 2015
“If we had to ditch, we might
survive, but the client would not
get their airplane”
TYSONTEETER
JAMESCREAMER

4. There’s no pulling over in the air.
Options for rescue are a
combination of good planning and
luck. Helicopters are limited to
rescues to about 150 nm off shore.
The Coast Guard has been the
saviour of many. Some pilots carry an
app with real-time ship locations.
Air traffic controllers are
acclaimed as helpful, but pilots
warn deviating from reporting,
FIR change-over, and airport
opening times cause problems and
can be expensive.
There are VHF “holes” so pilots
use airliners to relay flight reports
and weather, especially storm
progress. Airline pilots express
bemusement and respect upon
finding a little bird and pilot, alone,
way out over the ocean.
Technology
of the times
GPSs show pilots where they
are, the correct course and how
long it will take. Glass cockpits
with moving maps add much
useful information, be it engine
performance, fuel consumption
or range information, in one
place. Another welcome aid is
an integrated autopilot. Some
oldies still like the manual way and
tease “children of the magenta line”,
as Teeter calls them, born after
glass cockpits.
Tablets and related EFB software
have revolutionised flight planning
and in-flight activities. Creamer
reports EFBs are remarkably
accurate over very long flights.
Teeter uses them to send SMS and
email messages.
Whereas there are still lower
powered aircraft crossing the ditches,
more flights now are with faster
aircraft like the Cirrus SR22 and
Cessna TTx or Caravan.
Active noise cancelling headsets
help hearing and pilots often fly
with more than one brand.
Paying the
ferrymen
Generally, pilots require payment
before any ferry flight. Delays
for weather and maintenance
are billed later.
Pilots starting out admit flying
for negative return as they build
their experience and equipment,
whereas professional firms
delivering high-performance
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November – December 2015 AUSTRALIAN FLYING
aircraft have charges in the tens
of thousands. For a typical 10-day
delivery to Europe, a pilot of a light
twin might receive, after tax, and
all expenses, US$5000. Ferry pilots
average one crossing per month but
sometimes do up to three or more.
Top ferry pilots make money
from value-add services, for
example, client pilot training –
sometimes multiple crews over
many weeks. This might include
writing manuals and operating
procedures or consultancy.
International Aircraft Ferrying
Service out of Portland in the US has
on their website a useful detailed list
of what is and what is not included
in ferry charges and an interesting
discussion on crating versus ferrying.
It costs less to ferry rather than
disassemble, crate and reassemble
a Cirrus SR22. Creamer says it is
crazy to take a perfectly working and
flight-tested aircraft to pieces. The
price for ferrying a Cirrus SR22 to
Australia is US$24,800.
As in any industry there are
cowboys, for example, who submit
low bids to get the contract, and then
message an owner demanding money
when the airplane is in Iceland, for
“unexpected overages.”
Crowded house
Pilots favour a vast array of
equipment for the ferry, including:
life rafts with survival gear and
food, special clothing, satellite
phones, emergency beacons,
personal beacons, emersion suits,
tablets with EFB and moving map
software, charts and plates, mobile
phones, handheld VHF transceivers,
(installed) HF radios, flares hand
or electric barrel-to-plane fuel
pumps, back-up power, batteries and
waterproof pouches for everything,
drinking water and high energy
foods, cameras, personal items like
passports, sun glasses, medical kits
and toilet items.
Ray Clamback reportedly favours
a vest that holds essential items and
an overhead survival bag to combat
exposure and prevent swallowing
seawater in case of ditching.
Lessons learned
Many old hands asked the author
to convey the extreme danger of
inexperienced pilots attempting ferry
flights. They “don’t know what they
don’t know” says Creamer.
“We’ve all lost someone,” Lauren
After long, bone-wearying flights, ferry pilots
have to switch on for the approaches to their next
stopover. This one is inbound to Kulusuk.
LAURENCOOPER

5. Cooper laments. She and
Creamer still lament the loss
of their dear pilot friend,
Dustin Rabe, in a Comp Air
8 crash in 2010.
Newbies are strongly
encouraged to do ferry pilot
and survival courses and get
themselves a mentor.
Creamer says making
friends along the way is
a great investment and
for some routes foreign
language skills and
knowledge of customs and
cultures. His key advice
is “Never hesitate in an
emergency, and always
listen to your inner voice.”
Teeter gave interesting
perspective as to why
his company does not
delivery aircraft over the
Pacific but goes via Europe. He
says it is not only about margins
and safety but customer service.
“If we had to ditch, we might
survive, but the client would not
get their airplane”.
One nice female touch is putting
on a clean white pilot blouse with
gold wings and make up for delivery
to the client, not to mention running
the ferry tanks dry and having the
aeroplane cleaned.
Getting started
One old hand suggested a good
test for budding pilots is to lock
themselves in a closet on a stool with
a lawn mower running outside for an
uninterrupted 15 hours.
Teeter says he looks not for
number of hours, but a wide
variety of experience, and
practices what he preaches having
served years of apprenticeship
in cloud seeding, air ambulance
work, as a fractional ownership
pilot, corporate pilot for an
international pharmaceutical
company, and notably as a Cessna
demonstration pilot, before
Ferry Pilots54
AUSTRALIAN FLYING November – December 2015
C13440_FLY_Southern_Aviation.indd 1 3/07/15 12:32 PM
On arrival at Tarawa in the Pacific, ferry pilots are greeted
with the 2000 m runway at Bonriki International Airport.
JAMESCREAMER

6. founding his business with Terry
Landon, who has a similarly
impressive professional record
and qualifications.
According to Teeter, standards
are extremely high and they take
only pilots that they have had a
really good look at through some
other association. Professionalism
is everything.
On one ferry pilot internet
forum, participants are direct with
their opinions.
“People in the ferry business are
very territorial,” one post reads.
“The only way I know for low-hour
pilots to get in to it in the US is
where, if they know the right people
and have some other useful skill
– like an A & P Certificate – they
start out doing the tanking, then
get the odd ferry on light aircraft
within the USA itself, then maybe
(if they speak Spanish) a few trips
south of the border.”
“If you can’t handle 20 hours
awake and then shoot a hand-flown
approach at an unfamiliar airport
to a night landing in blowing snow,
a ferry career is not for you ...
gravity-filling internal tanks that
go almost up to the aircraft ceiling
[are] no fun. You squeeze in … and
are almost overcome by the fumes.
Then it overflows [and] you sit
there stinking of kerosene [for]
15 hours.”
Established pilots emphasise
that the job is not for hour-
building, an adventure, or a paid
holiday. There are no fast tracks to
gaining experience; you must do
the hard yards.
In conclusion
The more things change the more
they stay the same. Ferry pilots
deserve great respect as a unique
breed in a dangerous occupation
that requires professionalism and
luck. It’s addictive and gives immense
enjoyment to those pilots who keep
going back for more.
ABOVE: The ferry tank in
the back has the seat in this
aeroplane well forward,
leaving a front row with not a
whole lot of space for the pilot.
RIGHT: One seat left for
the pilot, otherwise the
cabin of this C206 has
been gutted to fit in the
ferry tanks and all the other
accountrements needed
for long legs over water.
JAMESCREAMER
55australianflying.com.au
November – December 2015 AUSTRALIAN FLYING
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