OK, flight to England without a ferry tank is possible

I have no direct experience but....
deafsound said:
Is there even radar coverage out there for the low flying guys? For that matter, do the big planes flying at FL360 get radar coverage? I thought when you out there in nowhere-land over the ocean, it was all timed separation or something.
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No radar out there, high or low. There are transoceanic routes, now flown with gps or ins equipment. ATC launches you into a route at a given altitude and speed, and you are expected to fly the route, popping out of that tunnel in the sky at a point when radio/radar contact can be resumed.

Remember a few years ago when that Delta flight was off course and nearly collided with another plane headed in the same direction?

-Skip
 
my standard response to any cool job - "Damn School!"
 
Nick, I've been playing with the idea of flying to Europe in a single engine plane with no ferry tank. The plane I'm looking at is an RV-10 with standard 60gals and a Deltahawk 200hp engine. The engine is on the lower end of the Hp range for the RV but should still climb at over 1000f/min gross, Cruise at 160kts@ 8000ft and 190kts@ 16000ft @ 75% power. It would also have a ceiling of over 20K feet. Fuel burn would be ~8-8.5gph so the range would be limited to how long I can fly. Also Jet A is availible everywhere.
 
Henning said:
Islands in the mid Atlantic (where the greatest aviation disaster ever occurred, and where the Tsunami that will wipe out the entire eastern seaboard of the US will be generated from when half of one of the islands collapses off its cleft) which is down in the Trade Winds latitudes, those winds blow east to west with great regularity for 7 months (winter) out of the year. Problem is, you get much longer legs crossing down in the lower latitudes.
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I have looked at this too, but did not want to fly in the freezing weather up north. You can do the Azores to Canada or the Bahamas, or do the Canaries or Cape Verde to S. America or Puerto Rico, with a plane with enough range. Try using the AOPA Real-Time Flight planner. You can start with a flight between 2 US airports, and then drag your flight path around the world and get leg distances and a navigation log. Only problem is you need to know about where the airports would be since they are not shown in most places out of the US.

The Ravin 500 is an intersting option for a long range flight. 4 seats, conventional, 160 gal fuel in the wing tanks, and cruise of 200kts with a fuel burn of under 15gph of 100LL using a Lycoming 540. What about a Velocity or Cozy Mark IV with a DeltaHawk diesel? Still many hours in the plane over water, even though you would be over warmer water if you had to put it down. Carry a 4 man raft, just in case. And a large capacity urinal for each person.

I understand you need a very low frequency radio for communications over the Atlantic, or a Stat-phone. Take both. And duplicate as much as you can as a hand-held. If you have a alternator/battery problem in the plane it may still fly but you would be in some trouble with navigation and communication if you did not have a hand-held GPS and hand-held Sat-phone. Plus if you did go down, it would help to be able to call someone from your raft.:yes:
 
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Henning said:
Who is it? I could use a couple good trips...
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I put the question to my CFI friend who told me he knew a guy around here, but it turns out he doesn't know them as well as he originally said. What I do know, is that the guy is based out of KASH....if I get more info, I'll post it, but perhaps a little digging would turn this guy up. How many guys from KASH could there be that fly the N. Atlantic?
 
One of my colleagues got himself a spanky new Lanceair a few years ago (when they were certified and still called Lanceairs). Turned out the aircraft could actually do all the legs with the needed reserves, right out of the box. He started talking to me about it one day, and I said all the stuff you guys have been saying. Boredom, terror, wx, and if you go down you are likely to die (a 4 man raft in the North Atlantic. Puuleeeze). Anyhow, at the end of the conversation he asked if I wanted to go with, and I said "of course!"

An engine out emergency in a Sea Ray a few months later changed his tune considerably.
 
steingar said:
One of my colleagues got himself a spanky new Lanceair a few years ago (when they were certified and still called Lanceairs). Turned out the aircraft could actually do all the legs with the needed reserves, right out of the box. He started talking to me about it one day, and I said all the stuff you guys have been saying. Boredom, terror, wx, and if you go down you are likely to die (a 4 man raft in the North Atlantic. Puuleeeze). Anyhow, at the end of the conversation he asked if I wanted to go with, and I said "of course!"

An engine out emergency in a Sea Ray a few months later changed his tune considerably.
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So tell him not to fly to Europe in a Sea Ray... :D
 
SkyHog said:
What if you just keep flying East?

Maybe I'll look into that :D
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I wonder what leg length is required to cross the Bering Strait?

On the other hand, I have heard that the weather in the Aleutians is no picnic either!

BTW, did you know that the distance between Russia and the U.S. is only 2.4 miles?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bering_Strait
 
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OtisAir said:
Nick, Have you made this flight yet?
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LOL, no. A lot has changed since then.

That said, if the opportunity came around, I'd still do it in a heartbeat without a second thought to "safety."
 
I fully intend on doing it one of these days, but I want to take at least a month to do it. :)
 
Fly one short leg over big water sometime. For that oceanic flight you get lots of time & money spent to mainly be looking out over big water (if you can see anything at all that is) wondering when you'll be back within glide distance of any shore... repeat.

For the same money you could fly the Hawahian Islands, the Caribean's and a few more!
 
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Hey Nick:

Yes it can be done and is done a few times a year without ferry tanks. However, it is much cheaper and easier with a ferry tank. and it is done throughout the entire year...icing is an issue but it is only an issue not an item which should deter you, only concern you...Cheers, and good luck, I hope you do it.
 
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