Planes that will make the Hawaii trip

Did the military use DC-3/C-47s in the Hawaii islands during WWII? If so, how did they get them there?
 
The first time we went to Hawaii in the Falcon 50EX, we noted that we had enough fuel to turn around and fly back to the west coast.
 
gcd89 said:
Is that right?

I'd figure most twins with extended tanks would be built for a long trip?
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A piston twin could be a liability here with double the chance of an engine failure. In the jet we plan assuming either an engine failure or depressurization requiring low altitude flight at the critical point. Meaning you can fly roughly 1/2 there on two engines and then back on one engine. I don't know any piston twin capable of anything close to that. Maybe the B-29 or a Connie?
 
I've actually thought a lot about this very question, and there are three airplanes that will make it that don't cost obscene money, in order of least desirable to most (IMO):
1. Catalina PBY - Qantas flew a non-stop flight to Colombo from Australia during WWII - 3800 miles with PBYs. SLOW 110 knots. Gonna have to sleep on the way like that guy did flying the DC-3 from the Netherlands to Curacao and you'll need extra tanks or fuel drums - set it up so you can access a tank fill from inside.
2. HU-16 - same deal as a PBY except it's a lot faster (faster being relative because it's still slow) and it has plenty of payload to take enough fuel to make it. These first two are fairly safe because if you have a problem you can set it down anywhere, assuming you can find some relatively slow rollers to put it down on. Choppy Pacific and you might get it down, but probable won't be flyable.
3. Fairchild Merlin IIIB or C: This should make it in - wait for decent wind speed / direction - 2800 mile ferry range. Turbo prop, not a jet but pretty fast and sips fuel (relative to a jet) with 2 TPE-331 engines.
 
davemha said:
I finally have enough saved, and have a decent enough income, that I'm going to start my flight training. And I'm moving to possibly the most beautiful place in the country for flying - Hawaii.

Now, to get back to the mainland. What planes (in order of price, maybe?) can make the journey back and forth?

So far, the only possibility short of commercial airliners or mega business jets I've found is the Rutan Long-Ez - and I think even it would need to be modified with extra fuel capacity.

I'd really like to find a plane that I might actually be able to afford that I could fly back home from Hawaii. Heh - maybe a Zeppelin? (only half-joking actually)
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It would be cheaper and safer to buy an airplane for the mainland and one for Hawaii.
 
OP is pre-solo and has it all figured out.
 
That is King Air 350 ER type of flying, and you'll still be praying for some tailwind, both ways. Get a little headwind, and you are going to practice swimming.
 
True, far cheaper and far safer to have an airplane each place, but that doesn't help me get my GSDs to Indonesia.

But I'm not going to do this because it's friggin crazy, just something I've thought about.
 
In 1996, LongEZ N14DL flew from San Diego to Oahu, with a 40 gallon extended range tank occupying the back seat. That gave him a total of 96 gallons of fuel capacity to power an O-320. He also made the return trip back 5 days later.
 
Advice to OP: first get your private out of the way, then start on your instrument rating. By the time you complete your instrument you’ll lose any desire to fly from Hawaii to the mainland. Guaranteed.
 
Brad Smith said:
Advice to OP: first get your private out of the way, then start on your instrument rating. By the time you complete your instrument you’ll lose any desire to fly from Hawaii to the mainland. Guaranteed.
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The OP has 4 posts, all in this thread, all in August 2012. I don’t think it even required a discovery flight for him to lose the desire to fly from Hawaii to the mainland. That means that the OP learns a lot more efficiently than I do.
 
iamtheari said:
The OP has 4 posts, all in this thread, all in August 2012. I don’t think it even required a discovery flight for him to lose the desire to fly from Hawaii to the mainland. That means that the OP learns a lot more efficiently than I do.
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:lol:
 
Why not put floats on C-172, or similar, and fuel bladders in the floats? You pump the fuel out of the floats first so you have buoyancy in case you need to ditch. Then you don't need to stuff ferry tanks in the fuselage.
 
A friend wanted to ferry his Cherokee 6 to Hawaii and back.

We calculated the fuel required and determined the size of the internal tank. It would make the flight easily with more than an hour of reserve in the worst case conditions.
 
If I had long range tanks, that would give me 100 gallons, I’d still need another 20 gallons to make it with an hour of fuel in reserve.
14 hour flight, and I think I’d have to install a short wave radio.
 
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Too bad there isn't an island halfway between the mainland and Hawaii, with a little town, and airstrip.
 
Whitney said:
So who is going to go buy 5 decommissioned aircraft carriers, weld them together, and anchor them halfway. Build your own community, and become king or queen.
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How deep is the water halfway?
Maybe two carriers and several old tankers is cheaper?
Add some perimeter oil rig carcasses and put up a flag; petition the UN for country status, then add tax haven to your list of services.
 
Whitney said:
So who is going to go buy 5 decommissioned aircraft carriers, weld them together, and anchor them halfway. Build your own community, and become king or queen.
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You buy em, I'll weld em up.
 
MooneyDriver78 said:
He’s joking, they are all just a few miles off the coast and probably have no fuel.

Monterey (KMRY) is probably the closest jump off point.
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Half Moon Bay (HAF) is a little closer.
 
Rgbeard said:
In that area, I've found it's Salinas that promotes themselves as the Hawaii jump-off point moreso than anyone else.
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Maybe they have ferry tanks available there.
 
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