Our specialty is flying light single and twin engine airplanes over long spans of water.  This is a highly specialized business where the successful outcome of the flight begins in the preparation phase.  Good preparation is about 80% of a successful long over water flight.  First a very quick safety inspection of the aircraft will be made to determine if it is suitable for long over water flight.  Next the aircraft must be made ready for this type of flight.  That will entail installation of a ferry fuel system and a HF radio.  We use the most advanced ferry fuel system in existence today, and we’re the only ferry company in the USA to do so.  Our system consists of a 238 gallon collapsible bladder, which is enough to ferry up to most light twins between the mainland and Hawaii.  Our tank is custom made in Australia and offers easy installation and will not damage your aircraft.  Collapsible tanks are also easier and cheaper to ship on the airlines.  We use a very unique and custom built (to our specs) ferry fuel pump that consists of a high output electric pump and hand wobble pump, all combined into one unit, which makes for a fail safe pump system. Once our contract mechanics finish installing all of our ferry gear in your aircraft, we call in the FAA and obtain their approvals and paper work for the flight.  This consists of authorization for the altered fuel system, and for over gross operation of the aircraft. Due to the efficiencies of our ferry system we can transport your plane at a lower price than the competition.

     With the preparation of the aircraft complete, we now concentrate on the flight planning.  The winds are the most important element in a long over water flight.  For example, the winds generally favor flight from the mainland to Hawaii in the summer and the reverse is true in the winter.  Each day is different, but trying to buck the general trend will almost certainly result in delays, because this is usually the longest leg on many Pacific routes.  Even with ferry tanks installed in planes like a C172 or a Seneca, we want to see a tailwind on this leg because of the limited range of these type aircraft. On the other hand, a single engine high performance plane with long range tanks like a C210 is no problem with a zero wind component.

     One of the toughest parts of flying the Pacific is dealing with all of the various and different procedures encountered on each island.  Some even require prior landing approvals and prearranged fuel.  These things are all considered in the planning phase and systematically dealt with.  A long hop over the water is certainly not like your average ferry flight over land.

     For flights over the North Atlantic in planes bigger than C172s with long range tanks, ferry tanking is not necessary nor is a HF radio.  Those flights will proceed over Greenland and Iceland and then the Faroe Islands before arriving in Europe.  The weather in the North Atlantic can be challenging and is different on each trip.  This coupled with short days and cold temps in the winter make it a trip best left for the summer months.  However, we will make this trip during the winter in fully de-iced planes.

     All over water flights, will be flown by Michael Magnell a former Delta Airlines Captain with 12,000 plus hours.  He flew copilot on the B737-200 and B727-200 and Captain on the DC9-30, MD88 and B737-200 during his career at Delta Airlines.  He is also typed for single pilot operation of the Cessna Citation 500 Jet.  Mike has done several trips across both ponds in high performance single engine GA aircraft and holds permanent pilot licenses from both the USA and Australia. Shortly after graduating from California State Long Beach with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1969, Mike began ferrying new planes for the Cessna Aircraft Company, and then spent four years flying in Alaska in everything from Super Cubs to Boeing Airliners, before being hired by Western Airlines in 1976, which was eventually bought by Delta Airlines in 1987. Mike has brokered/consulted on many airplane deals worldwide, with both foreign and domestic representatives, resulting in the direct purchase or sale of such aircraft.  He is also an accomplished aviation author having written many and varied articles over the last 12 years for several different and distinguished aviation publications.

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