Grum.Man
En-Route
Anyone used a ferry source like you always see on BS? Curious how it went, how weather delays added up on the cost. Would you do it again?
Anyone used a ferry source like you always see on BS? Curious how it went, how weather delays added up on the cost. Would you do it again?
I’ve never used them for ferrying services, but I know one of her pilots. Sarah helped me with handling services and found me an airport I could use for a trip to Belize. They specialize in tail wheel ferrying.
http://www.fullthrottleaviationllc.com/
I’ve never used them for ferrying services, but I know one of her pilots. Sarah helped me with handling services and found me an airport I could use for a trip to Belize. They specialize in tail wheel ferrying.
http://www.fullthrottleaviationllc.com/
I figured. Going to take a special ferry pilot to want to fly a small single place biplane cross country at 2 hour legs. I don’t mind doing it my self and could take the time off. My issue is while I have my TW endorsement I don’t feel my skills are sharp enough to handle all the different airports and wind conditions I would encounter between WA and NC.
my other fear is someone getting hurt ferrying an airplane I know little about and what those repercussions could mean.
It’s a Starduster SA100Biplanes are challenging. I started out doing them, and then I learned to price myself out of that market. Flying a biplane across the country is very physically demanding. It loses the romantic fun quickly.
What kind of biplane. Sarah’s outfit would be a good recommendation. If it is a Waco, let me know. I know a very good Waco pilot who flies for United and does occasional ferries.
I met her at Oshkosh one year. She made a good impression.
It’s a Starduster SA100
I haven’t used a ferry service, but I had a ferry business before I started my current teaching job.
Ferry services can be a great option IF you don’t have the time/flexibility to fly it yourself AND you engage a good respectable and responsible ferry pilot.
There are a lot of variances in rates/what ferry pilots charge. For most small GA planes, there are sooooo many aspiring airline pilots wanting to build time that they tend to undercut each other. Young kids volunteering to fly airplanes for the gas money. But hard to hold those types accountable if something goes wrong. Right now, because of COVID, I suspect the ferry market is flat out saturated with pilots looking for work.
When I started, I took whatever I could get and had a relatively low flat daily rate and often used frequent flyer miles for travel. I got to the point where I had enough corporate flying going that the ferrying became a side business where I could pick and choose what jobs I wanted and set a firm rate.
My approach to a ferry job was I’d look at weather a week out and start a trip when I was 90% confident I could make it VFR without issue. The last thing I wanted to do was get stuck somewhere sitting on my butt waiting for weather to clear. Then you get into the debate with yourself of whether to charge the client for the delay (which wasn’t their fault) or eat the time cost. I made sure that never happened and I was ferrying small piston single VFR only airplanes across the US.
Maintenance issues are another story, but fortunately I had very few of those.
Most common cost structure for reputable ferry pilots involves
a set day rate, expenses such as food and lodging as well as fuel, and transportation home.
Did you have insurance that covered this?
Got a quote from Sara. Said to expect around 4,800 all in. Very nice lady but I’ll have to wait to find something closer.
Got a quote from Sara. Said to expect around 4,800 all in....
It’s a Starduster SA100
I’ll do it for twice that.
Deal, I’ll charge you triple for every scratch upon its arrivalI’ll do it for twice that.
Would a ferry pilot have a 'winter rate' schedule for ferrying an open cockpit biplane? If that was my line of work, it would certainly affect my quote.