Ferry Pilot Cost?

StinkBug

StinkBug

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If one were to buy a plane on the opposite coast and hire someone to ferry said plane home, what kinda price should be expected? Fuel and aircraft expenses aside, as I'm pretty sure it's obvious that's on the owner. How much do most ferry pilots charge per day/hour/mile? Who pays hotels for longer flights?

Assume fairly slow single engine piston, Cherokee, 172, etc.
 
StinkBug said:
If one were to buy a plane on the opposite coast and hire someone to ferry said plane home, what kinda price should be expected? Fuel and aircraft expenses aside, as I'm pretty sure it's obvious that's on the owner. How much do most ferry pilots charge per day/hour/mile? Who pays hotels for longer flights?

Assume fairly slow single engine piston, Cherokee, 172, etc.
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Depends on the pilot, but I've generally seen $300/day.
 
Depends how desperate they are for the hours :)
 
$150/day plus expenses is the cheap end... Anyone who'll do it for much less than that probably isn't someone you want flying your plane.
 
I'd do it for $100/day + expenses. Then again, I don't really have anything better to do, and it would be a way to use the 11 weeks of vacation time I've got banked away because, vacationing alone blows. So I'd be getting paid from my every day job, plus the hundo for essentially sightseeing.
 
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StinkBug said:
If one were to buy a plane on the opposite coast and hire someone to ferry said plane home, what kinda price should be expected? Fuel and aircraft expenses aside, as I'm pretty sure it's obvious that's on the owner. How much do most ferry pilots charge per day/hour/mile? Who pays hotels for longer flights?

Assume fairly slow single engine piston, Cherokee, 172, etc.
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Shoot man...I don't know. However, if you ever do that, let me know. If my wife could come along too, I'd do if for expenses! My wife and I have always wanted to fly across the U.S. It's an adventure...and I get paid enough by my other job(s).
 
Maciej said:
Depends on the pilot, but I've generally seen $300/day.
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flyingcheesehead said:
$150/day plus expenses is the cheap end... Anyone who'll do it for much less than that probably isn't someone you want flying your plane.
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flyingron said:
Depends how desperate they are for the hours :)
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That's a bit of a range. For the purposes of this thread lets assume they are at least a CPL to make it legal, Instrument rated to make it safer. Desperation I suppose could be a factor, but if it were my plane the more desperate they are probably the less I want them flying my plane.
 
I paid $1,800 to have my RV-8 ferried from Detroit to Denver two years ago. This included fuel, oil, travel expenses and the ferry pilot's time over a two-day period.
 
DavidWhite said:
If you paid for my expenses and could make our schedules mesh up, I'd do it for free!
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That is one heck of an offer. Were I purchasing a remote aircraft I'd love to have David be the ferry pilot. I can think of few finer.
 
colojo said:
I paid $1,800 to have my RV-8 ferried from Detroit to Denver two years ago. This included fuel, oil, travel expenses and the ferry pilot's time over a two-day period.
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Without knowing how much fuel the RV burns, and what the travel expenses were I have a hard time doing the math. What did the pilot charge for their time?
 
$350 per day plus expenses is the fee for an Instrument rated pilot at KBHM.
 
I'm dreaming of flying to Europe and would also ferry a plane there for free, if I could take my wife with me and spend a couple of days on Greenland and Iceland. :D

Somehow, I feel however that his might not be the most realistic dream... :rolleyes:
 
Loveair said:
$350 per day plus expenses is the fee for an Instrument rated pilot at KBHM.
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This is a pretty attractive pay. I wonder, why young guys with a couple hundred hours of experience, but who need more to apply for an airline job, are not all over these jobs? Or are they actually? I guess that insurence would not be an issue for a basic singe engine aircraft!? I believe our 172's policy says that anybody with a total time of at least 300h is covered.

The dealer, from whom we bought our 172, told us that he had just two 182s ferried from Florida to Washington. I thought that this was a hell of a trip... :yes:
 
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German guy said:
This is a pretty attractive pay. I wonder, why young guys with a couple hundred hours of experience, but who need more to apply for an airline job, are not all over these jobs? Or are they actually? I guess that insurence would not be an issue for a basic singe engine aircraft!? I believe our 172's policy says that anybody with a total time of at least 300h is covered.
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Depends on the airplane. Ferry pilot isn't a full-time job (and those who do it full-time are running very high-end airplanes)

If you want someone to ferry a Cirrus, they need Cirrus time (and probably a CPPP class) or Bonanza time in a Bonanza etc etc.

Insurance is the name of the game, and think about it - would you want someone who you don't know from Adam with a wet CP certificate and no experience to fly your airplane across the country?
 
EdFred said:
I'd do it for $100/day + expenses. Then again, I don't really have anything better to do, and it would be a way to use the 11 weeks of vacation time I've got banked away because, vacationing alone blows. So I'd be getting paid from my every day job, plus the hundo for essentially sightseeing.
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Take a vacation to Jakarta, check into the Hotel Alexis; you won't be vacationing alone.
 
StinkBug said:
That's a bit of a range. For the purposes of this thread lets assume they are at least a CPL to make it legal, Instrument rated to make it safer. Desperation I suppose could be a factor, but if it were my plane the more desperate they are probably the less I want them flying my plane.
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For one it depends on the plane and the time of year, if I'm expecting IMC in winter it's more work than VFR in summer, also the sketch factor also plays in when it comes to the plane.

Also depends on how much you like the plane, do you care if it is damaged or does it have to arrive in the same condition it departed in, that's the difference between a ATP and some CPL IFR kid with 250hrs who will do it just to build hours for "a real job".

For a experienced pilot, ATP type of guy, decent plane, no crazy additions, about 250-300 a day, you're paying expenses; hotel, gas for the plane, hangar fee if hail is coming half way through the night, etc.


German guy said:
This is a pretty attractive pay. I wonder, why young guys with a couple hundred hours of experience, but who need more to apply for an airline job, are not all over these jobs? ....
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Because that's not the guy you want to fly your new baby across the country.

I wouldn't let anyone outside of a 2500+hr ATP with 200-300 amphib time touch my plane, doubt my insurance guy would be having it ether.
 
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If you don't care about a medical or legality, I'd do it for $300 flat, no daily expense or hotel fees needed.
 
StinkBug said:
If one were to buy a plane on the opposite coast and hire someone to ferry said plane home, what kinda price should be expected? Fuel and aircraft expenses aside, as I'm pretty sure it's obvious that's on the owner. How much do most ferry pilots charge per day/hour/mile? Who pays hotels for longer flights?

Assume fairly slow single engine piston, Cherokee, 172, etc.
Click to expand...

Depends where it is, and where it's going in relation to where I want to go. If it's in Ft Lauderdale and you need it in San Diego, it would cost you my direct expenses (2-3 days typical west bound in a 100-120kt plane), my return flight, and a few hundred bucks because I can work it together with another deal. Further away, there will be some travel expense getting to the plane.
 
:eek:
Henning said:
Take a vacation to Jakarta, check into the Hotel Alexis; you won't be vacationing alone.
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But be sure to peep under the bathroom door when they go to the john and if they are stood up check which way their feet are pointing ...it could save an embarrassing situation later......;)
 
Xscaliber said:
But be sure to peep under the bathroom door when they go to the john and of they are stood up check which way their feet are pointing ...it could save an embarrassing situation......;)
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Oh no, you would know, you pay extra for that.:lol: That's really more a "Four Floors of Whores" thing in Singapore, and the Thai clubs thing. Indonesia is pretty "straight", and the girls are definitely fine.
 
I'd just find a student pilot who wants the cross country solo PIC hours and let him ferry it.
 
James331 said:
I wouldn't let anyone outside of a 2500+hr ATP with 200-300 amphib time touch my plane, doubt my insurance guy would be having it ether.
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I'm gonna take a guess by this statement and say that your plane is not a basic cherokee or 172 or other student pilot type machine.

For me personally it'd have to be someone who I felt could do a better job than I could. When I bought my Mooney I had zero Mooney time and only 20 hours complex. I flew it myself from Texas, but finding someone who could have treated it better wouldn't have been hard. If you fit the description you just gave, then finding someone to ferry your new plane might be more difficult.
 
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StinkBug said:
I'm gonna take a guess by this statement and say that your plane is not a basic cherokee or 172 or other student pilot type machine.

For me personally it'd have to be someone who I felt could do a better job than I could. When I bought my Mooney I had zero Mooney time and only 20 hours complex. I flew it myself from Texas, but finding someone who could have treated it better wouldn't have been hard. If you fit the description you just gave, then finding someone to ferry your new plane might be more difficult.
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It's not difficult for a 172 or PA-28, however you do need someone with a CPL to make it legal and therefore insurable.
 
Muttley said:
In the real world, day rates for contract pilots depend on type of airplane, but never less than $400 per day plus expenses (which includes plane ticket to/from locations, hotels, car, meals etc).

You guys who are offering to do it extra cheap or for free are adding to the ruin of the industry and the constant frustration of professional pilots.

The reason airlines and bottom feeder 135 operations pay such crap wages is because of you people with shiny-jet-syndrome, desperate-for-hours, "I'd be happy to do it for free" mentality. Be respectful of your training, skills and profession and never offer to fly for less than the going rate.
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I'd do it for free because it sounds like fun, and I'd bring my girlfriend and turn it into an adventure. I don't need the money - I make plenty at my other full-time flying job. I don't have shiny-jet syndrome, and I am by no means desperate for hours. I probably flew more than you did last year.
 
Henning said:
It's not difficult for a 172 or PA-28, however you do need someone with a CPL to make it legal and therefore insurable.
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You couldn't ask a "friend" to do it for expenses? My insurance doesn't care about a CPL, they just care about hours in type.
 
teejayevans said:
You couldn't ask a "friend" to do it for expenses? My insurance doesn't care about a CPL, they just care about hours in type.
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What you are suggesting is going to send this thread into the logging time spiral of doom.

Let's head that off before it gets there and just say that we want to pay to have a plane moved by a commercial licensed pilot, and don't have any pilot friends to do it for free, legally or not.
 
teejayevans said:
You couldn't ask a "friend" to do it for expenses? My insurance doesn't care about a CPL, they just care about hours in type.
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It's not a "legal" flight unless they have a CPL. Whether the insurance company decides to issue a denial would likely depend on if there is a liability claim involved that gets close to the $1MM limit. If it's just the plane, they likely wouldn't deny the claim. Denials of small claims revolve around fraud typically; if you were honest on the application and had no intent to defraud, most likely they will pay on hull claims even if the plane fell out of annual, or your medical expired, in the interim.

It just opens doors that are better left securely shut is all. If a non CPL friend flies it for you, they can't log it is the other thing.
 
Muttley said:
In the real world, day rates for contract pilots depend on type of airplane, but never less than $400 per day plus expenses (which includes plane ticket to/from locations, hotels, car, meals etc).

You guys who are offering to do it extra cheap or for free are adding to the ruin of the industry and the constant frustration of professional pilots.

The reason airlines and bottom feeder 135 operations pay such crap wages is because of you people with shiny-jet-syndrome, desperate-for-hours, "I'd be happy to do it for free" mentality. Be respectful of your training, skills and profession and never offer to fly for less than the going rate.
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Wrong answer. Like David, I have no desire to fly full time for anyone but myself, and would just do it for something to do. I also give free golf instruction, and my flight instruction rate pretty much only covers me getting to the airport and back. Nice try though.
 
When I was doing that more frequently it was $250/day and expenses. Flew several taildraggers across interesting routes doing that.
 
Maciej said:
Depends on the pilot, but I've generally seen $300/day.
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That is what my CFI charged me to come with me to Texas for a flight back to Nevada in the plane I bought last month. He is a 16,000 hour ATP.
 
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Muttley said:
In the real world, day rates for contract pilots depend on type of airplane, but never less than $400 per day plus expenses (which includes plane ticket to/from locations, hotels, car, meals etc).

You guys who are offering to do it extra cheap or for free are adding to the ruin of the industry and the constant frustration of professional pilots.

The reason airlines and bottom feeder 135 operations pay such crap wages is because of you people with shiny-jet-syndrome, desperate-for-hours, "I'd be happy to do it for free" mentality. Be respectful of your training, skills and profession and never offer to fly for less than the going rate.
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Y'all might not agree with him but, it is the correct answer. I fly, I get paid a fair price.
 
Muttley said:
In the real world, day rates for contract pilots depend on type of airplane, but never less than $400 per day plus expenses (which includes plane ticket to/from locations, hotels, car, meals etc).

You guys who are offering to do it extra cheap or for free are adding to the ruin of the industry and the constant frustration of professional pilots.

The reason airlines and bottom feeder 135 operations pay such crap wages is because of you people with shiny-jet-syndrome, desperate-for-hours, "I'd be happy to do it for free" mentality. Be respectful of your training, skills and profession and never offer to fly for less than the going rate.
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It's called the free market. A job is worth exactly what you can get someone to do it for. Just like a plane is only worth what you can get someone to pay for it. Simple really. You can say it's worth 400 a day all day long but if I can find a qualified someone to do it for less then it really isn't worth what you say it is no matter how much you want it to be.
 
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