Ferry pilot personal minimums

[Irish_Armada]

So in our primary training we are beaten over the head about establishing conservative personal mins when it comes to weather, your aircraft, yourself, PAVE basically. But I realize that if you stuck with that attitude (which I wholeheartedly support currently) as a commercial pilot, especially a ferry pilot, you would be out of a job if you were only willing to fly in ideal conditions, aircrafts, etc. In fact, you probably are required to fly some serious pieces of sh** as a ferry pilot if you want to make any money. So how do you do it? Are your personal mins different? How closely do you examine the health of the plane you're about to fly or do you find yourself just "going for it?"

 

[us AAirways]

I didn't do a ton of them, but the ones I did, I went VFR only, being I didn't know the condition of the radios etc. The broker I worked for (an airline pilot) was very adamant about safety, and was fine with it.

 

[Luvrv8]

I have been asked to fly planes on a ferry permit to our shop. My standard answer is "let me inspect the plane to see if I will fly it". My 3 daughters need a dad to tuck them in at night more then a airplane owner that needs his plane repaired after letting it go too long. It might be a bad attitude but it's mine.

 

[James331]

So in our primary training we are beaten over the head about establishing conservative personal mins when it comes to weather, your aircraft, yourself, PAVE basically. But I realize that if you stuck with that attitude (which I wholeheartedly support currently) as a commercial pilot, especially a ferry pilot, you would be out of a job if you were only willing to fly in ideal conditions, aircrafts, etc. In fact, you probably are required to fly some serious pieces of sh** as a ferry pilot if you want to make any money. So how do you do it? Are your personal mins different? How closely do you examine the health of the plane you're about to fly or do you find yourself just "going for it?"

The more experince you get the lower your mins go. As for flying a POS, yeah that's not me, if I think there is any question my rates go WAY up, if its something I feel uncomfortable with I don't do it, for what I stand to gain to what I stand to loose its a no brainer.

So far that worked for me when it comes to flying for a living.

Most higher end companies would rather a pilot stand down vs "just do it"

 

[LDJones]

If the clouds are low you can follow the interstate. They don't build towers above interstates. The FARS say you have to be 500' or higher over a road. That would be my minimum.

Hmmm??? They're building a new high-tension power transmission line along I- 94 in Minnesota. I've lost count how many times it zig-zags across the Interstate. I no longer view "I Follow Roads" as a safe plan.

I lost a dear friend in a Mooney 201 when his tail clipped power lines crossing I-29 in SD. Nothing but charred remains when all was said and done. Never saw his baby boy.

 

[Kristin]

Ferry flying shouldn't cause too much angst. IMX, these have a window for delivery, not a deadline. Try night cargo. When I was flying cancelled check on a tight schedule, we used to joke that we didn't know why we were checking the weather as we were going anyway and it might just depress us.

Seriously, when you fly in that regime, you have to make sure that your skills are not the limiting factor. It has to be the plane or the regulations or your bosses will not be at all happy with you.

 

[MachFly]

Towers higher than 500'. Power towers are nowhere near that high. But I agree, its not perfect. The highest towers in the country are about 2000'. So if you want to be sure of being above those, it would be 2000' AGL. There are power lines across canyons that are very high. To be totally sure, you have to fly at the IFR MEA or above the numbers on the sectional for that sector. YMMV

I've seen plenty of cables above 500ft. Some go from mountain top to mountain top. Some are there to support a high tower. The point is that they are common. So please, get some proper training before flying at 500ft, and don't recommend people that it's safe.

 

[poadeleted20]

You take Kenny Rogers' advice -- know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, and know when to run. It's part of the experience you develop over years and hours of flying, and they don't pay me enough to take excessive risks like that. Also, when I do a ferry flight, it's clear that if I show up and surprise! the plane isn't legal and safe to fly, I still get paid for my time.

 

[bobmrg]

I ferried several Cherokees from Vero Beach to Seattle, and the insurance said "No night or IFR." I sat in Lake City, Florida for three days beneath an overcast that I could have punched through to on-top in five minutes....but that overcast went all the way west to Louisiana and I was not an idiot.

My boss got as far as Baton Rouge in a Cherokee under the same restrictions and left it there...I flew down commercial and finished the trip for him.

Bob Gardner