Ferry pilot questions

[boeingboy]

Hi guys.....I'm seriously considering buying a new airplane to upgrade from the one I have. I think I have found one - but it's on the other side of the country. The dealer I'm dealing with says they have ferry pilots available. It's $200 a day plus expenses and a ticket home. Seems reasonable.

I have never dealt with or used ferry services before and had a few questions..First - I've figured the flight should take about 17 hrs in total....now weather and mechanical problems aside, how do I know if my pilot wont just "take the scenic route" and run up the bill getting here?

....and second - If I tell him his ticket home is for a certain day and he gets here 2 or 3 days early....would I still be on the hook for his extra days here after the plane is delivered?

Also - any tips or advise would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[Flypilot]

Deleted

[photofly]

Check that the contract says the pilot should take a reasonable route with no unnecessary delays. You'll see the route and timings in the journey log when the aircraft is delivered, if not before, so you can check, for peace of mind.

[ahramin]

And yes, if you make the pilot wait 2 days for their flight home, they will charge you for 2 more days.

[Bacunayagua]

$200 a day is definitely on the low side, it wouldn't surprise me if they are using some instructor for the trip, $100 a day to him and a cool trip will have his eyes wide open and begging to take it.

Every time I've done ferry trips I ask for $400 a day plus expenses and the ticket home. I have done trips where the plane has needed work to be done halfway through the trip, so don't be surprised if that happens.

You may also want to check who's insurance is covering the trip, I always had my own insurance so it was never an issue for me as long as it was no more than 6 seats and single engine.

[MrWings]

If you have any concerns about the quality of work someone is going to do for you, ask for references. Any reputable service provider will be willing and proud to provide those.

Have them keep you updated as to their progress. Then you can audit the trip. If they say they are stuck in YWG beacuse of weather and you have the METAR showing CAVOK, that's a discussion point.

The contract has been mentioned. Make sure you have one. The other side will probably insist on one because they don't want to be stiffed by you!

[ahramin]

To second what others are saying here $200 is definitely on the cheap side. Flying across the country is not difficult and I'm not saying that you cannot find a good pilot at that price. I'd make sure the insurance is satisfactory and that they have the experience necessary to get the aircraft safely through the mountains without needing a blue day across the entire province.

[Bajan Pilot]

Having done some ferry work, $200 is somewhat low. As far as the ticket home is concerned you would be better off waiting in a firm eta at the destination, then go ahead and book the ticket. BTW, what type is it?

[Broken Slinky]

It's going to cost you a plane ticket one way or the other. Fly the bloody thing home yourself if your insurance will let you. If they require you to do X number of hours before solo, do them out there. Take the $200/day and spend it on some training out there if it would make you more comfortable. The 17 hours will look better in your log book than the ferry pilot's. Depending on your abilities and how hard you want to push yourself, you could be home in a long weekend.

[Adam Oke]

$200 is well below the norm. I charge $50 per flight hour to a maximum $500 a day, plus 2 meals a day, any bus/cab/train/plane tickets, and any other expenses including but not limited to maintenance, fuel, and oil. This is for most single engine aircraft.

Each down day that I am not flying, I do not charge a daily rate -- just expenses.

Don't book the return flight home ahead of time. No one wants to hang around waiting for a flight because you wanted to save $20 by booking a one way flight in advance. If you ARE going to make them wait around ... I think expenses plus a daily rate would be in order.

[valleyboy]

I guess it would be nice to have more info on type before you could come up with a reasonable estimate. There are many retired or semi-retired people out there who would do it for nothing except expenses but even that will cost you about $250 to $300 /day depending on hotel costs, figuring about $100/day for food. What about getting the pilot to the location to pick it up? Obviously the broker has some local guys in mind but how do you know the skill level. What about fuel costs, tie downs (if it's a small aircraft) - just sayin 17 hours would calculate to 3 days minimum and if you are going xcanada wx delays can always crop up if it's vfr, especially if you have to cross the mountains. It might save you cash if you were to get the aircraft delivered to a strategic place in Alberta and you fly the last leg yourself.

[trey kule]

Well, first of all, there is the matter of insurance, you bought the plane at place A and want it at place B. Who is responsable for damage during the flight? For the deductable and your costs if it is written off?
Reputable brokers provide all these serviced. But as you may be dealing person to person, the other party may not have thought of it,
Ferrying planes for other people is not the place for inexperienced on type, or inexperienced pilots in general.
Your ferry pilot should have, at the minimum, a CPL and IF rating (even if it is a VFR flight)
They should also have extensive...meaning hundreds or thousands of hours cross country in a similar flight (VFR)
And he should be approved by whoever is holding the insurance, if it is you, then the deductable should be specified if there is an accident attributed to pilot error.
I have done literally a hundred or so ferry flights. For a very reputable speciality ferry company. You can not imagine the horror stories that result from sticking some time builder kid in a plane, who then proceeds to land it hard, scrape a wing, and then upon landing at the final destination, put his hands behind his back, and walk off whistling.
And none of them think anything can or will go wrong.
Make it very clear that the plane is to arrive in the same condition it was when it left on the flight. Get a pre flight...signed...inspection.
I will go a bit farther than the others. Any ferry pilot who will work for $200 should be viewed with extreme caution. Ferry pilots typically dont work that many days in a year, so that price is ridiculously low. And I expect there is a reason. Get a quote from a dedicated real ferry company, as opposed to someone working out of their parents basement, there is a reason that companies that move aircraft around regularily pay them.
You did not say what type of aircraft, but if it is anything other than a fixed gear single ga plane, time on type is critical.
Good luck with your plan

[boeingboy]

Thanks for the responses guys.....like I said - I've never dealt with ferrying an aircraft before.

As For time in my book - I don't really need that, and I would love to fly it home myself - just have no time available right now to do it. Type is a C 172.