Could you fly around the world? Would it be feasible if you had say a light aircraft? Or as a private individual can you buy and run a plane capable of crossing a decent bit of ocean?
Crossing oceans I would assume be quite achievable, otherwise what’s the point.
Or are you talking the little single/twin Cessna types ? In which case doubt it, but the variety of small airports you’d need to stop at would be quite exciting.
Who was that women who crossed the Atlantic? Erghart or something ?? Or did she go around the world .. all in small single engines plane n’all.
You can glide around the world, didn’t Branson do it a few years ago? And didn’t they send a shuttle to collect him 😜👏🚀
An empty 747 has apparently done London to Sydney in a single hop so if you increased the fuel tank it should manage it. A much smaller, more efficient plane should manage it.
I think there are a lot more hoops to jump through if it’s a single engined plane flying over a big bit of water, as there is no back up if it conks out, but twin shouldn’t be an issue.
I'm not talking about technically, just practically and legally. The question is two fold:
1) Could you do it in a light aircraft i.e. hopping from airfield to airfield over land. Could you get fuel, maintenance etc? Do the relevant authorities allow this kind of thing?
2) Could a private individual buy and run a plane big enough to fly transatlantic, say? Would you get permission to land and so on, or would you need to set yourself up as an airline and be regulated etc?
My father frequently flew Islanders solo from the Isle of Wight to places such as Fiji. Including this one, as it happens.
1) Could you do it in a light aircraft i.e. hopping from airfield to airfield over land. Could you get fuel, maintenance etc? Do the relevant authorities allow this kind of thing?
Yes. See above.
2) Could a private individual buy and run a plane big enough to fly transatlantic, say? Would you get permission to land and so on, or would you need to set yourself up as an airline and be regulated etc?
Yes. Again, as above. However, to get clearance, insurance, etc. the pilot would need to be properly qualified. Solo, with sufficient fuel, there are a massive number of planes that have the range to go transatlantic.
Some friends of mine have just taken their private plane to the states and on to the Caribbean. It was a lot of work and a lot of effort finding places to land and park up. Cost them a fortune too. Great adventure but not for the faint hearted
Nice video of some of the trials and tribulations:
I think they technically set themselves up as an airline but it is possible
What a great little video.
How did they get Betty unstuck from the gravel though?!
Or are you talking the little single/twin Cessna types ? In which case doubt it
There are ferry pilots who specialise in delivering small planes to and from the USA.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-34484972
Or are you talking the little single/twin Cessna types ? In which case doubt it, but the variety of small airports you’d need to stop at would be quite exciting.
I once asked a question on an aircraft fan forum. The Euro Lotto was £100m or so and I felt sure if I won I’d be able to buy a private jet and fly my mates and I to Whistler, sounds easy yeah? Nope.
Firstly a lot of Private Jets are great for flying around the states or around Europe, but not many are actually capable of crossing the Atlantic - well not UK to US anyway, really it’s a couple of very large, very expenses ones - expensive that a £100m fortune isn’t going to do it for you, well unless you’re prepared to drop half of it on a plane. Apparently Conrad Black was once flying First Class from NYC to London with his Wife Barbara Amiel, no doubt to do some terrible thing to the small people to feed his greed and ego, anyway Lady Black was moaning to him about how her friends could take their jets back to London and she had to slum it on BA and Black had to explain to her that whilst her friends were billionaires, they merely had hundreds of millions so their jet(s) were smaller.
But I guess that’s not really the question, a lot of it depends on how skilled / brave / stupid you are and you need a mix of all 3 really. If you look at the map using the Azores as your mid point doesnt seem a bad idea, but on a globe it’s less obvious. Really the best way to go is UK-Ireland-Iceland-Greenland-Canada-Alaska-Russia-Finland-Norway-UK.
Unless you have a pretty large aircraft and/or auxiliary tanks in he cabin you’re taking a big risk because there will be times when you’re past the point of no return from the airport you left and the only airport in range is the one you’re heading to, if it closes for any reason you’re going to have to beg them to open, or attempt an emergency landing somewhere. That’s around the northern hemisphere and you’ll see a lot of endless snow and ice. You could head south once you’re over North America, the Americans love to fly so there’s lots of smaller air strips and fields you can stop at to refuel rest. If you’ve got the range and don’t mind risking never being seen again you could fly US mainland, Hawaii, Fiji Australia/New Zealand, but that would mean flying back North West which means flying over the Middle East, could be interesting.
Oh PS some pilots do stuff like above delivering planes for customers, they tend to be very experienced, ex-military types. Dangerous Game.
yes, ferry pilots do this sort of thing as a job, but those guys are often ex-military. You'd need navigation skills, probably an instrument rating and radio rating/licence, probably night flying rating and licences and experience. The route across the Atlantic is up over Iceland a Greenland (the approaches of which can be more than I little interesting) and of course if it all goes wrong over the North Atlantic you're probably going to die. Flying over the rest of the world you'd need permission to overfly (there's probably many countries that would prohibit this, landing permissions, re-fuelling...
buy yeah in theory...
I wonder if it would be cheaper and easier overall to charter local pilot&plane as you went.
Cessna CJ4's about 9 million dollars and has a range of 4000km, according to Wiki - that's gotta be within the realms of a £100 million Euromilions win, innit? Won't do a full tranatlantic but just lop into the Azores for lunch and a couple of gallons of unleaded, job's a good 'un.
I wonder if it would be cheaper and easier overall to charter local pilot&plane as you went.
Without a doubt. I think you would end up limited in when and where you can go so owning your own is the only option in some cases. It also misses the point a bit but you will get some of the benefits of private air travel
We were filming on the air ambulance earlier in the summer, slightly disheartening when they talk about flying somewhere and you've got to drive there the next day and you realise it's basically a day in the car to do what they do in an hour.
If I was a millionaire I'd definitely have a helicopter (and have to buy a plantation the size of Yorkshire to offset the CO2). Realistically its quick enough to cover England fast enough that it doesn't matter, and you can land it almost anywhere whereas a plane needs an airport and a taxi to wherever you're going.
I did once meet Malcolm Birdend on a cycling holiday, more than a little envious when he got a taxi to the local airport and the Shell private jet picked him up to take him wherever his morning meeting was. We spent 2 hours on a minibus, another couple in malaga airport, another 3 on the plane, another couple in stanstead getting luggage and waiting for the train and an hour on the train and walk back to my flat to sleep knackered. He basically gained a day on everyone by being rich & important!
that 1950's twin prop is beautiful. What an experience.
I've always fancied a seaplane but the downside is the added drag reducing range so more stops.
Passenger airliners with 2 engines operate under ETOPS for routes that require them to be over 60 minutes from a suitable airport for safe landing. No idea about the rules for private aircraft once you are in international airspace and the risk is for you to assess and deal with.
The discovery channel had a show ‘dangerous flights’ that followed a group of ferry pilots around, and while I’ve no doubt some of the jeopardy was wound up to 11, it did show what kind of bother you could get into if you weren’t up to scratch.
Cessna CJ4’s about 9 million dollars and has a range of 4000km, according to Wiki – that’s gotta be within the realms of a £100 million Euromilions win, innit? Won’t do a full tranatlantic but just lop into the Azores for lunch and a couple of gallons of unleaded, job’s a good ‘un.
Yeah, as above technically you can hop it in most small planes, but transatlantic non-stop is mega money, even if £9m somehow by the spirit of this thread isn’t. Plus, and whilst I don’t pretend to understand it, if you want to stick to the rules and massively reduce the chances of you dying and never being found, you can’t just think - well it’ll do 4000km, lets find an airport 3800km away and go there. You’re meant to leave a healthy margin for error / bad weather and have the range to divert to another airport if the destination airport is closed for whatever reason - the Azores of course are known for being a ‘a bit far’ from anywhere else.
Truthfully, if you ‘just’ want to fly UK to North America private, you charter a jet for tens of thousands rather than buying a Gulfstream for $50m or whatever, actually owning a jet is just really daft.
Not to mention, even if your numbers do come in big, you can’t just take a half-day course in a little Cessna ‘to get the gist of it’ and then send your G6 down the runway and set google maps for somewhere nice. I think if you threw piles of money at it and we’re natually talented at flying it would take years of study and practice to be able to fly a multi-engine jet.
I'd be totally up for learning to fly when the numbers come good - not transatlantic, that seems way too big a roll of the dice, but just to be able to get to the airport and go. Mega. 🙂
We were having a convo at work on thurs about the exact same thing. I think the conclusion was just fly first class more places more times, than owning and maintaining a plane/jet and paying a pilot.
Certainly long-haul as first class, I'd get me licence and a plane for shorter journeys. And one of this for the heck of it. 🙂
In answer to the OP. Yes.
Should give you the route
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-28710976?print=true
For the the news article.
Single engined Comanche btw.
Double post
but just to be able to get to the airport and go.
If you have your own plane why bother going to the airport? (:
£1.25mil for a spitfire is nothing compared to the running costs, were you to actually fly it.
£1.25mil for a spitfire is nothing compared to the running costs, were you to actually fly it.
I think you might be two decimal points out there..!
I’d be totally up for learning to fly when the numbers come good – not transatlantic, that seems way too big a roll of the dice, but just to be able to get to the airport and go. Mega.
I’d love that, I have a bit of a thing for the Honda Jet. I think it’s about £5m.
You still can’t just roll up and go though.
Honesty though, if you’re seriously caked, 1st class is nice, but chartering is the one - call up Netjets or whoever, tell ‘em where you are and where you want to go and they’ll send the right jet and crew to you. Its really expensive, but I’m sure someone said that if you can fill all the seat it can be cheaper than 1st with a carrier per head.
You could do but why on Earth would you? I got half way through my PPL twenty years ago and thought to myself ‘what’s the point’? Costa you a fortune to get it, Costa you even more to progress further and maintain it and for what? What are you going to do once you’ve got it? Flying is pretty boring really, once you’re up there isn’t a lot to do other than look out of the window. If I won the lottery i’d pay someone else to fly me around or work towards flying old warbirds or something.
I remember reading this -> http://www.cessna150-152.com/transatlantic.htm account of flying a small Cessna across the atlantic. Had to fit a massive fuel tank and take it easy. I found it an interesting read. Sometimes wish I'd pushed on getting a license!
Edit: wobbliscott - I didn't even get half way before having the same thoughts! I am still romantically attached to the idea of having a license and owning a (share in a) plane though. Microlights are much more cost effective.
What you need is a Piper Cub. They’re ace. Loads of videos of them taking off from deserted beaches/glaciers etc. Take off distance of less than 100ft. Much less on a treadmill 😉. Works a treat if you run out fuel with no airfields around. Crap mid ocean though!
There’s a couple of Scandinavian folk who will only fly to airfields to refuel, otherwise the ultimate wild camping machine!
had a mate with a Cessna 172, you can get two mtbs in the back, Orkney, Shetland, Hebrides, Ireland, France, sheep cleared before landing on Gigha, the meadow at Tiree, being amazed at the runways (and hanger) at Wick[WW2 airport so massive), bricking it as we landed as Shetland - down to 1/4 tank, all other airports fogged, truly relieved at hearing the rescue chopper practising, and landing over the cars as we were desperate to get down (fog coming in)- the first time the pilot ever went to the pub before checking in with the family. Bloody unreliable way to travel though - weather ,,,,, but then seeing Scotland at 1000-2000 feet was truly awesome - flew along the N coast, I usedd to live at Dunnet Head, dad worked at Cape Wrath - AWESOME
Truthfully, if you ‘just’ want to fly UK to North America private, you charter a jet for tens of thousands rather than buying a Gulfstream for $50m or whatever, actually owning a jet is just really daft.
Or, like Alan Sugar, you own it, use it when you want it, and then rent it out for a fortune to others she you don't. Tidy little money maker!
You could do but why on Earth would you?
See Towzer's post above.
I wouldn't do it even if I were rich enough; tbh I wouldn't even learn to fly. Too much theory and hard work, and not really safe enough I reckon. I was just curious.
I'd sooner cycle round the world than fly round it.
You could do it in a small aircraft, but you'd have to take an incredibly circuitous route over Scotland, Iceland, Greenland, stopping off for fuel along the way in each place and hoping you have enough to make each way point.
Also, your typical passenger jet trundles across the Atlantic at about Mach .85, or about 575mph through the air. A single engine something or other will do about a fifth of that, if you're lucky, and it'll do it in the turbulent lower levels.
Biz jet much faster but imagine cost absolutely horrendous for Atlantic crossing, as although above the track system may still need to enter it in an emergency, so you'd have to pay navigation charges too.
I’ve often thought about this, and while I really do not have the skills necessary to learn to fly anything more sophisticated than a kite, it’s nice to dream, and I dream of owning and flying something like this, a Grumman G-21 Goose...
CountZero reminds me of Tails Of The Golden Monkey 🙂
Always dream if I had the money and the skill i'd buy an Icon A5 and fly it everywhere.
These guys got to Australia in a little Cessna:
https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/three-in-a-plane-on-an-incredible-journey-for-charity-1-2467661
Think you would need something bigger for the Atlantic or Pacific though...
£1.25mil for a spitfire is nothing compared to the running costs, were you to actually fly it.
I think you might be two decimal points out there..!
Nope, read the article, not just the link...
Executive jets? Pah! Luxury yachts? Sneer. The latest must-have toy for the super-rich is a good-as-new and authentic Spitfire - and it is yours for a cool £1.25m.
They are jolly nice to fly though 😉
