Ferry Pilot questions

[ghoster]

I may have the chance to do my first ferry flight from up around Canadian border to South Texas in a single engine. I would appreciate all advice from those who have done ferry work in the areas of:
1. daily rate;
2. expenses, hotels, meals, charts, etc;
3. Should I insist on being added to insurance as covered pilot;

I know that I haven't asked all the right questions so any/all advice would be appreciated.
thanks

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[mshunter]

I may have the chance to do my first ferry flight from up around Canadian border to South Texas in a single engine. I would appreciate all advice from those who have done ferry work in the areas of:
1. daily rate;
2. expenses, hotels, meals, charts, etc;
3. Should I insist on being added to insurance as covered pilot;

I know that I haven't asked all the right questions so any/all advice would be appreciated.
thanks

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#1: Charge what your going to charge. DON'T do it for "the experince."
#2: Get a contract in writing that covers these items(some ask for it up front).
#3: YES! Unless you already have an insurance policy that covers you in the airplane, you'd be foolish not to.

 

[staledog]

#1: Charge what your going to charge. DON'T do it for "the experince."
#2: Get a contract in writing that covers these items(some ask for it up front).
#3: YES! Unless you already have an insurance policy that covers you in the airplane, you'd be foolish not to.

I would charge AT LEAST $350 a day + expenses. Really I would charge more, but that would be the absolute minimum. Anything less is peanuts. If they can afford to buy a plane, they can afford the difference between, let's say, $300 a day and $500 a day. It's a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of owning/operating even one of the "cheaper" airplanes.

 

[ryan1234]

When I used to do the ferry stuff I had a rough system for computing how much I would charge per "type" of airplane. Reasonably fast recip twins (i.e. Baron - 310/414/421) worked out to be around $3.00/mile (including fuel, hotel, expenses, etc)... example: 2000 mile trip would take around 14 hours of flying time with good to semi-good weather. 14 hours at an 'average' of 40 gals per hour = 560 gallons @ 5.00/gal (just guestimating) = $2800 figure on about 3 hotel stays @ $90/each = $270 rental car/food/charts/misc = $300; airline fair = say $600 (there and back home)... expenses total around $3970 $3.00 x 2000 = $6000, "net profit" would be around $2000 and should cover contingencies and other things I didn't think of to put down here. The mileage cost can vary depending on terrain and equipment on board. Mine were figured on using a crappy GPS (or handheld) and over water in the Caribbean, but I took care of fly-wires and other stuff.

Just to give you a few thoughts to go by... just make sure you add in some misc money in the quote because there will probably be something you will need to pay for that wasn't planned and/or headwinds, etc. The bonus is that you make more money if you can be more efficient and plan your fuel stops accordingly.

 

[roundout]

If you meet the open pilot warranty on the insurance, there's no reason to be added as a named insured on the policy. Most people insist on this but it's really not necessary. More important is a waiver of subrogation so they can't go after you and your assets if something happens. I also found it impossible to secure insurance coverage for myself as a pilot flying other parties' airplanes. They just don't write it. If you come across an uninsured airplane, just decline the trip. Not worth the hassle.

Get a contract up front and agree upon remuneration of operational costs (fuel, quart of oil along the way, etc.) and overage days (bad weather, mx, etc.). That way there are no surprises after the fact. When I was in the game, I'd get a credit card or a fuel contact card from the client for expenses, then invoice them my daily rate straight up. If that won't work, get a deposit for expected costs of fuel, airfare, overnights up front. That way if they stiff you you're at least not in the hole. If you get some clients you have a trustworthy relationship with, you can make this work pretty well. I got an AA Mastercard and racked up several thousand $$$$ or more a trip. Couple months later you've got a free airline ticket to use for whatever.

Enjoy. Ferrying is fun, despite being somewhat stressful at times. Hope you can make it work.

 

[ghoster]

thanks for all the great info. I am still waiting to hear if it is going to happen but I have much more info on how to proceed that I had before.