Off again

Alas – we are off again on another ferry flight! This time we are flying a brand new Grand Caravan EX (17.9 total hours on the hobs) – N97PN – November 9 7 Papa November (a call sign we will soon become very accustomed to).

Thank you for joining along on this journey- as always Dylan and I are so grateful to be able to do this.

If you would like to learn more about M.A.F. please go to https://mafint.org – or google MAF International.

If you go to the menu in this blog there is a link so that you can follow along with this flight in real time and as well a link giving a bit of a description explaining what ferry flying is.

This morning our son and daughter flew us down to Moundridge Kansas in order to pick up N97PN. This is where the Caravan had been fitted with ferry tanks.

Our son and daughter – Isaiah and O’Danis flying us from Winnipeg to Moundridge, Kansas

O’Danis and Isaiah doing a quick turn around and heading back to Winnipeg

We are delivering this plane to Meereba, Australia.

At this point our planned route is – Moundridge, Kansas – to Albuquerque, New Mexico – to Santa Maria, California – to Hilo, Hawaii – to Christmas Island, Kiritimati – to Funifuti, Tuvalu- to Solomon Islands to Cairns and then Meereba, Australia.

As anyone knows in aviation – plans can change – weather – winds – fuel availability…

Our preferred route and the route we have taken in the past is going from Hawaii to Marshall Islands and then to Solomon Islands to Australia. There are fuel restrictions as a result of the situation in the Middle East and so we were unable to secure fuelling in the Marshall Islands at this time.

As it turns out – the route from Kiritimati to Tuvalu will take us by Howland Island and Gardner Island-(now called Nikumaroro Island) which is believed where Emilia Earhart lost radio contact and disappeared.

Ironically, at the hangar in Moundridge there was a big picture of Emilia commemorating her. It makes sense as Emilia was born in this aviation historically rich state of Kansas in 1897. Kansas is the manufacturing home of some of aviation’s earliest pioneers including the Clyde Cessna, Walter and Olive Anne Beech and Lloyd Stearman.)