Getting ready to leave Guatemala City

Interestingly, the active volcano known as Volcan de Fuego was erupting (in a minor way) about every half-hour as I flew by.

My first compulsory stop was in Tapachula, Mexico. The Mexican government requires all small GA aircraft to stop there after crossing their southern border. There is a Mexican Navy base just off the runway, where a very armed group of people check the plane over, for narcotics mostly.

Another weird phenomenon was that it was… hot! It was in the mid 80s and muggy. I thought, if this is winter here…

Then it was on to Tampico, near the Gulf coast, and then into the US, landing at McAllen, Texas. After that, it began to cool off.

Morning departure in Wendover, Utah, after snow removal

Delivery was made to Boundary Bay, British Columbia.

Aaron at the controls of the Duchess

After being in business over 5 years, I finally snagged my first twin customer.

Along with my staff pilot Sheldon, we brought the bird from Palo Alto (very convenient!) to Denver.

Sheldon flies the Duchess through the Wasatch

It was fortunate that I had instructional experience in the Duchess from a few years back.

Aaron and Sheldon delivering the Duchess

Aloft, it was cold, but the Whirling Flame Heater helped fight the chill.

The new owner and the traditional Hand-Over

Refueling in Jaynesville, Wisconsin

It’s sometimes a little daunting to make your first takeoff in an airplane you’ve never flown before at a short field. But, that’s life if you’re a ferry pilot. You need to know before you agree to pick up the airplane at an airport that you have the comfort level to fly from there in that make and model. So far, I haven’t needed to ask for any owners to reposition their aircraft to an airport with a longer runway, but I can envision it happening.

The Great Barrington Airport runway is 2600′ by 50′, which is not in itself that short for a Piper Arrow, but there is a hill at the west end with trees requiring a fairly steep climb to clear with a good margin.

Great Barrington, Massachusets airport (file photo)

This was a very short flight with one intermediate stop in Modesto. I left home early in the morning and was back by bedtime.

On this flight, I caught the north side of a Low Pressure system and actually got a tailwind while I was headed west through Arizona and Southern California.

The owner and I navigated the C182 around Lake Michigan and across the Rockies to his home in Garberville in two days.

Garberville, California Airport (file photo)

Garberville airport is nestled in a very awkward position on the inland side of the Coastal Range just south of Eureka, California. A standard traffic pattern is not advisable, and the runway is narrow and short.

One thing that is unusual about the TriPacer is that the wings are fabric. You have to be extra careful when fueling the overwing tanks not to spill any AvGas, because the fuel can damage the fabric over time.

Cessna 210 in flight

On my side was the Cessna 210, a comfortable, capable airplane with long range. The last US stop was Brownsville, Texas.

Cessna 210 pedestal

The Mexico stop was in Veracruz. My handler walked me through all of the steps and facilitated the fueling.

Technical stop in Veracruz, Mexico

Here’s a picture from the second leg from Veracruz to Guatemala city:

Comitan de Dominguez, Mexico

The weather was decent as I made my way into the valley airport of Guatemala City. The new owner was happy to see me as I taxied into the hangar area, following a motorcycle policeman.

N5200Q in its new home in Guatemala City

I knew that there was a storm coming, I was mistaken in thinking we could get the flight in before it swooped into the planned route.

I made it as far as Charleston, West Virginia before it was necessary to hunker down and “ride it out”. After, the poor Bonanza (which had been parked outside) was covered with so much snow and ice that it took an hour to melt it off with a portable heater in an open hangar. And that was after I took an hour to brush off the worst of it!

Nevermind that the flight instruments are not arranged in the normal “six-pack” pattern. This Mooney has hydraulic flaps which must be pumped down, and a Johnson Bar landing gear which even for a larger guy like me was difficult to fix into place.

I’m not complaining; I like the challenge, and the more experience I get in older aircraft, the better it serves my business.