Project Vikings - A Ferry Pilot Journey

[Woutopia]

Ferry flights form the backbone of modern aviation. Roughly 60% of the world’s commercial fleet is leased from leasing companies, with leasing companies having fleets of hundreds to thousands of aircraft which they lease out to airlines all over the world. Delivering and repositioning of those leased aircraft is done through ferry flights: empty flights with one more stopovers to get the aircraft to its destination.

Are these ferry flights limited to leased aircraft only? No, certainly not. Any company that needs an aircraft repositioned does so via ferry flights (of course there are exceptions to this).

To explore this world of ferrying I will be starting project Vikings: a fictional ferry company called Vikings Aviation, callsign “Vikings”, which will operate ferry flights on behalve of leassors, airlines and maintenance companies and bring their aircraft from A to B as realistically as possible.

One of the biggest factor for realism will be not using the teleportation feature in Infinite Flight. Vikings Aviation will be based at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS/EHAM) so all trips must start and end there. Ferrying an aircraft from New York to Los Angeles? I must first fly to New York to pick-up the plane and fly back to Amsterdam after landing in Los Angeles. One exception would be if I were to schedule back-to-back Ferry Flights, but I must travel everywhere I go.

Here are some other rules/guidelines for this project:

• Realistic Routing: Fuel is expensive, to keep costs as low as possible the route planning must be done with the economics in mind. Additionally, the stopovers made during the flight must make sense; KJFK as a stopover from Europe to Arizona is not realistic due to the high costs.
• Range: some aircraft in-game have what seems like unlimited range. Flights that can realistically be done non-stop will be done so, otherwise a stopover will be added.
• No passengers and cargo on-board. Ferry flights are usually empty with the exception to crew members and their luggage.
• Destination choice: The departure and origin of the aircraft must make sense; no Ryanair flights from Los Angeles to Singapore, why would such a livery make that trip?

Ferry flights come in many different shapes and forms. However, to keep things simple I will be focussing on 3 types of ferry flights for this project. Below is an overview of the 3 types I’ll mainly be focussing on:

1. Delivery Flights bring aircraft to the customer with the intend to utilize the aircraft. These flights can be directly from the factory, from a maintenance location, the homebase of the previous operator or a storage facility (after long-term storage an aircraft is usually first put through extensive maintenance to get it back in the air again).
2. Maintenance Flights ferry aircraft to maintenance facilities where an aircraft may receive their regular checks, cabin refit, a repaint, conversion to cargo aircraft or something like that. These flights often take place between two different operators or after long-term storage.
3. Storage Flights bring aircraft from all over the world to storage facilities. These facilities are usually situated in dry climates to avoid corrosion and other complications when storing an aircraft for sometimes years. Aircraft are sent to storage airports after a lease is returned while waiting for a new customer, when demand is low (for example the COVID-19 pandemic) or when the aircraft is being retired.

Suggestions on which routes and aircraft to fly are always welcome. Within the ferry world there are almost unlimited possibilities for flights to do so feel free to get creative. Of course, all routes that I fly need to be as realistic as possible, so keep this in mind when submitting a suggestion.

Here’s a link to a Google Sheets with all completed, current and future trips: Vikings Aviation - Google Sheets

In this thread, I will be posting the progress of Project Vikings. If you feel inspired to do some ferry flying too, head over to the link above and choose a mission to your liking and enjoy the ride. See you all in the skies!

[Woutopia]

001 - Ryanair Supply

Vikings Aviation’s first mission will involve 2 former Southwest B738’s which will be delivered to Ryanair’s base at Dublin, Ireland. Due to the slow delivery of the MAX aircraft, Ryanair has opted to lease a few B738’s to minimise the impact the delayed deliveries have on their operations.

Details:

• Departure airports: Tucson and Houston Hobby
• Arrival Airport: Dublin
• Airframe: 2x Southwest B738
• Stopover: Bangor, Maine

On the map below the entire mission has been mapped out; blue are the outbound flights (to the pick-up airport), red is the ferry flight and green is the flight back to base.

From EHAM we will be flying on a direct flight to Houston on-board the KLM A333. After arrival we hop in a car across town towards Houston Hobby Airport where we take the Southwest B738 towards Dublin with a fuel stop and customs clearance in Bangor, Maine. This part of the mission is scheduled to be completed on October 1st, if all goes to plan.

After arrival in Dublin, we’ll hop in an Aer Lingus A333 over to Los Angeles followed by a Delta CRJ700 flight to Tucson. Our second Southwest B738 will be waiting for us on the ramp, takeoff to Bangor for some fresh fuel and cross the Atlantic bound for Dublin again. After arrival in Dublin for the second time we will board a KLM B737 for a short hop back to base. The full mission will be completed on October 8th if all goes as planned.

Let’s get these 737’s across the Atlantic!

[Mathurin_Garcier]

Woutopia ‘Steve Giordano’

[Woutopia]

I did get this idea while re-watching all 21 episodes, happy to meet a fellow fan!

[Manley_Travels]

Love the concept, heavily inspired by speedtapefilms offcourse. I’m also a huge fan, watched every episode.

[Woutopia]

First Flight Completed

Vikings Aviation’s first mission has been completed. 2 second hand B738’s have been delivered to Ryanair’s base in Dublin from Tucson and Houston. Here’s an quick overview of the mission:

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Evening departure from Amsterdam in the KLM A333 bound for Houston where we will pick-up one of the Southwest B738’s. Flighttime was 9hr 40mins with an on-time arrival in Houston. After a short car ride we arrive at Houston’s second airport, Hobby Airport, where our Southwest B738 was already waiting for us.

Quick walk-around of the aircraft to make sure the aircraft is ready for its long flight to Dublin with a stop in Bangor.

Bangor is an ideal stopping point for aircraft flying from the US to Europe or the other way around: it is a small airport meaning cheaper landing and handling fees while still having all facilities to handle a flight like this and it is perfectly located en-route. After landing in Bangor a quick turn-around was done to get the aircraft ready for the 6 hour flight over the Atlantic.

After a total flighttime of 9hrs and 11mins we pull into the maintenance stand at Dublin Airport. One of the 2 has been delivered! We don’t have a lot of time on the ground at Dublin though, our ride back to the US is already waiting for us at the gate: Aer Lingus A333 to Los Angeles.

The flight went smooth and after a flight of 10hrs 29mins we pull into the gate at Los Angeles. Next flight would be the Delta CRJ700 to get me to Tucson, Arizona where the second B738 was parked.

The commute to Tucson only took 1hr 02mins. The Southwest aircraft in the gorgeous Heart Livery was waiting for us at the long-term parking stand of Tucson, ready for the 9hr and 48min flight over to its new owner.

The departure out of Tucson was beautiful, the sandy desert below and the mountains certainly never disappoint.

This flight would also be landing in Bangor for a re-fueling stop before making the oceanic crossing to Europe. As we were incredibly light the entire flight, we were able to fly at FL410 for the entire journey from Tucson over to Dublin. There are no passengers and cargo on-board resulting in a very light aircraft. Our landing weight at Dublin for example was only 39.500kg, usually that would be above 50.000kg when passengers are on-board. Due to the light weight of the aircraft, the landing speed was 127kts with flaps 30.

After arrival in Dublin at the Ryanair Hanger it was time to say goodbye to the stunning dark blue B738’s and head back home. The ride home was be on a KLM B737 and only took 1hr 02mins (same as the CRJ flight).

And with that, the first mission has been completed: 2 Southwest B738’s delivered to Dublin where they will soon enter service with Ryanair. Next mission will be a double-service all the way around the world, stay tuned!

[Woutopia]

002 - Chasing the Sun

Our second mission will involve 2 passenger aircraft which are being shipped to a facility where they will be converted into freighter aircraft. The first aircraft will be an ex-Iberia A321 which will be converted to a freighter in San Antonio, Texas. We will then head across to Mexico where an Aeromexico B738 will be waiting for us bound for Guangzhou where it will be converted a freighter too.

Details Flight 1:

• Departure airport: Madrid
• Arrival Airport: San Antonio
• Airframe: Iberia A321
• Stopover: Albany, New York

Details Flight 2:

• Departure airport: Mexico City
• Arrival Airport: Guangzhou
• Airframe: Aeromexico B738
• Stopovers: Honolulu & Guam

On the map below the entire mission has been mapped out; blue are the outbound flights (to the pick-up airport), red is the ferry flight and green is the flight back to base.

To start the journey off, we will hop on an Air Europa B789 to Madrid before we start the long journey over to San Antonio with a stopover in Albany, New York in the A321 which used to fly for Iberia. After a life well spent as a passenger aircraft she will spend her last years before retirement carrying freight all over the world.

The second mission will involve an Aeromexico B738 which is also at the end of its passenger life and which will be converted in Guangzhou. To get to Mexico City, we will fly on-board the Aeromexico E190 as a passenger before piloting the B738 all the way to China. Due to the distance, this trip is required to make 2 fuel stops along the way: Honolulu and Guam.

To end the trip, we’ll fly back home from Guangzhou on a direct flight on-board China Southern’s A359 for the 12 hour return home. If all goes according to plan, this entire mission should be completed on Monday October 14th.

Let’s go chase the sun on this journey around the entire world on this 20.000 nautical mile trip!

[Pilot_InfiniteFlight]

Dude this actually seems really cool and unique. Good luck on this!

[Woutopia]

Thank you, it’s such a great journey so far!

[Woutopia]

The Iberia Freighter

The first of two flights has been completed on the ‘Chasing the Sun’ mission. An Ex-Iberia A321 was successfully ferried from Madrid to San Antonio. Here’s a quick overview of the mission:

To start things off, we find ourselves at Schiphol airport for a 1hr 58 mins Air Europa Dreamliner flight to Madrid.

The sky was clear for a rather turbulent flight over to Madrid, seatbelt sign was on for the majority of the flight.

Transferring from the Dreamliner to the Iberia A321 was quite the hassle, first had to leave the secure area of the airport, find someone to get us to the Iberia Maintenance ramp, go through security again, check documents… let’s just say we were happy we scheduled enough transfer time.

There she is, the A321 who has finished her duties as a passenger aircraft and who will move to the freighter business before she is retired. Converting a plane to freighter usually extends the lifetime of an aircraft by 15-20 years before the inevitable retirement. Good for the environment and good for the bank account.

Rotating out of Madrid for the 8 hour and 25 minutes flight to Albany, New York. The flight was near the limit this aircraft can fly and would never be possible if we had 180 passengers in the back.

Finally seeing land after hours upon hours of just water, water and more water. We flew a rather direct path so we didn’t see Iceland, Greenland or Canada. Can you guess which city we entered the US over? (Level Easy)

On final approach into Albany, a cosy airport in the state of New York. During the taxi-in, I got lost and missed the entrance to the ramp where we needed to park meaning a loop around the runway was necessary to park at our parking spot.

Made it to the stand in one piece for our 45 minute turnaround for the second and final flight over to San Antonio, Texas.

After exactly 12 hours and 00 minutes of flighttime we have arrived at the ST Maintenance Hangers at San Antonio Airport, Texas, where this aircraft will be converted to a freighter over the coming months. Didn’t have long to stick around, my Aeromexico Embraer E190 was waiting for me at the gate for the hop to Mexico for the next journey.

The first of 2 aircraft has been delivered to the facility. Next: Aeromexico B738 to Guangzhou, China, the second aircraft for this mission. Follow along for the ride over to Guangzhou with a stop in Honolulu and Guam, the trip should be done in a few days, stay tuned!

[Variable]

Nomadic 👀

Would love to join you on one of these, ferry flights always hit diff.

[Woutopia]

Hehe you got it!

I’m currently not planning some sort of pinglist like others have been doing for the realism, but I have a link to a spreadsheet in the main post with all upcoming trips (more being added soon) so feel free to foy any of those or you can of course create your own scenarios :)

[Guilherme_Carvalho]

I recognize a speedtapefilms fan when i see one! Wish you good ferrys!

[Woutopia]

Cheers buddy, it’s a good series!

[Guilherme_Carvalho]

@Variable

Nomadic 👀

We still don’t have this callsign in-game 😢

[Woutopia]

I wanted to add a little twist to it and make it more my own so I went with Vikings Aviation.

I chose it because 1: It sounds cool and 2: I used to live in Norway where vikings are a big part of history. And I add WT at the end of the callsign because of my username

[Woutopia]

Aeromexico across the Pacific

The final flight has been completed on the ‘Chasing the Sun’ mission. An ex-Aeromexico B738 has been ferried all the way across the pacific to Guangzhou, here’s how it went:

We start things off at the gate in San Antonio where we dropped off the A321. Our ride to Mexico City was waiting at the gate: a small Embraer E190. Aeromexico’s regional flights with the Embaer are operated by their subsidiary Aeromexico Connect, callsign “Costera”. They operate a fleet of 37 E190 jets in a 99 seat configuration (88 economy and 11 businessclass). With those 37 aircraft they serve roughly 60 destinations across the region both domestically and on thin routes to for example the US.

As we bank out of San Antonio the deserts of Texas and northern Mexico appear below us. I honestly think the deserts of Mexico and southwestern United States are among the prettiest to fly over in Infinite Flight, quite the treat.

Before long we already touched down in Mexico City, with an elevation of well over 7500ft this is one of the highest elevated capitals in the world. Due to the elevation, our groundspeed at landing was rather high: 155kts. We didn’t have a lot of time to hang around in Mexico, our ride to Guangzhou was waiting.

There he/she is, (there’s a whole discussion about genders in aircraft, right? What do you think the B738 is?) waiting for us at the Aeromexico Maintenance Ramp in Mexico City. After flying for Aeromexico for 21 years, this aircraft will be converted to a freighter in Guangzhou before she will join a freight airline to live her final years carrying freight. As explained before, conversions extend the service live of aircraft by roughly 10-15 years.

Leaving Mexico behind us with a view of the coast of Mexico. After this, it’ll take us 6.5 more hours until we see land again. The flight from the American Continent over to Hawaii is the longest flight in the world without any alternate airports en-route. After leaving the mainland behind, there’s literally nothing until you reach Hawaii. As you can imagine, this can be an issue if you have a medical emergency or technical issue.

Finally, land ahead! After an almost 8 hour flight we are finally approaching Hawaii with its gorgeous peaks and white beaches.

What’s more Hawaiian than landing with a Hawaiian B712 waiting at the hold short line? Quite a shame Hawaiian will be merging with Alaska Airlines, the unique island identity of Hawaiian might be lost in favor of the Alaskan Identity.

Parked at the ramp and ready for a break. We were parked at the ramp for roughly 8 hours for a sleep break to resume in the morning again.

Both pilots reported well rested after their 8 hour break before lifting off again bound for Guam. When crossing the pacific in a narrowbody, there really aren’t a lot of options in terms of routing to get from one side to the other. Chances are taht Honolulu and Guam will be mentioned again during Project Vikings as this is the easiest way to get across (unless the Anchorage route is available).

7 hours later we are on approach into Guam. There’s not a lot to it as Guam isn’t 3D and due to that is still rather wonky. We parked at the ramp for roughly an hour before the final stint over to Guangzhou, which should only take us around 4 hours.

The departure out of Guam was smooth and powerful considering we were flying with only 5 hours of fuel and no pax/cargo.

4 hours later we approach the gorgeous coast of the Guangzhou Metropolitan Region. The greater Guangzhou Metropolitan region (which includes Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Macau and all other cities within the region) is home to the largest population center om earth with an estimated population of 80 million people. Guangzhou’s airport is the busiest in China in terms of passengers with Shenzhen en Hong Kong being significant players too. In Infinite Flight there’s not a lot of traffic here but IRL this region is one of the busiest airspaces in the world.

After 20 hours and 4 minutes of flighttime we finally deliver this aircraft to the maintenance hanger at Guangzhou where it will undergo the conversion to a freighter.

After an exhausting stint through countless timezones and almost non-stop flying for the past few days it was finally time to relax in the stunning China Southern A359 back home to Amsterdam.

What’s great about flying Chinese airlines back home is the fact that we get to see Russia from above. Due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict we don’t usually fly over Russia which is a shame because it is such a stunning country! During Project Vikings, we will not be doing missions in and out of Russia unfortunately. For now, we need to enjoy Russia from above!

After an 11 hour flight we pull into the gate at Amsterdam. It’s been a great journey across the world and I cannot wait for the next mission!

And with that, the entire Chasing the Sun mission has been completed; both aircraft have successfully been delivered and we are back at base. Stay tuned for the next mission which will involve the delivery of a brand new CL35 to a brand new 3D airport!

Feel free to leave feedback or suggestions =)

[Woutopia]

003 - A Rich Guy’s Toy

It’s party time! We will be delivering a brand new Challenger 350 straight from the factory at Montreal’s Pierre Elliot Trudeau Airport all the way to the rich south coast of France. Cannes airport has recently been added as a 3D airport too which is always a nice treat.

Flight Details:

• Departure airport: Montreal
• Arrival Airport: Cannes
• Airframe: CL350
• Stopover: Keflavik, Iceland

On the map below the entire mission has been mapped out; blue are the outbound flights (to the pick-up airport), red is the ferry flight and green is the flight back to base.

Our journey begins at Amsterdam with a quick flight to Paris in the Air France A220 where we connect onto the mighty Air France 77W.

After arrival in Montreal we make our way over to the other side of the airport to the Bombardier Factory where the brand new Challenger will be parked. The Challenger doesn’t have the range to comfortably make it to Cannes in a non-stop flight, so we will be making a stopover in Iceland’s main airport Keflavik before continuing to Cannes, France.

After arrival in Cannes we make our way over to Nice by car (short drive) for our KLM Cityhopper flight back home.

Quick trip across the Atlantic to deliver this Challenger to Cannes! Follow along for the whole story.

[Woutopia]

Rich Guy’s Toy Delivery

The delivery of a brand new CL350 from Montreal, Canada to Cannes, France has been completed. Here’s how it went:

We start our journey off at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport for a short 43 minute flight to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. This flight was on-board the Air France A220 of which Air France currently has 38 in their fleet, with 22 more on order (60 in total). These aircraft are used to replace Air France’s aging A318 and A319 fleet, which will soon all be retired from service.

The flight over to Paris was short and uneventful, before we knew it we were already touching down on runway 27L. I was glad the flight wasn’t delayed as the connection time on the ground was only around 1 hour, which is really short for Charles De Gaulle airport.

Luckily we made the connection towards Montreal in Air France’s B777. On this route, they use their high-density cabin with a mind-blowing 472 seats. Air France uses these aircraft on routes which don’t have a lot of premium demand, like leisure destinations and commuter routes.

Seen here, banking out of Paris and setting course to Canada. The Air France livery is so simple but yet so elegant.

After many hours of ocean we finally reach the Canadian Coast, which is always a sight to enjoy.

Welcome to the land of Bombardier. After just over 7 hours of flighttime we touch down at Montreals runway 24R, ready to head over to the hotel for some rest to pick-up the CL350 the next morning.

And there she is, a brand new Bombardier Challenger 350, to be delivered to Cannes in the south of France. The owner of the aircraft flew to Montreal to join us on the delivery of his private jet.

The CL350 is a powerful little bird, we were almost maxed out in terms of fuel for the journey to Iceland but she had no issue taking off and climbing out of Montreal. And the stunning morning colours make everything better, doesn’t it?

After a few hours we reach probably one of the most stunning places on earth to fly over: Greenland. Even though most of the country is 2D in the game, its beauty is still present. We were lucky to fly over the southern tip where a small part is actually 3D, what a treat!

Flaring for a smooth landing in Keflavik, the main airport of Iceland. I’ve been to Iceland myself 2 weeks ago and the passenger terminal at Keflavik airport is stunning! Shame our ferry flight parks at the GA stands instead of the main terminal.

Parked at the stand in Iceland. We have a 45 minute turn-around here before we continue towards Cannes in one go. Just in time for a drink, some food and a quick refuel of the plane.

Off we go again! Next stop: Cannes.

From above, the true size of London becomes quickly apparent. Such a big city! How many airports can you spot from above?

Moments before touchdown at Cannes, brace for impact! The runway is only 5000ft long, 1500ft is a displaced threshold making the runway for landing roughly 3500ft.

Finally parked at the stand and leaving the aircraft behind with its new owner. Great bird to fly across the Atlantic, it’s been a lovely experience.

Due to our late arrival into Cannes we booked our flight back home for the following morning. The flight home will take 1hr 30min and is on-board the smallest aircraft of the KLM fleet: E175. Originally this flight was scheduled on the E190 but they swapped the plane to its smaller brother.

Banking out of Nice is always… nice! The southern coast of France is such a stunning part of the world.

Home sweet home back at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. The E175 is such a gentle and cute plane to fly, I really enjoy it.

And with that, it’s a wrap! Another successful Vikings Aviation mission. Stay tuned for the next mission where we head to India!

[Woutopia]

Update

Project Vikings has been put on a hold for a few months due to some real-life priorities. However, life has returned to normal so Vikings Aviation will be back in all its glory very soon.

In a few days, after Christmas and once I have finished the AFKLM World Tour (only a few days left for me) I will continue ferrying aircraft around the world for ‘clients’.

To kick the new year off, I’ll be doing 3 mission in a row without getting back to base, criss-crossing the earth a few times, including the brand new MAX! Stay tuned for more!