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RV-12 to Hawaii ???

Theory Says it is possible

Using Vans numbers:

Empty wt of 740#
Gross wt +10% is 1452# (Allowed for long range ferry)
Useful load of 712#

Range with 20 gals at 5500 rpm is 555nm
80 gals would give 2,220nm or 2,456nm at 5000rpm (100KTAS)
80 gals is 480 pounds leaving 232# for pilot, survival stuff food etc.

Flight would be nearly 20-24 hours.

Aux 60 gal tank in pax seat could be plumbed in.

In theory doable, but not anything I would ever want to do....
 
You'd be a lot better off bringing it to us and we'll load it in a shipping container and ship it over. There is no practical safe way to fly it that far over water.

We ship planes all over the world, by the way, in case anyone else is thinking of exporting a plane. :)
 
Why?

One question: Why? I like Craig's solution. With the removable wings of the RV-12, crating and shipping should be a snap.
 
[email protected] said:
Is it possible to fly an RV12 from California to Hawaii (2050 miles)?

If yes, how to do it?
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Before Mike beats me to it - Welcome to VAF, Robert.

I assume you are asking the question from an academic standpoint from the looks of your user name.

Just because folks say it cannot, or should not be done, does not mean someone won't successfully do it at some point. I often wonder similar things about what kind of range we can really squeeze out of our aircraft if we put our minds to it. The only limiting factor for me is having the brass to actually try it!
 
Oil consumption

I don't know if the Rotax uses any oil but oil consumption should also be looked at very closely for a flight of that duration. People do stuff just to do it, lots of unnecessary stuff, do your homework and go for it if that's your passion.
 
kitfox

A friend of mine who flys a Kitfox has landed in every State in the US to include Alaska. He was trying to get a sponsor to fund shipping his Kitfox to Hawaii so he could "fly the islands" and add them to his log books.

He did the research too and shipping was the best way to get there. Ultimately, the sponsorship fell through but he is still interested in going if the opportunity presents itself.
 
MarkW said:
Headwinds are very strong on the route going.
Click to expand...

The wind is the problem in this exercise. Relying on the forecast wind for a 20+ hour trip is a real gamble. I have a friend, a pro ferry pilot, that took a new Air Tractor to Australia some years ago. With seemingly plenty of fuel, he turned around on the first leg SBA to HNL, at something around 8 hours, the actual wind was going to put him about 75 miles short.

John Clark ATP, CFI
FAAST Team Representative
EAA Flight Advisor
RV8 N18U "Sunshine"
KSBA
 
There are pro ferry pilots who take new Air Tractor 802s to Australia via Hawaii quite a bit. I met one at the AT factory who directed a flight of two new 802s back across about 8 months ago, looks like his method was to install hi freq radio gear, take at least two portable GPS with extra batteries. and a Kindle. oh and it also require the hopper filled with about 1000 gal of ferry jet fuel. Quite an interesting gentleman. Maybe some of the AT folks will round out this story.
 
I once ended up treading water in a big lake as a result of a seaplane mishap. The consequences of going into the Pacific are beyond anything I would risk.
 
Yep

Air Tractors are always ferried to any point on earth, using the hopper as a fuel tank. My 502 holds 500 gallons and at 42 GPH, equates to 12 hours, plus another 226 in the wings gives around 17 hours duration.

Just because Van says XXX lbs for gross weight, doesn't mean that you're limited to that number. I'd guess that the -12 would get airborne carrying 300 lbs more than that...you just have to incrementally get to that point.

Jon in Oz had 300 lbs of fuel in the back seat of his -4 for repeated round-the-world flights, going east and west, plus full wingtips, for around 18 hours duration, on 160 hp.

Best,
 
Interesting concept! I just had never thought about using a Dusty Crophopper as a long distance touring machine before. Built in long distance tanks.
 
Flight to Hawaii

Google the airplane factory. They are in So Africa and build the "Sling." The flew it around the world with the same engine. The trip included a leg from LA to Hawaii.
 
Flight to Hawaii

Google the "airplane factory" in So. Africa. They build the "Sling" there. They flew it around the world with the same engine we have in the -12. Also, there have been a number of other airplanes to do the same with the Rotax 912.
 
If a guy had the right connections, maybe a CVN or two could be used for refueling stops and to stretch your legs, make a potty stop and get a little coffee. :)
 
John Clark said:
With seemingly plenty of fuel, he turned around on the first leg SBA to HNL, at something around 8 hours, the actual wind was going to put him about 75 miles short.
Click to expand...

Still cutting it too close, but the Bay area is about 75 nm closer to HNL than SBA. Landing in Kahului instead of Honolulu would save another 50 or so.;)
 
When we ferry larger planes westbound, we launch from Santa Maria and fly direct to Hilo. This seems to be the shortest line with favoring winds. Monterey is a bit shorter, but usually the wind angle doesn't make up for it.
 
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