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The Arduous Task of Getting an Airplane Home

Good friends, a good plan, and a little bit of danger gets the author’s new pride and joy home just in time for Oshkosh.

Good friends come through to ferry the author’s newly-purchased 170 from Seattle to Wisconsin. [Photo: Marty Coaker]
Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • The author, an inexperienced pilot, purchased a vintage Cessna 170B in Seattle and needed experienced friends to ferry it over 1,400 nm to Wisconsin.
  • Two highly skilled pilot friends, one an aerial firefighter and the other familiar with the aircraft and mountain flying, volunteered for the challenging cross-country trip.
  • During the multi-day journey, the pilots contended with extensive forest fire smoke over the Rocky Mountains and a complete system-wide GPS outage.
  • Despite these formidable challenges, the experienced crew successfully navigated using traditional methods and safely delivered the aircraft to its new home.
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When arranging for good friends to ferry your newly purchased, 68-year-old airplane clear across the continent for you, it’s common courtesy to make their task as easy as possible. Pay for their meals. Spring for nice hotels. And try to avoid placing them over the Rocky Mountains in air filled with forest fire smoke during a large-scale GPS outage. 

In my efforts to be a good friend, I managed to achieve the first two items, but fell woefully short on the last one.

Jason McDowell

Jason McDowell is a private pilot and Cessna 170 owner based in Madison, Wisconsin. He enjoys researching obscure aviation history and serves as a judge for the National Intercollegiate Flying Association. He can be found on Instagram as @cessnateur.

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