Meet the Cowboy Pilots Behind This USED Airplane Delivery Service | Dangerous Flights

it's aviation's final frontier Cowboy Pilots Who deliver small used aircraft why is this thing not working freaking amen across distances they were never meant to fly this is the most extreme type of flying you can do a right way to fly an airplane and there's a wrong way they take on the deadliest flights ride out the wildest weather I can't see anything every plane I fly in I expect is trying to kill me and do whatever it takes to survive [Music] but as long as there's money and fuel to burn smell that kitty they'll live to fly another day let's roll about 80 kilometers east of San Francisco CB Aviation the score a pilot embarks on a risky journey to change his own destiny no you don't understand we're set to depart tomorrow morning at 7am Corey Benson recently walked away from a lucrative car dealership to follow his passion for Aviation I knew there was a big risk and I knew there was a very good chance that I wasn't going to make the money that I was making in the car business but I wanted to do something that I loved for his new job selling and delivering small second-hand planes in the industry it's called fairy flying and only Pilots with nerves of Steel need a fly they fly anything anywhere anytime [Music] from single engine planes through turboprops and multi-million dollar Jets it has wings they'll take it no matter how far well we're not Kansas anymore man or how dangerous bro that's bad it's a radical career change but Corey is committed I'm the type of guy that when I decide I'm going to do it I'm going to find a way to make it work I never look back I don't want to get back in the car business I've basically put all of my eggs in this one basket and I will make it work and here's the plane that Corey hopes will jump start his dream Merlin 3 a Sleek turbo prop built in 1980 . Corey bought it in California and sold it to a customer in Australia pick up his check he's gonna have to fly the plane on a treacherous journey across the Pacific Ocean the problem is the Merlin doesn't have the fuel capacity so Corey's hired a team of Aviation mechanics to install an auxiliary fuel system inside the cabin a retrofit that will turn the plane into a potential flying bomb let's go and check the system out now we're going to stick in the aircraft everything's new and unfamiliar especially this jury-rigged backup fuel system so let's say that you want to use the right tank first what you do then is that you open this valve here and you open this valve here okay the fuel control panel was built with a mix of aircraft automotive and plumbing parts put this the way it should be okay it's going to be this way and these two aluminum tanks will be installed in the cockpit each filled with over 300 liters of fuel just disconnect this one here it really looks kind of rinky and put it on this side you're starting to make me a little nervous you're thinking about there's going to be nine hours we're going to be over water and we've got to control the fuel tanks on top of that I want to make sure it works I want to make sure it works right and that we completely understand how to work this so so what happens if we had something with the airplane go wrong where we lost power where it wasn't powering either of the inverted let's say you lose these two here you lose everything on the aircraft and pressurization you don't want that in trouble that's one of the scariest part about being a fairy pilot is you're in an unfamiliar airplane going somewhere very dangerous most of the people survive you know some of them die of course but most of them survive this will be a steep learning curve for Corey and it just got even steeper because he's landed another job perfect okay in the aircraft delivery business you never know when the plant's going to be ready sometimes there's two or three flights that come together at the same time which has happened here Corey was hired to move a single-engine Cessna 206 but this one is over 35 years old so he's hired a top-notch team to take on the flight for him well he's a good feeling to see if she's ready to go across the water which we need her to go across the water so Bob raske has logged over 23 000 hours in every kind of flying machine from commercial airliners to fighter jets I'll let you get up okay okay you're younger and more agile also his co-pilot yasmina Platt has a fraction of that experience just 600 hours in small planes but she's hungry for more be here and going flying awesome there's nothing better in the world than to go flying he's going to treat us well right you're gonna treat us good [Music] trip of a lifetime a flight over 10 000 kilometers long from California to Poland Across The Frigid Waters of the North Atlantic and they've never flown together this first test flight will be a great way to break the ice the engine sounds good though so far it's very solid anything else captain nope we're good to go I'm gonna need to learn this one it's just one of many one of many all right but just minutes into the test flight look at that thing that doesn't respond the old Cessna is misbehaving oh it's not working oh the left aileron trim is not responding well we tested him on the ground they didn't work then the aileron trim is a hinged flap on the edge of the wing trolls the plane's rolling motion with the left trim stuck the plane is rolling to the right they're coming down okay so descent Bob decides to land but he fights to control the plane good job [Music] could just be old if it can't break it will back in the hangar the mechanic discovers serious evidence of neglect it could be cost just by the age of the aircraft or just the fact that it's been sitting for so long detective work to figure out why the aileron trim got stuck and whether this is an isolated incident or a sign of even bigger problems either way this old lady is grounded you want me to keep running it yeah from the safety angle this delay is unavoidable but for Corey's new business it's a killer every day we delay it it costs us money with pile of fees and hotels and everything else and so from a business standpoint I'm always pushing the pilot with the Cessna and the hangar Corey is pushing hard to make sure his mechanics keep his first delivery job on schedule the Merlin 3 Turbo prop Ane the auxiliary fuel tanks are ready to be installed just hang on oh flying this tricked out aircraft is going to take a special kind of pilot someone who won't get spooked by a couple of fuel tanks sitting where the passengers are supposed to be and someone with enough experience to help Corey on the tricky Pacific Crossing let's get out of here it's a job for Captain Randy McGehee all right let's get out of here he'll be Corey's partner on this flight this flight will be the first time Corey and I have ever flown together it's not normal to take such a big difficult flight together as your first flight normally you ease into it with a more routine little flight but we're kind of going for it on this now that Corey's got a real Pro on board the full magnitude of this challenge is kicking in at this weight and at these speeds the airplane is going to be very hard to control so we don't control the plane we've got no chance at all [Music] most of the added weight is fuel and now the tricky part not to spill smell that Jedi and with two extra fuel tanks as front row passengers This Plane delivery is definitely not business as usual now this is the first time I've ever fueled an airplane from the inside but just when they're finally ready to go heavy fog rolls in it's really low we can't take off like this not with the weight that we're at that's what we're trying to do today I don't want to be stuck here we need to get this airplane down there we can almost see the control tower now it's you've got different control tower is right there all he sees a bunch of milky white fog you can't even see the taxiway or the runway Corey and Randy haven't even left the ground yet and already they're in a standoff we're overweight We're not gonna have great climb performance we've got mountains out here I mean if things go really bad we could end up dead we're gonna go in it's clear and that's when we're gonna go all right and that's that's that's the end of it all right We're not gonna do any more of these whites if it takes us months to get the airplanes to our clients they're not going to want to buy anything from us and then we'll end up going bankrupt we need to get going now Corey needed an experienced pilot for this job and Randy McGee he Phil so when you pounds aside to fill it up the Corey's the boss and that can mean competing agendas when it's outside of the airplane and Corey's the boss and he's making the decisions I follow his lead but when it comes to inside the cockpit I'm the boss and I'm calling the shots and we're gonna do what I say we're gonna do clear departure clear clear Randy didn't like the look of the weather and delayed the flight's departure but now that the fog is cleared they're all set to go it's hot out here we don't have as much wind as in our faces yesterday but we're gonna take off and then of a ninja failure we got a nice long Runway here so once I have the airplane under control you can call Tower and let them know otherwise we'll return here for a Visual Land be careful takes off just gonna use all the runway we can normally they'd be in the air by now but they're halfway down the runway and the plane isn't lifting off 100. the heavy turbo prop sucks up 1200 meters of Runway a lot more than it should you know wow that's not fair we're just always so overhead sure fifteen thousand pounds right now climbing four times faster winds down here actually less our fuel flow is higher because we're so much lower than we thought but we don't have the performance to climb up there at this lower altitude the denser air puts more drag on the plane which burns more fuel they'll need to climb up to where the air is thinner and keep an eye on the fuel gauges if they want to make it all the way to Australia back in California Cory's second delivery is running behind schedule the Aging Cessna still needs a little TLC before she can take off on the transatlantic trip to Poland co-pilot yasmina Platt takes advantage of the downtime to prepare for the dangerous journey ahead I just want to see the Survival equipment that he has I'm a little worried about the weight and balance on the plane the flying time from California to Poland it's about 70 hours going across the continental U.S and above the icy waters of the North Atlantic Ocean you're kidding me we're taking all this there's more I just don't want to scare there's more absolutely absolutely Bob rasky flies commercial airliners but for 25 years he was a U.S Air Force instructor pilot an F-16 flight lead and a combat search and rescue pilot sure okay he believes in coming prepared see what we got here I want to see like if we can prioritize someone's okay I understand some of the stuff is required right like the rafts and stuff which we don't even have here which that's going to take up a lot of weight and space too because a single engine over the Atlantic there were no options you know I think he is a little bit obsessed but that's what he's trained for and you've got military training which I didn't you know and he's probably been in situations where he might have gotten scared we have to take the required items sure and that's actually a lot of these things are required item even a U.S flag yes even the US flag because this can give you motivation out there give yourself a sense of I'm gonna live in I'm gonna make it you know her concern is the airplane gets there on time meeting a delivery schedule and that's a very valid concern my concern is the plan just gets there in the North Atlantic you know with 10 to 20 foot Seas I mean it's gonna be not easy to get that plane stopped straight ahead and just get out I'm envisioning something hit and we may even go upside down right and that's the training we've gone through it really kind of scaring me for yasmina the idea of a crash landing in the North Atlantic has just become chillingly real once Bob started talking about you know we really need to take this and you know we're going to use this here it just kind of started making me really really very nervous to be honest with you this morning yeah yasmina gives the plane a thorough safety check are you serious we're losing fuel um and you know that's just on the ground but if we did go up in the air who knows if we would be losing even more fuel a few hours ago she thought Bob was being overly cautious but the fuel leak has proved him right you see how it's leaking right like through the fuselage yeah that one's really weird and then it goes all the way back and then it's dripping down here so really we have two frustrated the airplane mechanic takes a look and doesn't like what he sees he could have caught fire when you're flying the engine running your exhaust is right here right next to where it's leaking yeah the fire is the second oh the second thing I'm mostly scared of the combination of fire in um ocean would not be good although I think I would still put it down because I think I would still rather go down in the ocean than be burned fixing this new problem means more delays that's okay with Bob because with his kind of experience he's got nothing to prove you know fuel hot metal not a good combo so we don't play around with that the plane's not going to move until it's fixed I'm not under the clock I don't have any pressure we want to get plane us there safely number one goal almost 2 000 kilometers away off the coast of California and Randy are fast approaching the halfway point on the first leg of their Journey so it's time to make a critical decision our fuel burn is higher by five to six hundred pounds which is half our Reserves one more strike and we're pretty much out of the game we're really gonna have to uh consider turning around fairy Pilots call it the point of no return When there's enough fuel left in the tanks to turn around but if they go any further there's no coming back this is literally the point we got to get it right for real they burned more fuel than they expected and the auxiliary fuel tanks don't have gauges so Corey estimates the amount of fuel they have left by checking the tanks manually we're burning more fuel than we expected to burn or 8 000 feet less than we thought Randy goes through another set of calculations before making his decision yeah that's 70 more gallons an hour and we're looking at almost eight hours so that leaves us with 300 in the tank but uh the winds are gonna die down and we're gonna do better on this we're gonna make it up we're good we're going we're going Randy's taking a calculated risk but that's what this business is all about and this time it pays off today at least it looks like the Sharks won't be chowing down on fairy Pilots for lunch we're gonna make it man nice job El Capitan and now they're dropping into their first Pit Stop [Music] but why here we come yeah that's where I land with a little over an hour of fuel just a few hours ago Corey wasn't so sure they were going to make it now he's happy that he put Randy in the driver's seat you're coming down cut the runway inside slap set hydraulic pressures the great prop sync is off [Music] nicely done it's a nice landing though right holy crap we made it all right [Music] congratulations all right thank you in Hawaii they get the traditional greeting but Corey and Randy are on the lookout for the gas man I don't care if we got fuel spilling out we don't care if you spill a little bit we're gonna measure we want to get a precise amount of how much fuel he's putting in both tanks so we can then subtract how much fuel we burned over the first leg so we know exactly how much fuel we burn they made the first leg from California to Hawaii with just one hour of fuel left in the tanks next stop Pogo Pogo in American Samoa and this time they want to be dead sure they won't run out of fuel before they get there field is really hot and humid so as the day progresses that air is going to heat up and those thunderstorms are building back in California mechanics have sunk more than 10 hours into the Cessna now they think the old plane is good to go hopefully that's the last thing that's going to break on this plane yeah you never want to see this one again thank you I'm just trying to get the airplane ready and so now it's time to go what's up Bob yasmina can finally take off and start clocking some serious flight time heck yeah of course you know Atlantic is much more exciting and a small airplane is going to give me a whole different perspective of Aviation and along the way I'll be thinking you know how beautiful the scenery is but also how deadly it could be and there are a few places in the world so vast unpredictable and unforgiving as the Atlantic Ocean yeah I think it's going to be really big for my career we're probably going to put about 50 hours on the airplane between the test flights and the flights itself to this day when I see some of these airplanes it's like wow I went ahead uh went out did the run up and everything props fixed field strainer is good to go so okay you guys are ready thank you appreciate it yeah and we're so excited it's starting to really become true [Music] [Applause] all right we're good good to go good to go [Music] the Cessna lifts off beginning the first leg of a long journey destination Poland via the east coast of the United States the engine sounds pretty strong right it does I like it very much could be like seven hours six hours seven hours so there's the Golden Gate wow absolutely beautiful day in San Francisco Bay look if guys could make it from Alcatraz and swim to the shore and survive then we can make it in the middle of the North Atlantic if we need to you want to try it before we go okay 3.99 20 minutes out the old Cessna runs into a patch of rough air oh look at this hotel the first sign of trouble ahead any rougher these wins could do some serious damage Bob decides to climb higher hoping to escape the Danger Above the Clouds okay going up to one one thousand right yes [Music] this plane just can't climb you know I think you have to recap this one we'll get a little better ride overweight and loaded down with fuel the Cessna struggles to reach clear skies [Music] there we go at this altitude the aircraft is out of the danger zone the ball is clear ahead now six thousand miles to go okay yay but all it takes is one short moment for everything to change what's that man okay here I got the airplane oh my God as soon as they reach their cruising altitude I heavy stream of fuel starts flowing out of the right wing hey Senator this is uh 209 Brad yeah we're gonna need to divert to Santa Barbara or the nearest airport right now yeah we have a looks like a leaky fuel tank a leaking fuel tank I want to come back when they will forward your souls on board so it's important come back right to that heading is going to take you to the South and for the airport it's still running I wish there was a way that we could stop it from coming in closest airport is in Santa Barbara 10 minutes away yeah I'm just concerned about electrical fire absolutely no it's just not be good at all fire in the air a pilot's worst fear and with fuel pouring out of the cessna's tank all it'll take is one spark to turn the cabin into a fireball it's really like pretty bad okay so it is leaking pretty good back there yeah Bob and yasmina have to get their wheels on the ground before they're blown out of the sky okay I got us going towards Santa Barbara right now all right and I have Santa Barbara on the GPS as well so we can just you know use that okay good you got the airplane right out of the airplane we're heading towards Santa Barbara they're aiming for an emergency landing do you know since you are leaking fuel we are going to roll the equipment for you okay keep bringing me in wow it's coming to their door okay so what's the distance in Santa Barbara right now 20 miles from your present position on the ground emergency response units rush to the airstrip preparing for the worst they're on the ground but still not out of danger Bob unscrews the fuel cap to release pressure and explosive fumes from the tank as the emergency crew takes over yasmina finally allows herself to think about how close they came to total disaster this could have been really bad we could have had an electrical fire in any you know in a second and imagine on top of that it would have happened over the water now we're really screwed now we have an engine on fire and the only place we can go is the water that's all that you're thinking really halfway across the Pacific Ocean just south of the Equator Corey and Randy are flying straight into a dangerous roller coaster ride with a very scary name the inter-tropical Convergence Zone this is really dangerous turbulence down here they're like little bombs going off everywhere it's like a deadly belt with circles the globe where warm sea temperatures lower the surface air pressure and create a massive violent mixture of wind surges clouds and rainfall but we're gonna have to punch through or we're gonna have to convert a couple hundred miles and I don't think we got the fuel for that holy crap feel that well we got we got severe turbulence especially with how heavy we are the wind can be damaged I'm gonna slow it down here okay Randy Cuts back on the throttle and reduces their speed but the wind resistance will cost them fuel okay so we run into any really bad bumps we won't break our airplane they've traveled more than 6 000 kilometers since leaving Hawaii and after a quick refuel in American Samoa they're nearing their next pit stop in New Caledonia so Corey tries to contact the small Islands Airport signal go go there's no one out there freaking amen his last option is the satellite phone you're not gonna believe this the runway's closed our Runway at New Caledonia is closed are you messing with me no I'm not she said that the the runway is closed and it's not going to be open until at least zero five three zero you're serious yeah I'm dead serious all right I can't believe this it's starting to look like Corey and Randy are flying on borrowed time on the other side of the Pacific Ocean back in California the tired old Cessna with a leaky fuel tank is going in for yet another checkup you can bring it over this way a little more the leak forced Bob and yasmina to make an emergency landing but it could just as easily have blown them out of the sky you see right where the nipple goes into it see at the base the plane's two main fuel tanks are made of thick Rubber and mounted inside each Wing oh yeah oh yeah no the whole nipple is cracked off you can really see it now here um it's supposed to be behind the strut which would be a negative pressure area that probably means the bladder is deteriorated inside too as well the tank probably hadn't been kept full so the tank is made out of rubber and it dries out an old mothballed airplane coming out of storage can become a lethal booby trap for even the best of Pilots but if it had happened over the Atlantic Ocean it would have been ugly because there's no place to land there our first impression of her let's put it that way is not very good she just needs to treat us a little better at this point um we're kind of low you know on energy and on confidence across the Pacific Ocean above New Caledonia Pilots Randy McGehee and Corey Benson are circling above a small airport there's our Island right there huh run away is closed they have no choice but to stay in the air and keep burning precious fuel close the runway and above the ocean where we have no other options for maintenance I don't want to sit out here and hold for an hour and find out that they're not going to open it Randy and Corey have no idea why the landing strip is closed if there's a problem with the runway Ground Control is not saying really puts a lot of stress on it so I mean with this Runway down we have the divert all of a sudden fuel where we're sitting nice and fat with it all of a sudden it becomes a major issue So Randy radios in a request I would like to descend for uh Landing uh 300 off of Lima [Music] [Applause] that's all your intention I would like to descend for uh Landing uh 300 alpha lima uh now run away is open for me back on the right hand downwind only moments after denying permission to land the New Caledonia flight Tower opens the runway crisis averted nowhere buddy [Music] an ocean away on the west coast of the United States that's what it should look like Mike the Mechanic is showing off a brand new fuel bladder to Bob and yasmina that would be what I would call an accident waiting to happen it's lucky that you had 150 gallons on board fuel tank can be installed in less than a day but now the pilots are wondering if the old plane is hiding any more dangerous secrets we have it on the water you know for our perspective there I'm starting to feel a little bit uh like on a train that's losing Parts along the way so the bottom line is uh if we don't like the direction the airplane goes here in the next day or so and we say No period Bob gets in touch with the boss hey we're down here at Santa Barbara and um he's hoping he can convince Corey to pay for another complete inspection you know this is hitting the third strike here so we're not moving further to totally totally exonerated and checked I'm glad you guys are okay and I'm glad you guys got the plan personally but I'm not comfortable moving forward with this airplane until it's thoroughly checked by an independent Source again we're hired to move the airplane we're not hired to do additional inspections this aircraft has already had two previous inspections and deem it safe so I don't know why we're doing additional inspections and wasting more time when we've got the Skydive company in Poland super frustrated wanting their plane right now Corey's time is Corey's money and he knows that if a good mechanic looks hard enough he can always find something to fix we're surrounded by this concept of go go go time is something I can control just by saying yes or no and by saying no it gives me the time to make sure that everything's right and it's about being right but Corey's not all business he's also a pilot so he finally chooses to listen to his better Instinct and agrees to the additional round of inspections because this is our last good check you know and you guys been all over it so yep no problem and if it costs Corey good at least it keeps Bob happy I was a mechanic in the uh the military and they're going to feel that pressure for me all the way until we go because we are not departing unless I feel happy that the airplane is good to go and ready over 10 000 kilometers away Corey can now shift his attention back to his own delivery the corporate turbo prop is now only one thousand kilometers from its final destination Sydney Australia this is it man but uh I can't wait to do it again holy crap that's not good that light means we have 10 minutes left of fuel light indicates that the transfer fuel pump is malfunctioning and their auxiliary fuel is not getting to the left engine I don't want to be freaking swimming in the ocean dude they have 10 minutes of fuel left in that engine when it runs dry the engine will fail expecting the left side that's going to be this switch you fuel shutoff switch we're going to close hydraulic shut off switch closed with one engine down the plane will lose altitude and Randy will have to ditch in a controlled crash landing on the water right now at any time if it's going to go 10 minutes okay uh fuel pressure steady fuel flow steady all indications are normal right now [Music] feel that low vibration reverberates through the plane it sounds like they just lost the left engine oh maybe we still show we have fuel that's kind of thing [Music] that thing scared the crap out of me come on baby the minutes pass the engines continue to fire [Music] the problem seems to be a faulty warning light thank God yeah let's I think we're out of danger zone so let's just uh keep going ahead here okay okay awesome [Music] back in the United States a leaky fuel tank has been replaced and now Bob and yasmina think they might be able to coax the old plane into taking off and heading out for the Long Haul across the ocean so Mike and Kim would you take this airplane to Poland now when it leaves the hanger the two pilots have been trying to put California in their rear view mirror for over a week now it's good to catch all these things before we go because my confidence goes better now I'll tell you another issue that in this next leg that that's probably it for me but it looks like today might be the day the mechanics have signed off on the plane and the pilots are ready to take the Aging Cessna across the continental U.S with two pit stops one in Texas and the other in Tennessee by Nightfall they should be in Rhode Island [Music] yeah I'm just to a point that it's like I value my life more than one trip so we'll see what happens but hopefully you know we don't have any more issues with it on the other side of the Pacific Ocean [Music] Randy have made it to the finish line of their 12 500 kilometer journey to Sydney Australia [Music] thank God the Merlin 3 corporate turbo prop will be Cory's first international delivery [Music] [Music] Corey knows he couldn't have done it without Randy people would say whatever they want about it I mean you and I did it we brought this thing across an ocean fuel problems airplane problems weather problems with just little little teeny teeny postage stamps of land in between the plane that's not made to do that and we did it you know what a trip I feel great I got goosebumps right now it's a fun trip great trip good to be here it was an adventure of the lifetime minutes after touchdown Corey gets ready to meet a happy customer and for the first time since he took off he's starting to feel confident that his new business is Gonna Fly very excited to see this airplane I can't wait to see his face he's going to be very happy with it this airplane all in all is a very nice aircraft I think it exceeds all of his expectations thanks so much that's going to sit on my desk thanks guys yeah I hope it was worth the wait there you know I thought it was just going to be you know sit up there and set the autopilot and read a magazine hang out and that definitely was not the case this trip is probably one of the most dangerous trips you can do [Music] back up north Bob and yasmina have made it to Rhode Island [Music] ground thank you very good very good yeah it was good play you're very nice and she did as well sure how you feel about the plane man a lot better but their confidence will be short-lived I'll show you the filter over here this is all some steel but most of it's aluminum there's too much in here during post-flight maintenance mechanics discovered the biggest problem yet oh my God so what could be from the cam followers you know a part of the cam Bob asked the mechanic to perform an oil change and he discovered metal filings in the engine okay because that's where the steel components right so would you would you feel comfortable flying this across the North Atlantic right now absolutely not so what do you recommend the engine needs to be taken apart or another or another engine period if I was doing an annual on this this would be on a worthy period okay it's unear worthy next time on dangerous flights that's not how it works we cannot authorize work on someone else's airplane the tired old Cessna becomes too high maintenance and her Pilots threatened to walk it might be time to hand it off to somebody else and a new delivery job is heading straight into the path of a monster hurricane oh my God lightning strike [Music] foreign [Music]

Channel: Curious?: Science and Engineering

Views: 5,321

Keywords: Curious?: Science and Engineering, aerial expeditions, aerospace technology, air travel dangers, aircraft delivery, aircraft engineering, aircraft safety measures, aviation achievements, brave pilots, curious channel, daring endeavors, extra fuel tanks, fast-paced adventure, flight disasters coverage, flight endurance levels., flight safety measures, float planes, flying documentaries, magnificent creations, small planes, tough skies

Id: uM6Uqp2z2Q4

Length: 45min 2sec (2702 seconds)

Published: Mon May 01 2023