Back near Christmas of 1979, I was on my first solo ferry flight to Europe in a Cessna 206. I was filed from Bangor, Maine, direct to Shannon, Ireland, to negate the need for the required inspection in Moncton for single-engine crossings.
I passed a position report mid-Atlantic through a passing airliner on 121.5. After I finished the report, he came back and asked me what I was flying at 9,000 feet.
I said, “A 206.”
There was a pause, and then he asked, “A Cessna 206?”
I said, “Yes,” and there was a longer pause.
Then he came back with his best “captain” voice and said, “Don’t you know it’s a four-engine ocean, kid?”
I ferried aircraft for ten years after that, which was a great way to travel but didn’t pay much and kept trying to kill me. I finally got a job flying night freight in FedEx Caravans, which I’ve been happily doing for almost 25 years.
Greg Cotton
via e-mail
