{{Short description|Logistical aviation flight}} [[File:BellCH135135TwinHuey.JPG|300px|thumb|upright=1.14|A Canadian Forces CH-135 Twin Huey from Base Rescue Goose Bay delivered by a ferry crew to CFB Winnipeg for Depot Level Inspection and Repair at Bristol Aerospace in 1988.]]
'''Ferry flying''' or a '''positioning flight''' is the flying of aircraft for the purpose of returning the aircraft to base, delivering it to a customer, moving it from one base of operations to another, or moving it to or from a maintenance facility that includes maintenance, repair, and operations.<ref name="Crane">{{cite dictionary|title=Ferry flying|last=Crane|first=Dale|dictionary=Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms|edition=third|page=210|publisher=Aviation Supplies & Academics|date=1997|isbn=1-56027-287-2}}</ref>
A commercial airliner may need to be moved from one airport to another to satisfy the next day's timetable or facilitate routine maintenance. This is commonly known as a '''positioning flight''' or '''repositioning flight''', and may carry revenue freight or passengers as local aviation regulations and airline policies allow.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://aerocorner.com/blog/ferry-flights-and-positioning-flights/ |title=What Are Ferry Flights and Positioning Flights |last=Claiborne |first=Matt |website=aerocorner.com |date=20 July 2020 |access-date=May 13, 2021}}</ref> Such flights may be necessary following a major weather event or other similar disruption which causes multiple cancellations across an airline's network resulting in many aircraft and crew being out of position for normal operations; the 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull or the mass evacuation of US airspace following the 9/11 attacks being significant examples of this.
==Ferry permit== A ferry permit is a written authorization issued by a National Airworthiness Authority to move a non-airworthy civil aircraft from its present location to a maintenance facility to be inspected, repaired and returned to an airworthy state.<ref name="Crane" />
==Ferry pilots== Louise Sacchi flew single- and multi-engine planes 340 times across both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, breaking several records in the process.<ref name=ocean>{{cite web|url=http://www.ninety-nines.org/sachi.html|title=Highlights of Louise Sacchi's Aviation History|publisher=The Ninety Nines|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514105856/http://www.ninety-nines.org/sachi.html|archivedate=2008-05-14}}</ref>
Other notable ferry pilots include:<!-- Please add only pilots with existing articles on Wikipedia and add them in alphabetical order by last name. --> * Helen Marcelle Harrison Bristol * Lettice Curtis * Maureen Dunlop de Popp * Mary Ellis, WWII pilot in the United Kingdom * Nathan Fielder, comedian who featured himself ferry flying on season 2 of ''The Rehearsal'' (TV series) * Luis Fontés * Joan Hughes * Amy Johnson * Jim Mollison * Robert Neale * Robert Olds * Jarvis Offutt * Jadwiga Piłsudska * C. W. A. Scott * Diana Barnato Walker * Margrit Waltz
==See also== * Air Transport Auxiliary, UK civil aviation organization that ferried military aircraft during World War II (WWII) * Air Transport Command, US Army Air Forces (USAAF) command charged with ferrying aircraft during WWII * Dead mileage, a similar concept in ground transportation * Ferry range * RAF Ferry Command, UK military command charged with ferrying US aircraft to the UK during WWII * United Kingdom aircraft test serials * Women Airforce Service Pilots, US civil aviation organization that trained women pilots to ferry USAAF aircraft during WWII
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== * {{cite news |url= https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2018-04-05/long-trip-tbm-910 |title= A Long Trip in a TBM 910 |work= AIN |first= Matt |last= Thurber |date= April 5, 2018}} * {{cite news |url= https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/ferry-flights-jet-test-transport |title= This global airline has no passengers, no cargo and flies just one way |work=CNN |first= Howard |last= Slutsken |date= December 1, 2020}} * {{cite news |url= https://www.key.aero/article/ferrying-airliners-around-world-inside-story |title= FERRYING AIRLINERS AROUND THE WORLD - THE INSIDE STORY |work= Airliner World |first= Chris |last= Smith |date= 15 February 2023}}
==External links== *[https://www.youtube.com/@CockpitCasual Cockpit Casual] (speedtapefilms), YouTube video series by ferry pilot Steve Giordano
Category:Aircraft operations Category:Aviation by mission Category:Aircraft ferrying