Cross-Country Ferry Flight: Bringing the Seminole Home from Miami

Ferrying an aircraft across the country is always an adventure, and bringing Randon Aviation’s newly acquired Piper Seminole home from Florida was no exception.

After an initial trip in late June was delayed by unresolved maintenance items and a commercial flight home canceled due to a cracked airliner windshield, Cody and I flew back down on July 6, arriving at Miami International before moving the plane for final maintenance prep.

Arriving on the commercial leg into Miami ahead of the ferry trip.

Day 1: Miami to Waco, Texas

On July 7th, with maintenance complete, we launched out of the Miami area around 10:30 AM.

Cody flying right seat as we climb out away from Miami.

Right after popping the tab on a Diet Coke (which immediately sprayed across the cockpit), we settled in to dodge convective build-ups along the Florida peninsula.

Navigating around vertical clouds on the leg northbound toward Tallahassee.

We touched down in Tallahassee (KTLH) around 1:00 PM for fuel before I took the controls for the leg to Baton Rouge (KBTR). We stayed at lower altitudes due to turbocharger performance issues.

Quick pit stop and fuel top-off in Tallahassee.

In Baton Rouge, we grabbed a crew car and headed to a local spot where Cody ordered a famous “swamp water” drink—which, true to its name, looked like it was scooped straight out of the bayou.

Cody’s infamous “swamp water” drink (on the right) in Baton Rouge.

After dinner, Cody flew the final leg of the day into Waco, Texas (KCNW), landing just before sunset to fuel up and rest for the night.

Day 2: Westward Across Cloud-Covered New Mexico

Launching at 6:00 AM on July 8th, I flew the opening leg to Clovis, New Mexico (KCVN) for a quick Burger King breakfast. Crossing New Mexico, a dense low-level cloud layer blanketed almost the entire state.

Extensive overcast deck stretching across the New Mexico landscape.

While passing Albuquerque, approach called up a freshly departed Mooney:

“Mooney 1234, radar contact… we got a call from the FBO, and they want to know if you’d like to return to pick up your fuel caps.”

After a chuckle on frequency, the clouds cleared near Gallup (KGUP), where we landed in severe high-density altitude heat.

METAR Observation (KGUP - Gallup Municipal Airport):
KGUP 081753Z AUTO 22008KT 10SM CLR 33/08 A3021
11:53 AM MDT: Clear skies with a scorching temperature of 33°C (91°F), creating a blistering wall of heat on the ramp.

After a tricky hot-start on the engines, we took off on the final leg home, touching down at South Valley Regional (KSVR/U42) to hand the aircraft off to our mechanics—and heading home for a well-earned sleep!