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I know people who have flown across the Atlantic/Pacific in single-engined light aircraft. What makes you think 737s can't cross an ocean?

A 737 with a full load of passengers and baggage may not be able to cross the Atlantic or Pacific because of fuel limitations, but a 737 with just the crew most certainly can.

The aircraft may also be fitted with extra fuel tanks for ferry flights. Here's a picture of a Hawaiian 717 with extra tanks. These were flown from the mainland with the extra tanks.

Here is a picture showing how HA got their 717's to the islands...

http://www.airliners.net/open.file/175720/M/

As far as smaller general aviation aircraft like Cessnas to Europe? They fly great circles! From North America to Greenland to Iceland to England to the Mainland is quite do-able. Flying West you can go from Alaska to the Russian Far East and then down into Asia...

I think alanh and I posted at the same time!

Thought I'd add: Ferry Permits can waive ETOPS and other requirement when strict rules are followed. The rules allow only essential personnel (read that as pilots) on the plane when this is happening...

I know very small planes - Cessna 172s, for example - just load up the inside with extra fuel tanks to make it to Hawaii for deliveries there. Sometimes they also take the wings off and put them on a ship. I'm guessing if this is what happens with planes this small, it's likely similar choices for larger planes. Obviously, to get to Europe there's never a very long span without land to stop and refuel.

That would be one big plane

Newfoundland to iceland YYT-RKV is only 1629 miles
Iceland to Glasgow RKV - GLA is only 829 miles

There are many other choices for short hops across the oceans

I have e-mailed a person at Boeing for the answer. Stay tuned folks.

Sanosuke!

Every now and then, a ferry pilot has been forced to ditch their small prop deliveries in the ocean off Hawai`i, due to stronger-than-anticipated headwinds, storms, navigation errors, etc.

At HNL, you will often see Boeing 737NG that are being ferried out to Asian carriers.

Most of my small planes came in a box. After breaking the parts off the tree, I put them together with that great smelling glue. . .

Oh, you're talking about real metal small planes.

Unless it is a folding James Bond type or an ultralight or kit plane, planes are built in a factory and flown to delivery point. Airliners magazine and Airways magazine often have articles on delivery ferry flights of all sorts of planes all over the world. Some get to Europe the old way: down to South America, over to Africa, then up. Shorter over the water, not so cold.

Yeah, it's a risky run. I may not have this quite right, but I have a vague recollection that San Francisco to Hawaii is about the longest stretch there is without a place to stop in between.

Close, but I believe the longest stretch without stop is between South America and Oceania, which requires ETOPS 330(?).

http://gc.kls2.com/cgi-bin/gc?PATH=&...YLE=&ETOPS=207

The shaded areas represent the areas not accessible by ETOPS 207.

I did once see a WWII Warbird being loaded into a Hercules for delivery from a UK aviation museum to an aviation museum in Canada... but all in all there probably aren't many aircraft small enough to fit inside other aircraft, at least not in one piece.

I don't think we're looking for longest trips over water, but longest forced routings over water because there are no other options. I'm thinking if you were delivering a plane from South American to Oceania you would have several route options that would allow for refueling stops along the way (up thorugh North America, then over to Hawaii and over all those islands between there and the final destination).

I wrote that the way I did because I know there's something unique about SFO to Hawaii, and figured someone would come up with the answer ...

You folks know nothing of which you speak. The Navy has two aircraft carriers for this very purpose -- one in the Pacific, the other in the Atlantic. All Boeing planes except for the 747 and 777 are equipped with carrier landing gear (this is removed upon delivery and sent back to Boeing for a refund of the deposit). The Navy coordinates with Boeing to position the carriers based on Boeing's deliveries.

For years, Boeing employees who signed a waiver were allowed to fly on these delivery flights. It was a very nice perk for employees who weren't queasy about abrupt landings/takeoffs. That ended when one employee suffered a spleen injury in an unusually sudden landing in a 737. Boeing, the Navy and the seat belt maker ended up paying $2.5 million in a settlement.

This program (codenamed "USS American Jobs") has been a sore point with the European Union, as the Navy refuses to extend the same courtesy for Airbus. The World Trade Organization will be hearing Airbus's complaint next month. Leave it to lawyers and foreigners to put a stop to a great idea.

So then you must be familiar with the San Mateo bridge being closed every Tuesday morning from 3-4 a.m. to taxi UA planes over from SFO for service at OAK? That's why there are no upright cables like on the Bay Bridge and Golden Gate.