Aramco Expats

Not content with flying an Aramco Boeing 737-700 all year, Captain Ken Murphy can’t wait to climb into the cockpit of his “Cozy” when repat vacation time rolls around. Home base for Ken and his “Cozy” is Hood River, Oregon, and the local airport where his Cozy is meticulously stored and lovingly cared for . . .

Ken’s Cozy MKIV is a homebuilt, experimental 4 seater airplane that was 2 years in the building. Nat Puffer of Mesa, AZ, the builder, started construction of this Cozy in 1988 and sold the finished airplane to Ken at completion in 1990. Since that time Ken has flown the Cozy throughout the US and Canada. Some examples of typical flights include:

• Hood River, OR – Edmonton, AB, Canada – Yellowknife, NT, Canada - and return to Hood River, OR
• Hood River, OR – Cheyenne, WY – Manassas, VA -, Moncton, NB, Canada - Columbus, OH - Cut Bank, MT - Hood River, OR

Ken Murphy and Cozy

In addition to the longer itineraries, Ken makes numerous short “hops” to such destinations as Dallas, Oshkosh, Reno, Seattle, Vancouver and Edmonton where Ken’s brother lives. Ken relies on his trusty Garmin GPS for the more difficult navigation chores and also carries O₂ for the occasional “higher” cruising altitudes he might require for weather avoidance or to take advantage of favorable winds.

Mt. Adams, Washington

A 20 year veteran of the Aramco Aviation Department, Ken has flown just about everything in the Aramco aviation inventory. He currently is a Boeing 737-700 Training Captain and also flies the Aramco “Air Tractor”, a quick response oil pollution control aircraft that most pilots acknowledge as the most demanding of the planes in the fleet.

Ras Tanura is where Ken and his wife Carol live after moving there from Dhahran where they lived for many years. Their two daughters, Amber and Saija, attend school in the U.S. The following is some additional information on the Cozy MKIV and if you should run into Ken, he will gladly pull out pictures of his Cozy, and as his eyes mist over, will provide a lot of detail about his “baby”.

Ken and Carol Murphy
Cozy MKIV
Under Construction, Mesa, AZ
1988 - 1990

Ken can be reached by e-mailing cozy03@hotmail.com.

Daughters - Amber and Saija
Taking a Ride!!!

Airplane Statistics:
Cozy MKIV
Engine Lycoming 0-360 A1D
Prop Fixed pitch wood.