"Michael" wrote in message
om...
The insurance companies have figured out long ago that there is a huge
disconnect between being able to pass the seaplane checkride and
actually knowing how to operate a seaplane.

That's simply not true. What they have figured out is that, regardless of
pilot experience, losses are higher for seaplane operations than for
landplane operations. Even a pilot with 500 hours of time in type, for
example, will still have a MUCH higher insurance premium in a seaplane than
in an otherwise comparable landplane. Rates four or five times those found
for landplanes are typical.

Certainly a pilot who's just received their seaplane rating has a lot to
learn yet, just as a pilot who's just received their Private certificate
does. But just as a pilot who has just received their Private certificate
is still insurable, so too could the pilot be who's just received their
seaplane rating.

The real issue is the underlying difference between insuring a seaplane and
a landplane, regardless of pilot experience. Yes, newer pilots are
considered a greater insurance risk, but the real problem is that the
difference is so much greater for seaplanes cost-wise, because the same
percentage surcharge for new pilots (which might only be in the 10-20%
range, depending on policy) amounts to a much larger total cash cost.

Combine that with the other problems seaplane operators have -- if you think
it's hard to make a living with landplanes, go try to start up a new
seaplane business -- and the relatively low participation rate, and it's
just not worth the trouble. Besides, pilots have demonstrated a strong
willingness to obtain their seaplane rating "just for the fun of it" anyway;
there's little economic incentive to provide after-training rentals, since
the cash cow doesn't rely on it.

[...] The
statement is this - we're going to teach you to pass a checkride, not
to operate the aircraft safely.

Your pitiful anti-FAA bias is showing again. There's no question a pilot
new to a particular kind of flying is generally not going to be as qualified
as one who has more experience. But to claim that new seaplane pilots
aren't qualified to operate the airplane at all is just plain stupid.
Examiners aren't going around just rubber-stamping applications...for the
most part, if the pilot passes the checkride, that really means something,
and it means that -- as with other ratings -- they now have a license to
learn more about that type of flying, but that they are absolutely qualified
in the fundamentals.

This is no different than pilots who have just received their Private,
Instrument, Multi, etc. They are all higher risks, but that isn't to say
that they are not insurable, nor is it to say that they are not qualified.
It's idiotic to claim that it is.

Pete