Lake Winnepausaukee

It hasn't become a major issue yet (despite the seaplane that flipped over
on the lake a few weeks back -- i think the NTSB blamed it on a wake), but
I have witnessed some seaplanes coming uncomfortably close to powerboaters
and even kayakers. How on earth can a pilot see if there is a kayaker
where he/she intends to land??

Its hard enough to see these kayakers when you on the water (although my
trusty Furuno usually picks them up), so i don't see how a landing plane
can possibly see them.

If you have a few minutes, Google seaplanes + right of way. Lots of good
stuff,

Bob Gardner

"Skylune" wrote in message
lkaboutaviation.com...
It hasn't become a major issue yet (despite the seaplane that flipped over
on the lake a few weeks back -- i think the NTSB blamed it on a wake), but
I have witnessed some seaplanes coming uncomfortably close to powerboaters
and even kayakers. How on earth can a pilot see if there is a kayaker
where he/she intends to land??

Its hard enough to see these kayakers when you on the water (although my
trusty Furuno usually picks them up), so i don't see how a landing plane
can possibly see them.

Skylune wrote:

Its hard enough to see these kayakers when you on the water (although my
trusty Furuno usually picks them up), so i don't see how a landing plane
can possibly see them.

I suggest you go up in a light plane and check the situation out. You'd be
surprised how excellent the visibility is from the pointy end.

George Patterson
Why do men's hearts beat faster, knees get weak, throats become dry,
and they think irrationally when a woman wears leather clothing?
Because she smells like a new truck.

As a certified control freak, I wouldn't fly in a light plane for any
reason, especially considering how dangerous they are. I would fly in a
double engine plane with a very well trained, professional pilot, of
course, but that clearly rules you out....

"Skylune" wrote in message
lkaboutaviation.com...
As a certified control freak, I wouldn't fly in a light plane for any
reason, especially considering how dangerous they are. I would fly in a
double engine plane with a very well trained, professional pilot, of
course, but that clearly rules you out....


Are you suggesting you have control over a "very well trained, professional
pilot" in a "double" engined plane or are you suggesting that they don't
crash? Perhaps you should read up on the Aspen crash a few years ago.

"Skylune" wrote in message
lkaboutaviation.com...
As a certified control freak, I wouldn't fly in a light plane for any
reason, especially considering how dangerous they are. I would fly in a
double engine plane with a very well trained, professional pilot, of
course, but that clearly rules you out....

Troll....PLONK!!

you obviously do not know George to make such a statement

"Skylune" wrote in message
lkaboutaviation.com...
As a certified control freak, I wouldn't fly in a light plane for any
reason, especially considering how dangerous they are. I would fly in a
double engine plane with a very well trained, professional pilot, of
course, but that clearly rules you out....

BTIZ wrote:
you obviously do not know George .....

and I intend to keep it that way. :-)

George Patterson
Why do men's hearts beat faster, knees get weak, throats become dry,
and they think irrationally when a woman wears leather clothing?
Because she smells like a new truck.

Did Skylune actually say he was a certified "freak?"

I would agree, Skylune. That you are, and troll to boot.


"Skylune" wrote in message
lkaboutaviation.com...
As a certified control freak, I wouldn't fly in a light plane for any
reason, especially considering how dangerous they are. I would fly in a
double engine plane with a very well trained, professional pilot, of
course, but that clearly rules you out....

Actually, kayakers are quite easy to spot when landing. Being above
the lake gives one an excellent perspective and allows you to see very
small boats that may be tough to see from another boat (as a kayaker
myself, I'm far more worried about drunk powerboaters who aren't
looking out or can't see me because of the structure of their boats
than I am about seaplanes - I also know that the pilots really, really
don't want to hit anybody or anything because the aircraft structure is
light enough that it's going to come out the definite loser). Keep in
mind that there is no voodoo to being "above" something, you don't
suddenly become blind, you actually have a better perspective. It's
like the lifeguard at the beach on the elevated platform, she or he can
see the swimming area far more effectively than at or close to water
level. On landing I can also see the kids in the inner tubes or
floats, right on the surface of the water, or swimmers who have decided
to swim across the lake, that I would have a heck of a time seeing from
a boat sitting on the surface. (That's why ships used to have a crow's
nest, so the lookout could things that couldn't be seen from the deck.)

"Close" is an opinion. For example, I will land a seaplane at a right
angle fairly "close" behind a powerboat that is going away from me to
my left or right, because his distance from me is increasing and even
if he stops, we still have adequate separation. If the boat is
converging with my course, I'm going to stay a long ways away, because
the boat may very well be faster than my airplane. As to a kayak or
canoe, "close" is looked at in two ways - 1) I do not want to land
close enough to the kayak or canoe that my wake (even though it is
pretty small) will cause a problem or that I will scare the boater, so
I'm going to establish a path that lets the boater predict where I'm
going and that I'm not a threat to him and 2) far enough away that even
if the boater starts paddling for all he or she is worth, the boat
can't possibly get close enough to me that there is any risk of
collision. An onlooker, hampered by the foreshortening of distance
from the surface, may come to the conclusion that the airplane and the
boat are far closer than they actually are. It's like watching the
horse teams or drill teams from the perspective of the viewing stand,
the people or horses pass each other with plenty of distance for
safety, but the angle of the viewer makes it look much closer than it
is.