Skylune (or family relation) takes to the water...

Jim Logajan wrote:
"Floatplane Incident Results In Arrest
August 21, 2006
By CAROLYN MOREAU, Courant Staff Writer

MORRIS -- A local boater who repeatedly swerved in front of a floatplane on
Bantam Lake to prevent it from taking off was arrested on a warrant Sunday,
authorities said."

Remainder of story can be found he

http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc...eadlines-local

Could this be a relative of this group's "skylune"? ;-)

Like someone else pointed out, calling FSDO with the N-number would seem
to be the logical course of action. I try to stay away from turning
props whenever possible.

john smith wrote:
MORRIS -- A local boater who repeatedly swerved in front of a floatplane on
Bantam Lake to prevent it from taking off was arrested on a warrant Sunday,
authorities said."
Remainder of story can be found he
http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc...923730.story?c
oll=hc-headlines-local
Could this be a relative of this group's "skylune"? ;-)

No medical, no license required.
Anyone can drive a boat.

Definitely an activity that needs to be more highly regulated.

B A R R Y wrote:
Jules wrote:


Stubby wrote:

But there are maritime right-of-way rules. Airplanes on the water
must obey these as well as boats.

Doesn't an aircraft taking off have the right of way over a power boat?



Believe it or not, no, which is contrary to what you'd think. Check FAR
91.115. Airplanes are pretty low on the pecking order when on water.

However, the guy in CT, purposely and repeatedly messed with the aircraft.

I've never flown a seaplane, but isn't it fairly unmaneuverable during
takeoff? I know I don't want to be swerving on the runway in a plane
with wheels...

B A R R Y wrote:
On Fri, 25 Aug 2006 16:06:50 -0500, Emily
wrote:

I've never flown a seaplane, but isn't it fairly unmaneuverable during
takeoff? I know I don't want to be swerving on the runway in a plane
with wheels...

Read the FAR. I agree with you, but who are we?

Just read it, and I'm trying to apply it to the situation in question.
I'm thinking it's a little hard to yield the right of way when someone
is aiming at you.

"Emily" wrote in message
...
I've never flown a seaplane, but isn't it fairly unmaneuverable during
takeoff? I know I don't want to be swerving on the runway in a plane with
wheels...

Takeoff in a seaplane certainly is a difficult time to be making evasive
maneuvers. However, a) the FARs don't apply to boats, and b) the FARs
aren't very specific anyway. One could read 91.115(e) to mean that
airplanes taking off or landing (ie in a particular vulnerable position)
should have the right of way. But those regulations don't apply to the
boats.

Now, all that said, none of the above applies in the situation in this
thread. Right-of-way rules are for situations in which each vehicle is
traveling normally. The boater in this case was intentionally placing
himself in the way of the seaplane. Even if he had consistently approached
the airplane's path from the right, and even if the maritime right-of-way
rules (the ones that apply to the boater) dictated that he had the right of
way, he would still have been in violation of other laws (the ones he was
actually charged with).

I've never had to deal with the situation described in the article, but I
certainly have aborted a number of takeoffs due to boaters. I've never had
a boater intentionally cross in front of me, but they certainly do tend to
get too close. A common "stupid boater trick" is to try to race the
seaplane during takeoff. If they keep their distance, I don't have a
problem with that, but too often the boater (or even more commonly,
jetskier) approaches the airplane too closely, making a collision impossible
to ensure against, and eliminating maneuvering room I might need to avoid a
collision with another boater who doesn't see me.

I have had less issues with landings. Few boaters notice an airplane until
it's actually on the water, and even on a relatively small lake, it's
usually possible to select a landing site far enough away from the boaters
that they cannot reach the airplane until it's slowed enough to be
reasonably maneuverable (though, an airplane on the water is never really
all that maneuverable).

Pete

"Stubby" wrote in message
. ..
john smith wrote:
MORRIS -- A local boater who repeatedly swerved in front of a floatplane
on Bantam Lake to prevent it from taking off was arrested on a warrant
Sunday, authorities said."
Remainder of story can be found he
http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc...923730.story?c
oll=hc-headlines-local
Could this be a relative of this group's "skylune"? ;-)

No medical, no license required.
Anyone can drive a boat.

But there are maritime right-of-way rules. Airplanes on the water must
obey these as well as boats. Seaplane bases are just like real airports
and are regulated by Federal law.

I used to fly on a river at 10AM on Saturday mornings. My only conclusion
is there are many drunks on their SkiDoos at that time. They even try to
become propellor-bait by trying to out run the plane or in some cases,
playing "chicken" with it. I haven't read about any accidents involving
these fools so we can't rely on Darwin to cull out the weak ones.

They have quite a few accidents. They make excellent organ donors as most
of their deaths are head injuries which leaves the rest of the typically
young body an excellent source for spare parts.

Jay Honeck wrote:

Driver's education is another area that is radically improved. In the
1960s, the majority of drivers had received NO instruction at all.

Rather like here in the Philippines. Actually, majority do not have any
form of license at all. There is a place here in Laoag, though, that
has banners all over town advertising "Learn to drive in 2 days."

On Fri, 25 Aug 2006 11:13:49 -0700, "Peter Duniho"
wrote:
And if you claim to be safe to drive after a 12-pack, you're not?

Nawh, I'm just making a comment on Grace's sister's driving ability
and the fact that it is supposedly acceptable since she passed the
test... I guess I'm also making a comment on the fact that the tests
are too easy from a driving standpoint... Basically, if you don't run
over the examiner, you pass the test, I guess...

("Grumman-581" wrote)
Alcohol involved with boating? SAY IT AIN'T SO !!!


2006 - Minnesota Boating Guide
Boating While Intoxicated (BWI) .....Page 34

"BOATING WHILE INTOXICATED (BWI) - The alcohol concentration for impaired
operation is now .08."

http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/rlp/regulations/boa****er/boatingguide.pdf
(Page 35)
"The BWI law does not prohibit drinking alcoholic beverages aboard boats nor
having an open bottle. The law applies to operators of motorboats that are
not anchored, beached, moored, docked or being rowed or propelled by
non-mechanical means at the time of the offense."


Montblack

"Grumman-581" wrote in message
...
Nawh, I'm just making a comment on Grace's sister's driving ability
and the fact that it is supposedly acceptable since she passed the
test... I guess I'm also making a comment on the fact that the tests
are too easy from a driving standpoint... Basically, if you don't run
over the examiner, you pass the test, I guess...

Ahh, I see. Well, I certainly can agree with all of that. Driver
education, even if it has improved things somewhat (and I'm not convinced
it's what's responsible for improvements in auto safety), is still pretty
much a joke. A few hours under supervision once as a teenager, and you're
apparently good to go for life.

You're right, there are some really crummy drivers out there, including
those worse than a guy on a 12-pack drunk.

Pete