About float planes....

unicate wrote:



Isn't that "Situational Awareness"?
Some bodies of water may = seaplanes.

But I agree, never hurts to be reminded. Even though symbols appear on
sectionals for gliderports, I've been surprised to learn that many CFIs
don't realize that some glider operations do not use radios, so while
visual scanning anywhere is always a given, you can't always count on
them announcing their presence/positions.

Very good other example. And to ?complete the reason for the scan and
awareness consider that some seaplanes, like other planes, don't have
radios...and then there are the skydivers...and...

As several people have pointed out, Lake Sammamish is used for seaplane
training quite a bit, since it is very near to places like Kenmore Air.
Since you live in the Seattle area, I'd highly recommend taking a dual
instruction lesson at Kenmore. I was visiting Seattle a couple of weeks
ago and arranged for some dual instruction in a DHC-2 Beaver. The folks
at Kenmore were great, and the experience of flying a Beaver on floats
was outstanding.

Kenmore also has a couple of super cubs on floats that are normally
used for training, and they are probably a more appropriate first
seaplane to fly than a Beaver. Still I'd recommend the Beaver to anyone
willing to pay the hourly rate. In 1.1 hours we did 6 water takeoffs &
landings and I'd say about 3 1/2 were unassisted. Coming from flying
various Cessnas & Pipers, its really fun to fly a plane with a big
round Pratt & Whitney engine on the front that takes 6 gallons of oil.
No matter which plane you choose, flying a seaplane is definitely an
experience to add to your flying background.

Eric B

I would LOVE to do this, and plan on it, but probably not until I get a bit
more experience. Currently, I have only flown a 172. I did fly a 182 once,
but that was an intro flight, and so I didn't really know what was going on.

Thanks for the heads up though. I didn't realize that Kenmore did that sort
of thing....

Fred


"Eric Bartsch" wrote in message
oups.com...
As several people have pointed out, Lake Sammamish is used for seaplane
training quite a bit, since it is very near to places like Kenmore Air.
Since you live in the Seattle area, I'd highly recommend taking a dual
instruction lesson at Kenmore. I was visiting Seattle a couple of weeks
ago and arranged for some dual instruction in a DHC-2 Beaver. The folks
at Kenmore were great, and the experience of flying a Beaver on floats
was outstanding.

Kenmore also has a couple of super cubs on floats that are normally
used for training, and they are probably a more appropriate first
seaplane to fly than a Beaver. Still I'd recommend the Beaver to anyone
willing to pay the hourly rate. In 1.1 hours we did 6 water takeoffs &
landings and I'd say about 3 1/2 were unassisted. Coming from flying
various Cessnas & Pipers, its really fun to fly a plane with a big
round Pratt & Whitney engine on the front that takes 6 gallons of oil.
No matter which plane you choose, flying a seaplane is definitely an
experience to add to your flying background.

Eric B

Fred Choate wrote:
I would LOVE to do this, and plan on it, but probably not until I get a bit
more experience. Currently, I have only flown a 172. I did fly a 182 once,
but that was an intro flight, and so I didn't really know what was going on.

Thanks for the heads up though. I didn't realize that Kenmore did that sort
of thing....


I did my floatplane rating in Alaska literally right after taking my
private checkride near Boston, which was a pretty stark but enjoyable
change. I didn't plan it that way, but that's how it happened. Now is a
great time to learn things because you have fewer ingrained habits and
are more inclined to learn without ego. I believe the military has guys
landing jets on carriers within a few hundred hours, just to give you
some idea of what's possible given the right kind of attitude and
training.

At 65 hours you will be getting surprised frequently, just the nature
of the beast. If you're not being surprised it's because you're not
spreading your wings and that means you're not learning. I think this
is the biggest challenge new pilots face because it's the first time
you're on your own completely and if you're a responsible adult it's
sometimes more than a little scary.

I think a lot more people quit aviation at this point out of simple
fear than is openly discussed, not least because it's the last thing a
lot of us would want to admit to, least of all to other pilots who were
"man enough" to make it through. Of course this is a caricature, but I
think it's more common than is given credit because it's invisible.

Anyway, my only advice, having the sum of 250TT under my belt, is to
keep on chugging. Don't go more than a few weeks without flying, even
just around the pattern, and find ways to challenge yourself.
Crosswinds were my first big bugbear, so I found a CFI who would take
me out in the gnarliest stuff we could find and really wring me dry.
I'd be glad 18 months later when I was sneaking back home ahead of the
thunderstorms just as the tower began calling winds 360@20 with the
active 29 and some T-storms starting to roll 25 miles north.

Best,
-cwk.

Float flying was the most fun I've ever had in an airplane.

You'll enjoy it best if you have a background in sailing. On the water the
floatplane is a big, clumsy, topheavy sailboat; it weathercocks unless you
have some power in, and if there's any current going you have to allow for
that, too. Before you tie down, you have to dock the thing -- with power
off the last few yards, because there's no brakes.

So it's a challenge. My instructor pointed out that most floatplane
accidents are really boating accidents.

Coming back from my checkride, in a 172, the examiner said "If you can put
me on the dock with dry shoes, you pass."

I've never really believed the old saw that any landing you walk away from
is a good landing. But then it struck me: The guy who said it was a
floatplane pilot.

Because any landing you swim away from really was a bad landing.

Seth

On 17 Jul 2005 17:26:39 -0700, "Eric Bartsch"
wrote:

Since you live in the Seattle area, I'd highly recommend taking a dual
instruction lesson at Kenmore.


I don't know if he's still around, but I'd recommend Jim at Seattle
Seaplanes on the other side of the lake. He uses a Stinson 108 and
Cessna 206s. Of the 10,000+ hours he had when I learned from him 10
years ago, only 20 were in land planes. The day I got my ticket he
offered the airplane to me to go where ever I wanted! I'd bet Kenmore
would never do that. The instruction I got was to make me a self
sufficient sea plane pilot, not just give me a rating. It took a
couple extra hours, but was worth every minute of it.

HTH.
z

(If anyone knows if Seattle Seaplanes is still around I'd love a
response. It'd be good to look him up again.)

zatatime wrote in news:fvepi15ee5no4bbvf5m7evli5aq5ikjfpb@
4ax.com:

....
(If anyone knows if Seattle Seaplanes is still around I'd love a
response. It'd be good to look him up again.)


http://www.seattleseaplanes.com/