|
Continuing the Photo Tour of my Life in
Flight.
 | Learning to fly seaplanes truly hones your landing skills as does flying a helicopter.
Precision flying requiring great judgement in inches above the surface is required.
I obtained my Commercial Single Engine Sea license in a J-3 Cub on floats (Italian
version with flaps). This view is looking from Laughlin, NV across the Colorado
River towards Bullhead City, AZ. Training was done on the Colorado River and Lake
Havasu, AZ.
Later I received my Airline Transport Pilot license in Single and Multi Engine Seaplanes.
Flights each day alternated between the Maule (shown above) and the Grumman
Widgeon. Training was done on various lakes in Florida including Sanford which
boasts having the most alligators of any lake in the state.
Judgement and precision was not only required in landing, but in pulling up on the
ramp within a few feet of the operations building.
One training flight was delayed for a commercial charter flight to see the Space
Shuttle launch, which we watched from the ground.
 
Multi Engine Seaplane training was done in the Widgeon which is also a conventional
gear (tail dragger) land aircraft. Because of the wing floats, crosswind landings on
land limit the amount of wing low correction available. During training an
instrument approach would be flown down to minimums and when told to go visual to either a
land or water landing (the later requiring a 90 degree turn to the lake next to the
runway), you would need to ensure the gear was in the correct position. This adds a
whole new dimension to "breaking out of weather" and the actions needed to land
safely.
 
The Widgeon cockpit has a throw-over yoke on the co-pilot's side which gives access
to the crawl way to the nose hatch for water operations.
Visit the
Seaplane Pilots Association
The serenity and versatility of flying a float plane are immeasurable, and you
possess the confident knowledge that you have the best of both airplane and boating
skills.
|
| Another form of flying that requires great judgement and precision, and which ultimately
makes one a much better pilot in landing land airplanes, is rotorcraft flying.
 |
Follow the Thread
Rotorcraft Flying
|
