By the way- Has anyone read the book „Flying a Floatplane“ by Marin Faure? I have not come across anything better on this subject yet.
Any other suggestions?
”How to Fly Floats” by JJ Frey and ”Seaplane Pilot” by Dale DeRemer. The later provides a deeper discussion into water flying than other books.
Both are available via Seaplane Pilots Association https://www.seaplanepilotsassociation.org/ – a useful resource for those interested in flying Floats.
CW wrote:
From the damage, could you determine if it flipped straight or dipped a wing?
The airplane flipped straight over, and the entire nose was torn off, ejecting us in the process. They found my seatbelt with torn off airframe attached to it. So, in hindsight, the underwater egress training I’d taken, didn’t really help so much for that crash, but take it anyway! The conditions were perfect for the landing, so it’s just a reminder to not relax just because the conditions are good!
Each water landing I’ve flown since has been a tiny cringe for a moment, then an ahhh, when it was nice!
Pilot_DAR wrote:
I suspect an inopportune accidental opening of the throttle while on the step, but that is simply speculation on my part.
Sorry for my ignorance, what does it mean?
“Seaplane Operations” by Cesare Baj and Dale DeRemer is the bible in my eyes.
I’ve also read Advanced Water Flying Concepts, Notes of a Seaplane Instructor and How to Fly Floats. I will have a look at the suggestion “Flying a Floatplane”.
The Lake specific book Go to Hull is free and an enjoyable eBook. Flying a flying boat is nearly like seaplane flying squared. It’s ever so enjoyable, and gives a much greater thrill to the pilot.
Snoopy wrote:
I suspect an inopportune accidental opening of the throttle while on the step, but that is simply speculation on my part.Sorry for my ignorance, what does it mean?
I believe that my student opened the throttle once on the water on the step, and did not hold the nose up, allowing the nose to get a little too low in the water, and slowing us, so the nose dug in. I hold that opinion only because the post crash photos and prop damage make that appear to be the case. Happily, I do not remember any of it, so I cannot say for sure. My student was really good with the plane, so I opine that whatever happened was simply an accidental error, with inexperience as a factor.
Anyone on the forum flown seaplanes in Croatia? How are the regulations compared to say Italy, Germany, Sweden, Norway, etc? The Croatian coastline is certainly very attractive to drop anchor for anyone with a seaplane.
There was a seaplane operation in Croatia but AFAIK it went bust a while ago. @emir will know more.
I think the main issue would be the sea state – the wave height. In open water like the Adriatic, you can’t operate a lot of the time unless it is a big plane.
Peter wrote:
I think the main issue would be the sea state
As a general statement, I agree, and would also add another problem with the sea, is that someone put salt in it, and that has some potentially negative effect on lots of things in contact with it… This means that a lot of seaplane owners do not want to operate on sea, but not all. In case you do operate from salted water, you need to wash the airplane with fresh water afterwards.
But alas, in Europe for most countries, the first issue is more the regulation than waves or salty water… That said, I don’t know about Croatia.
chflyer wrote:
How are the regulations compared to say Italy, Germany, Sweden, Norway, etc? The Croatian coastline is certainly very attractive to drop anchor for anyone with a seaplane.
Crotia has several water aerodromes published in their AIP with ICAO location indicators. If nothing else, it shows a positive attitude.
The Croatian operation was Eastern Coastal Airlines:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Coastal_Airlines
I did some work for them a couple of times. On one of my arrivals, Split airport was too “busy” for my VFR arrival. So, after landing at Brac to make alternate arrangements with the help of ECA staff, I filed to the Spilt waterdrome, and landed there in the amphibian. The airport let me land at sunset when they were less busy, and the fire department kindly hosed off the floats with fresh water.
ECA suffered from some larbour difficulty, which cascaded somewhat, and they chose to not continue service.
