Wed Aug 03, 2016 1:50 am
#1474560
Once upon a time there was a little club that operated Condors, a Slingsby, and 'guest' aeroplanes such as an Auster, Tiger Moth, Stampe, Jungmann, Chipmunk, and a Cherokee 180E... There was an FW190. and a Sopwith Pup to be seen, but only flown by one person
I'm not sure that post EU and those horrible rules and regs (which I hope die with Brexit) I could ever do what I did in the 1980s again...
It used to be that CAA surveyors would turn up to see what was in the hangar this week
Oh well I moved to Vancouver and took what I had inside me to a place where they did not appreciate such things. Cessna 152/172 fine. Tailwheel? Why bother.
But places change, and due to recurring DNA a few lunatics are born into our midst to create a stir.
They buy funny aeroplanes and then look for some fool to teach them how to fly.
And so it was that on March 17th I flew with Scott for the first time in the SeaRey he'd bought from another mad Englishman who had built it.
The aeroplane had patiently waited for six years in the hangar, dismantled, waiting for some bright spark to put her back together and spin the Rotax 912S into life again... She didn't expect a student pilot!
Scott had a plan. He wanted to fly the aeroplane to his cabin on a lake for his annual holiday beginning on the 30th July... He was driven by this desire.
He achieved his PPL at the beginning of July after flying with me, and with svelte Jodi who at 27 is, I hope, going to continue the DNA of aviators (aviatrices) capable of flying classic aeroplanes and teaching in them.
After sending Scott off first solo I had to go and do an onerous thing: fly an RV9A all over Thailand, staying at luxury resorts, having breakfast with a gorgeous woman... Castle Anthrax has nothing on the Anantara.
Jodi took over and kept Scott on track to his destiny.
When I returned, there was cross country, brushing up on instrument flying (5 hours required), and then flight test prep. Scott scored very high on the flight test, and well in the written exam, and so the PPL was completed.
Everything had been done in the SeaRey except the spins; we went spinning in the Citabria.
Now to the point of this article, the seaplane rating.
The SeaRey is a flying boat, and I do not have much time in flying boats except in another SeaRey another student used for a PPL(H) to PPL(A) conversion. But who else can do this training?
I did my homework, I asked people questions, I read books, and I viewed videos.
My licence permits me to teach the 'float rating' as a Seaplane Rating.
The Seaplane Rating in Canada consists of 7 hours training and the 'test' is sending the student solo for a minimum 5 takeoffs and alightings.
The insurance company wanted 10 hours dual before solo.
Insurance companies often regulate more than aviation authorities.
Being cautious, the first time into the water was via the ramp at Pitt Meadows, this is better for short swimmers like me.
I was also aware that if I got the attitude wrong, this aeroplane could porpoise disasterously if I tried to enter the water from the air.
Better to take gentle steps, learn the corners, where she'll bite.
She floated, and so we had fun on the step racing up and down the river scooting around in speedboat turns. It was great fun.
Then I have control and off we went on the step avoiding the flotsum in the Fraser River and into the air. Back to Langley, back to land on a runway.
19th July
We used the ramp again, floated into the river, retracted the wheels.
Ran up onto the step, and back down to displacement, getting the idea of the touch down and wash out.
Went for 8 takeoffs and alightings in the Fraser River. This was not ideal as there were logs, and many lumps of floating wood to be avoided.
20th July
Now we begin the true Trip Report.
To avoid flotsum we flew to the Pitt River in the morning to do 5 alightings there which were all good, and so it was time for a challenge.
We climbed to 3,400 feet along the ridge and entered Widgeon Lake which is a beautiful place, and we did two alightings in there.
Lunch was soup and sandwich at Pitt Meadows Airport.
The people who operate the Cafe are from Newfoundland and so the hospitality is much much better than the norm in Vancouver.
The afternoon journey would be to Thomas Lake which is 3,000 feet AMSL.
Would the SeaRey get in and out of this lake?
Ask questions like this and I get worried... What if?
Okay I'll do the first one, alighting downwind in my normal direction might be too risky as there would be a five knot tailwind, and so I went the other way and it was easy.
We stayed on the step as I handed control over to Scott who took us around a fast step turn out of wind and into the air without a problem.
He repeated my approach into wind, and the step turn off the water again a second time.
From Thomas we flew down the Stave River Valley to Stave Lake where there were some white caps = 12 -15 knots wind and rough water which is not ideal for a small lightweight flying boat.
This is a difference, I wouldn't worry so much in a larger floatplane in these conditions...
A friend with a Taylor Coot related how he had alighted when there were whitecaps, and the touchdown was rough... So rough that he sailed the aeroplane back into calmer water, this took an hour and a half, and then he could comfortably fly.
So some of the seaplane exercises that are done in a floatplane such as sailing can not be done in a very light flying boat without unacceptable risk.
Nearby Alouette Lake was okay, and so I showed Scott how I descend along the curved mountainside to alight as close to the beginning of the lake as possible...
The lake is long and so we did 6 splashes before we climbed to return to Pitt Meadows.
25th July
The primary object this morning was to go into Fire Lake which is another high elevation lake at over 3,000 feet AMSL.
Unfortunately I didn't get a good shot of this lake as I was too busy.
The wind was 8 - 10 knots and the water was rough, but we still managed to alight, taxy around, and then takeoff again.
You have to watch for downdrafts, and turbulence as the wind spills over the trees.
Below is the turquoise water of Glacier Lake.
This colour obscures the bottom of the lake and any rocks that may be hiding just under the surface, and so you need to be careful.
We touched down and skimmed along on the step for a while before lifting off again.
As we flew from Glacier Lake south to Harrison Lake the groundspeed was 45 knots...
In an aeroplane that does 65 knots in the cruise you will always wonder whether you'll make it to your destination.
Harrison Lake itself was too rough for the little SeaRey so we headed over to Chehalis Lake which was a lot calmer.
I wanted to do some engine failure, dead stick approaches and alightings.
In a seaplane you should approach at a higher speed power off, and then simply fly the aeroplane level just above the water to let it settle on its own while you maintain the sweet angle.
This is especially important if the water is glassy.
We did 4 alightings into Chehalis, power off, approaching at 65KIAS with twenty degrees of flap. It was easy.
We headed to Chilliwack for lunch and petrol (Avgas) with a quick splash and go in the Harrison River on the way. It's fun flying this aeroplane.
Fed and fueled it was back to Harrison Lake where Scott wanted to visit a beauty spot in an inlet on Long Island.
You could alight into wind on a reasonable surface at the entrance to this inlet, but then the sides closed in and there were high trees at the end.
This was the only really dodgy moment in this course as we touched and went and had to escape just above the trees.
I like to keep the nose down and see the tree tops I might hit. To me, pulling the nose up, losing sight of the obstacles under the nose is frightening.
Keep them in sight and have the energy to go over them.
That's not to say you should stay low and fly into the dead leeward air and not be able to go over them either... Take the middle path in Buddhist tradition, to delay entry to the next life
So with plenty of energy I turned crosswind just over the trees.
A moment or three later and we'd have to alight, and taxy back for takeoff, and this would have been in rough water...
Further up Harrison Lake the water was absolutely calm and glassy.
I warned Scott about doing low level turns in these conditions as you will not know when the wingtip might touch the water.
It's always a surprise when you touch down in these mesmerising conditions.
If you put your hand over the bottom left corner of this picture to hide the bow wave, could you estimate your height above the surface?
We did a couple more alightings in the rougher water further south, and a cross wind alighting on the Harrison River, and headed home with a splash in Stave Lake, two in Alouette and then three in the Fraser River by Fort Langley.
I thought about sending Scott solo, but now we were tired, best to be fresh.
26th July
Scott and I went flying after work... There was a light breeze from the west, and alighting into this would be into a setting Sun... Not very safe.
We tried a couple downwind, and it was fast... If we add the touchdown speed to the (opposite direction) river current speed, the hull speed is very fast on contact with the water. Add a passing tugboats' wake and you increase your risks exponentially. So that experiment wasn't a success, but we need to learn boundaries and how we can be safe.
The solo waited another couple of days when with a high Sun a safe first water solo could be done.
I sat in for three dual water alightings and then we landed on the runway at Fort Langley.
I climbed out, and Scott went off and did nine alightings on his own.
Seaplane rating completed, he took the aeroplane to his lakeside cabin this last weekend. He achieved his dream.
One day you'll probably meet me stacking shelves in Tescos, but for now I am doing what I do.
I'm not sure that post EU and those horrible rules and regs (which I hope die with Brexit) I could ever do what I did in the 1980s again...
It used to be that CAA surveyors would turn up to see what was in the hangar this week
Oh well I moved to Vancouver and took what I had inside me to a place where they did not appreciate such things. Cessna 152/172 fine. Tailwheel? Why bother.
But places change, and due to recurring DNA a few lunatics are born into our midst to create a stir.
They buy funny aeroplanes and then look for some fool to teach them how to fly.
And so it was that on March 17th I flew with Scott for the first time in the SeaRey he'd bought from another mad Englishman who had built it.
The aeroplane had patiently waited for six years in the hangar, dismantled, waiting for some bright spark to put her back together and spin the Rotax 912S into life again... She didn't expect a student pilot!
Scott had a plan. He wanted to fly the aeroplane to his cabin on a lake for his annual holiday beginning on the 30th July... He was driven by this desire.
He achieved his PPL at the beginning of July after flying with me, and with svelte Jodi who at 27 is, I hope, going to continue the DNA of aviators (aviatrices) capable of flying classic aeroplanes and teaching in them.
After sending Scott off first solo I had to go and do an onerous thing: fly an RV9A all over Thailand, staying at luxury resorts, having breakfast with a gorgeous woman... Castle Anthrax has nothing on the Anantara.
Jodi took over and kept Scott on track to his destiny.
When I returned, there was cross country, brushing up on instrument flying (5 hours required), and then flight test prep. Scott scored very high on the flight test, and well in the written exam, and so the PPL was completed.
Everything had been done in the SeaRey except the spins; we went spinning in the Citabria.
Now to the point of this article, the seaplane rating.
The SeaRey is a flying boat, and I do not have much time in flying boats except in another SeaRey another student used for a PPL(H) to PPL(A) conversion. But who else can do this training?
I did my homework, I asked people questions, I read books, and I viewed videos.
My licence permits me to teach the 'float rating' as a Seaplane Rating.
The Seaplane Rating in Canada consists of 7 hours training and the 'test' is sending the student solo for a minimum 5 takeoffs and alightings.
The insurance company wanted 10 hours dual before solo.
Insurance companies often regulate more than aviation authorities.
Being cautious, the first time into the water was via the ramp at Pitt Meadows, this is better for short swimmers like me.
I was also aware that if I got the attitude wrong, this aeroplane could porpoise disasterously if I tried to enter the water from the air.
Better to take gentle steps, learn the corners, where she'll bite.
She floated, and so we had fun on the step racing up and down the river scooting around in speedboat turns. It was great fun.
Then I have control and off we went on the step avoiding the flotsum in the Fraser River and into the air. Back to Langley, back to land on a runway.
19th July
We used the ramp again, floated into the river, retracted the wheels.
Ran up onto the step, and back down to displacement, getting the idea of the touch down and wash out.
Went for 8 takeoffs and alightings in the Fraser River. This was not ideal as there were logs, and many lumps of floating wood to be avoided.
20th July
Now we begin the true Trip Report.
To avoid flotsum we flew to the Pitt River in the morning to do 5 alightings there which were all good, and so it was time for a challenge.
We climbed to 3,400 feet along the ridge and entered Widgeon Lake which is a beautiful place, and we did two alightings in there.
Lunch was soup and sandwich at Pitt Meadows Airport.
The people who operate the Cafe are from Newfoundland and so the hospitality is much much better than the norm in Vancouver.
The afternoon journey would be to Thomas Lake which is 3,000 feet AMSL.
Would the SeaRey get in and out of this lake?
Ask questions like this and I get worried... What if?
Okay I'll do the first one, alighting downwind in my normal direction might be too risky as there would be a five knot tailwind, and so I went the other way and it was easy.
We stayed on the step as I handed control over to Scott who took us around a fast step turn out of wind and into the air without a problem.
He repeated my approach into wind, and the step turn off the water again a second time.
From Thomas we flew down the Stave River Valley to Stave Lake where there were some white caps = 12 -15 knots wind and rough water which is not ideal for a small lightweight flying boat.
This is a difference, I wouldn't worry so much in a larger floatplane in these conditions...
A friend with a Taylor Coot related how he had alighted when there were whitecaps, and the touchdown was rough... So rough that he sailed the aeroplane back into calmer water, this took an hour and a half, and then he could comfortably fly.
So some of the seaplane exercises that are done in a floatplane such as sailing can not be done in a very light flying boat without unacceptable risk.
Nearby Alouette Lake was okay, and so I showed Scott how I descend along the curved mountainside to alight as close to the beginning of the lake as possible...
The lake is long and so we did 6 splashes before we climbed to return to Pitt Meadows.
25th July
The primary object this morning was to go into Fire Lake which is another high elevation lake at over 3,000 feet AMSL.
Unfortunately I didn't get a good shot of this lake as I was too busy.
The wind was 8 - 10 knots and the water was rough, but we still managed to alight, taxy around, and then takeoff again.
You have to watch for downdrafts, and turbulence as the wind spills over the trees.
Below is the turquoise water of Glacier Lake.
This colour obscures the bottom of the lake and any rocks that may be hiding just under the surface, and so you need to be careful.
We touched down and skimmed along on the step for a while before lifting off again.
As we flew from Glacier Lake south to Harrison Lake the groundspeed was 45 knots...
In an aeroplane that does 65 knots in the cruise you will always wonder whether you'll make it to your destination.
Harrison Lake itself was too rough for the little SeaRey so we headed over to Chehalis Lake which was a lot calmer.
I wanted to do some engine failure, dead stick approaches and alightings.
In a seaplane you should approach at a higher speed power off, and then simply fly the aeroplane level just above the water to let it settle on its own while you maintain the sweet angle.
This is especially important if the water is glassy.
We did 4 alightings into Chehalis, power off, approaching at 65KIAS with twenty degrees of flap. It was easy.
We headed to Chilliwack for lunch and petrol (Avgas) with a quick splash and go in the Harrison River on the way. It's fun flying this aeroplane.
Fed and fueled it was back to Harrison Lake where Scott wanted to visit a beauty spot in an inlet on Long Island.
You could alight into wind on a reasonable surface at the entrance to this inlet, but then the sides closed in and there were high trees at the end.
This was the only really dodgy moment in this course as we touched and went and had to escape just above the trees.
I like to keep the nose down and see the tree tops I might hit. To me, pulling the nose up, losing sight of the obstacles under the nose is frightening.
Keep them in sight and have the energy to go over them.
That's not to say you should stay low and fly into the dead leeward air and not be able to go over them either... Take the middle path in Buddhist tradition, to delay entry to the next life
So with plenty of energy I turned crosswind just over the trees.
A moment or three later and we'd have to alight, and taxy back for takeoff, and this would have been in rough water...
Further up Harrison Lake the water was absolutely calm and glassy.
I warned Scott about doing low level turns in these conditions as you will not know when the wingtip might touch the water.
It's always a surprise when you touch down in these mesmerising conditions.
If you put your hand over the bottom left corner of this picture to hide the bow wave, could you estimate your height above the surface?
We did a couple more alightings in the rougher water further south, and a cross wind alighting on the Harrison River, and headed home with a splash in Stave Lake, two in Alouette and then three in the Fraser River by Fort Langley.
I thought about sending Scott solo, but now we were tired, best to be fresh.
26th July
Scott and I went flying after work... There was a light breeze from the west, and alighting into this would be into a setting Sun... Not very safe.
We tried a couple downwind, and it was fast... If we add the touchdown speed to the (opposite direction) river current speed, the hull speed is very fast on contact with the water. Add a passing tugboats' wake and you increase your risks exponentially. So that experiment wasn't a success, but we need to learn boundaries and how we can be safe.
The solo waited another couple of days when with a high Sun a safe first water solo could be done.
I sat in for three dual water alightings and then we landed on the runway at Fort Langley.
I climbed out, and Scott went off and did nine alightings on his own.
Seaplane rating completed, he took the aeroplane to his lakeside cabin this last weekend. He achieved his dream.
One day you'll probably meet me stacking shelves in Tescos, but for now I am doing what I do.
MichaelP
Wandering the World
Wandering the World