34 | AUGUST 2019 FLYINGMAG.COMAD
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The FAA allowed the A5’s gross weight to exceed
1,430 pounds to include safety equipment such
as a ballistic parachute.
Seaplane flying is similar to flying a
taildragger. They both rely on a pilot’s
sense of touch, sound and sight. What
few gauges I saw in the Cub during
training were only necessary to help
set up my final approach or be sure
I didn’t overspeed the f laps or the
engine. After that, it’s pretty much all
seat-of-the-pants skills with a lot of
eyeballing skills many professional
pilots sent to the back of their memory
banks long ago.
Besides the fun of never climbing
much above 500 feet agl during train-
ing, I enjoyed topics I’d never before
encountered. Take crosswind take-
offs: They can create an interesting
dilemma in a seaplane because the
wind trying to raise the upwind wing
is also trying to force the downwind
float deeper into the water, creating
more drag. That can translate into
directional control problems.
Then we started discussing
glassy-water operations, what a land
lover would call calm-wind condi-
tions. I thought those would be easy,
but on landing, glassy water actually
represents a dire hazard because with
no water movement of any kind, depth
perception becomes pretty tough. The
solution is to set up the final approach
with a minimal rate of descent in
those last hundred feet, perhaps at 100
feet per minute. Then don’t change a
thing. Hold that rate of descent until
the aircraft touches the water. Then
it’s power to idle and the stick back in
your gut until the airplane slows.
I learned to remember to use the
bilge pump to rid the f loats of excess
water that might have seeped between
the rivets, and f lights in salt water
demand the aircraft be washed down
after f light. The only drawback I have
experienced with seaplanes is finding
one to rent if you’re not lucky enough
to own one. Renting is not impossible,
but it can be tough.
WATER ADVENTURE
In April, I made the hour drive north
from Sun ‘n Fun in Lakeland, Florida,
to visit Progressive Aerodyne’s fac-
tory in Tavares. The plan was to watch
how Progressive employees build
these light-sport seaplanes and reac-
quaint myself with the water wings I’d
earned a few years earlier in Traverse
City. The difference today was that I’d
be f lying one of Progressive’s Rotax-
powered Elite LSA amphibians. Later
that same week, I also carved out time
to visit Icon Aircraft’s regional deliv-
ery center at Tampa’s Peter O’ Knight
Airport. While I couldn’t watch them
create an A5 in Tampa, I did get to
spend an hour cruising around and on
the waters of Tampa Bay and compare
and contrast both machines.
Progressive Aerodyne’s big yellow
hangar alongside Lake Idamere is neat
and tidy. Inside, I was amazed at the
wide range of colors they use to paint
the company’s new Seareys before
delivery—bright blues, greens, oranges
and yellows. Searey builds two mod-
els: the 90 hp Adventure and the
deluxe 115 hp Elite. Owners can build
their own Searey or purchase a certi-
fied version from the factory. Kerry
Richter says the company is selling
more ASTM-certified airplanes these
days than kits. The Elite I f lew comes
standard with the Rotax 914 pow-
erplant and a pusher propeller, the
Garmin G3X Touch 10-inch PFD and
7-inch MFD, ADS-B In and Out, and
the option to fold the wings for trans-
port. The standard Seareys allow
for complete removal of the wings.
“The foldable option can be handled
by one person,” Richter says, “but
wing removal demands two people.”