Sea Plane Add-on

TurdBird

Well-Known Member
Anyone out there with a sea plane add-on? It is something I have always wanted to do. A friend of mine has it and he said he can't find anyone that will rent a plane to him without a CFI being with him. There are a bunch of places to choose from in Florida</ST1:p and it seems like it is a weekend type course for the rating. Anyone out there have first hand information they can share? Do you think it would be a total waste of money or is it something worth doing?

My old CFI who I still keep in touch with basically told me if I get the rating I will die from it. He has it and he flipped a plane a few years ago while landing. Although I appreciate his input and knowledge I think he is talking the way he is because of his bad experience. He is very knowledgeable in aviation and I go to him with a lot of questions such as this. He is very much against it for what seems to be the wrong reasons.

This is why I thought I would ask you guys.

Any input is greatly appreciated!
 
I would do it..seems like a cool rating to have..I actually thought about it..there's a school up in michigan that does multi and ASES you can get the sea rating for 800 bucks...forget what plane it is though.
 
It is a quick rating, and about the most fun you can have in an airplane without wearing a seat cushion. Flagler (XFL) has a great program for it but you won't be able to rent a plane after you're done. There is only one place I know of in the country that will allow you to rent a plane after getting the rating but its up in Maine. The rating adds on to your existing pilot certificate so you can instruct in sea planes if you're a CFI when you take the ride. If not it will just piggyback onto your PPL, CPL, or ATP like your multi or instrument ratings. If you've got ATP times you can do both your ATP land and Sea at Flagler by doing a few instrument approaches to wheel landings and water landings.

One of the instructors is also the examiner at Ryans at Flagler, his name is Trip. He's a good guy by all accounts, we've used him as a DPE before and he seems to be fair. My boss did his ATP SES with Trip and really enjoyed the entire process, its a great way to get a BFR. You can check them out here:
http://www.ryanseaplanes.com/
The Beaver is pretty but she rents for $575/hr, too rich for my blood.
 
Another great place to do it in FL is Jack Browns. They have a nicely packaged weekend course.

I have about 25 or so hours in seaplanes and I agree it's some of the most fun you can have in an airplane. Beaching the seaplane at Captain Hiram's and having dinner with my fiancee was a trip.

That said, your instructor is right. Go get the rating for a weekend's entertainment, but if you're planning on doing a lot of seaplane flying then plan on getting a lot of practice with him. Learn the basics and get the rating, but you need a lot more than 5 (or 25) hours to be any good at it.
 
Thanks Nick.

Funny you mention Jack Browns. That's actually the one I was thinking about going to.
 
most fun you can have! i need to finish mine. there are a few places up here in MN that will rent the plane to you as well.
 
The aero club at Elmendorf AFB has a 180HP 172 on straight floats for like $125 wet. Maybe next summer.....
 
There was a feature in AOPA magazine this summer on Jack Browns and is seemed pretty much spot on based on my experience there. Two days to get your rating, exactly as it says on the tin.
 
I'd go for it, Jeff. That way you can tell me if it's worth it. :D We have people shooting at us...I'd say the dangers of a seaplane are the least of your worries. Let us know how it goes!
 
Jack Browns is an excelent flight school for the seaplane rating. That is where our examiner recieved his rating many years ago. Both he and I would highly reccommend it.

If you would rather come to Arizona, we offer a seaplane course for $1,275.00 and it only takes one day in our PA-18 on straight floats. We fly off the Colorado River right in between the cities of Bullhead City, Arizona and Laughlin, Nevada. When you're done, we love to help people build time, however we cannot rent our seaplanes out for solo work due to insurance requirements.

We also offer a multi engine seaplane course provided you hold a multi-engine rating and a seaplane rating. Quite a bit more expensive at $5,000.00 but a lot of fun to hear those radials start up.
 
I've always wanted to get into seaplanes, but all jobs I come across, it seems just a seaplane rating is not enough. They always want like 200 hours of seaplane time :(

Does anyone know how easy it is to get into seaplane instruction with a fresh SES/MES rating and a few hundred hours of SEL dual given?
 
Thank you to everyone for all of the information. Every bit of information does help.

I'd go for it, Jeff. That way you can tell me if it's worth it. :D We have people shooting at us...I'd say the dangers of a seaplane are the least of your worries. Let us know how it goes!

I think Dan's argument was the deciding factor. :D It was just too convincing and valid. Thanks Dan. I hope to return the favor one day! ;)<O:p</O:p
 

My old CFI who I still keep in touch with basically told me if I get the rating I will die from it. He has it and he flipped a plane a few years ago while landing.

??? I'm glad he's your old CFI. Sounds like he's got some issues to work out.

The aero club at Elmendorf AFB has a 180HP 172 on straight floats for like $125 wet. Maybe next summer.....

Best secret in North America! If I'm not at OTS I'm hoping to be instructing in that thing next summer.

We also offer a multi engine seaplane course provided you hold a multi-engine rating and a seaplane rating. Quite a bit more expensive at $5,000.00 but a lot of fun to hear those radials start up.

Just curious...what airplane do you use for this?
 
For the AMES course we use a Beech 18 on straight floats. Very nice to look at but the panel is a little dated. But hell, the thing is practically a warbird!
 
I've always wanted to go get my ASES rating but there is no places i the DFW area to go. I think the closest place to DFW is DWH in Houston. If anyone knows of a place closer please tell me.

I really would like to take a vacation up to Alaska and get it done there.
 
The ASES course rocks! I did mine at Brown's in Winter Haven, FL also. Most fun flying I've ever had! Highly worth it.
 
I've always wanted to go get my ASES rating but there is no places i the DFW area to go. I think the closest place to DFW is DWH in Houston. If anyone knows of a place closer please tell me.

I really would like to take a vacation up to Alaska and get it done there.

You could try the guys listed here:

http://www.seaplanes.org/training/instructors/TX.htm

Believe it or not when I was in Alaska most guys recommended getting it done somewhere in the lower 48 to save cash. Maybe I was just talking to the wrong guys? Seems like the best thing to do is get it done wherever you might ever fly another float plane to get the relevant experience (lakes, rivers, ocean, whatever).
 
I've always wanted to go get my ASES rating but there is no places i the DFW area to go. I think the closest place to DFW is DWH in Houston. If anyone knows of a place closer please tell me.

I would love to get mine, just cant justify it. I check on the prices at DWH, they were:<TABLE cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=0 width=350 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>[FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Private SES[/FONT]</TD><TD></TD><TD>[FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]$1395[/FONT]</TD></TR><TR><TD>[FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Comm SES[/FONT]</TD><TD></TD><TD>[FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]$1395[/FONT]</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
 
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