Originally Posted by
Pilot DAR
It's a short story, which took a long time to drift into history; I was hired to provide Lake Amphibian type training, and a a seaplane rating to a Lake owner. He'd had the plane for a year, but not done any water operations in it yet. He flew really well, very caring and attentive, great attitude and learned. I did all the required training with him, no rush, no pressure, great conditions. I was having him land me into the dock, to practice docking, and drop me off so he could fly the five required solo water circuits, which I was required to watch. The dock was at my local airport, so if he felt uneasy, a runway landing was a choice for him. I was very confident about his skills, and simply not paying attention when he got a landing rather wrong. I remember looking out the right, and knowing that his great approach would touch the keel....... now......, and he did, but it went wrong after that. I have "fixed" such landings before, and simply did not this time, as I allowed myself to be a passenger, and relax. That was not what I was there to do. Life lesson learned.
Thanks,
Ever since I did my first checkout in a taildragger, I have realized the nerves of steel that instructors require, certainly for some operations anyways. As you know in my posts here and elsewhere, I am always looking for the solution of what did the pilot do that was wrong and what should I learn from it.
As a newbie to float flying over the last two summers(about 40 hours in a C-172 and C-180), I know that flying boat operations are different. But I still have a couple of questions.......
What does this mean? "I was having him land me into the dock."
When you say 'touch the keel', can you confirm your meaning of that and clarify if that is a good thing or a bad thing.
What did the student do that was wrong. Was it an input or incorrect recovery from a problem that had occurred after a proper touchdown?
After all, I do plan to get into flying boats at some point. Lake, Seabee, Widgeon....who knows.