I'm a relatively inexperienced float pilot, with only about 20 hours or so, but I would like to add to Step Turn's comments on glassy-water landings. Unless you've actually done one yourself, it's hard to believe the complete lack of height perception.
The procedure is to set up a powered approach with a very low rate of descent and wait until you hear the hiss as the keels touch the water and then throttle back.
When I was learning to do this, I often had the illusion that we were about to touch down, when in fact we were probably about 100' up and and it took another 30 seconds or so before we touched down. I had to very strongly resist the temptation to close the throttle early.
A normal approach and landing, involving a steeper approach and a flare, is fine when there are ripples on the water, but can be fatal on glassy water.
Last edited by India Four Two; 13th Jan 2017 at 05:14.
Reason: Reason for avoiding a standard approach