Caledonian Seaplanes

[Zlin526]

Greeting fellow Ppruners,

Has anyone been up to Caledonian Seaplanes to do a seaplane rating?

Are they any good? What's the quality of instruction like? What condition are the aircraft in? How long to do the 5 hours required?

Looking for some steers before I part with my hard earned wonga and commit to the long drive north....

:ok:

[Pilgrim101]

Zlin,

I've been out of the circuit for a wee while but try a call to George Cormack at Cumbernauld Airport :ok:

[fernytickles]

I did my seaplane rating with them and had a blast - best fun flying for a long time. Having said all that, it was 5 or 6 years ago.....
I did about 5.1 hours plus the flight test, all of which were great fun. We would fly for a bit, then beach the Cub, collect some water from the loch, boil it, make a cup of tea which we drank with shortbread for accompaniment.
When we had to use up some hours, we flew north to Corrour, between Dalmeny and Spean Bridge, landing on the loch up there, for another cup of tea and shortbread, and were joined by the stalkers and ghillies from that estate. This was all accomplished in the early autumn, so the colours were gorgeous. I did the flight test with George, but the training with their instructor. Fantastic fun and the best bit of flight training I think I will ever do - they never seem to stop the sim for tea and shortbread.....unless you are in serious trouble!
Alternatively, there's a great seaplane flight training base in San Andreas, California. Possibly further to go, but plenty of fun to be had there too - www.norcalaviation.com
Good luck :)

[Justiciar]

Do you get to go solo?

[fernytickles]

Am I made of money ;)
No, I did the hours required, did the flight test, and left it at that. Sad to say, but I haven't flown in one since then. It was just too pricey to stay safely current, but it is definitely something I will take up again when I am flush :)

[PH-UKU]

Caledonian Seaplanes is now run by Marilynn Macdonald, (George Cormack sold out a year or so ago), and are based at the East end of Loch Earn - at The Drummond Hotel in St Fillans.

I've been up many times this summer and it is fantastic fun - thoroughly recommend it. Marilynn is an excellent instructress and breakfast/lunch trips to Loch Lomond are a regular feature.

Some folk who are well experienced can do it in 5-6 hours. I'm taking it easy and have 7 so far, but aim to do the written Seamanship exam over the winter, and then get the practical out of the way next April. Insurance is the problem for going solo. I went to Canada and did Canadian float rating where they let me do solo circuits, but not full rental. Back in Scotland the minimum insurance requirment would be 50hrs P1 before any chance of going solo.

The flying for 2003 is now finished as the plane is coming out of the water for maintenance, but expect it to be up and running in April 2004. Best fun in the world.

Contact Marilynn for more details
[email protected]

[FlyingForFun]

Back in Scotland the minimum insurance requirment would be 50hrs P1 before any chance of going soloI assume that's 50hrs P1 on any aeroplane? (As oposed to 50hrs P1 on floats, in which case you'd have to find somewhere else to get these 50hrs before you could rent from them?)

FFF
----------------

[Zlin526]

Flying for Fun,

You beat me to it!

50hrs P.1???? on a floatplane?

Are the insurance industry trying to tell us that they disagree with the JAA/CAA license requirements?

If it is 50hrs on a floatplane, its not an ideal way to make money.:{

[greatorex]

I was talking with a F/O this week who I think had done some flying with them over the summer - he said that they were very helpful and he had a great time. . . Will try to find out more from him next time I see him and report back. . .

In the meantime:

http://www.harris-interiors.co.uk/images/Plane%20on%20the%20Thames.jpg

Sorry, just thought it was a great picture!!!

Cheers,

G

[PH-UKU]

Nice picture !

Deep breath .... it is actually 50 hrs P1 FLOAT time (and I hear that this may just have been introduced in Canada as well). It seems to reflect the insurance companies nervousness about the higher risks involvedd in float flying and also that as there are so few in the UK there is still an evolving market and set of statistics.

I know of two accidents in the UK in recent years, both aircraft were recovered OK, but given that there are so few floatplanes on the uK register that makes for quite a high risk.

Your options at the moment are -
fly with Marilynn a few times a year
buy your own
take a share in one (anyone interested?)

Cheers

[Chuck Ellsworth]

Insurance requirements are limiting everything in aviation.

Here in Canada seaplane training is getting very expensive because of the requirement for five solo take offs and landings in the Transport Canada training requirements.

If these Idiots would change the five solo T.O. and Landings to a ride with a check pilot we could buy reasonable insurance.

However common sense will never penetrate the heads of idiots.

Chuck

[Gertrude the Wombat]

the requirement for five solo take offs and landings in the Transport Canada training requirements Hmm. Perhaps I will go back to Canada to have another go at the floatplane rating. I wouldn't really feel that I'd achieved anything if I wasn't allowed to go solo, even if I did get the piece of paper.

Do people who've got a floatplane rating having never flown solo in one really think they've got something worthwhile? (Genuine question, I'd like to know the answer - my ultimate ambition, unlikely to be achieved, is to fly a Beaver on my own.)

[Chuck Ellsworth]

Gertrude;

Yes, if you were issued the seaplane rating and it is on your license you have something worth while.

For years training schools and individual instructors have given seaplane ratings and did not in fact allow solo flight.

I know the person who gave you your training, it is of no intrest to me if he / she was in the airplane when you did your five "solo" circuits.

However please think about commenting on how the "solo" was flown.

Transport Canada is on a witch hunt to find people who admit to not having been alone in the airplane when the "solo" was signed off. You can bet some of the same TC people who will coeherse you into admitting you were not alone got their seaplane ratings the same way.

If Transport Canada can get you to admit to not being alone in the airplane they will revoke your rating.

They have already revoked about 100 to 150 seaplane ratings here in this Region.

If you are contacted by Transport think about giving any information to them.

Remember you are not obligated to cut your own throat.

Chuck.

[Gertrude the Wombat]

Chuck Ellsworth:

Don't worry, I'm in no danger from Transport Canada, having failed to get good enough in the time available to do the five solo circuits, so I didn't apply for the rating.

Still haven't found anyone who'll give lessons on a Beaver ...

[Chuck Ellsworth]

Gertrude :

First off Keith was arrested last Friday and charged with posession of marajuana for the purpose of trafficing.

The police seized two vehicles and one airplane being used presumably to fly cross border with the dope.

All you need to train in a Beaver is money.

There are several places where you can buy Beaver time at around $500.00 Canadian per. hour.

I don't think anyone would allow you to solo one due to insurance.

By the way the Beaver would be the easiest thing you ever flew.

The damn thing is idiot resistant it is so easy to fly. ( I'm not meaning you are an idiot, just commenting on how easy it is to fly. )

Chuck

[Gertrude the Wombat]

The police seized two vehicles and one airplane being used presumably to fly cross border with the dope. One of the Cessnas I assume ... you wouldn't get enough in the other thing to make it worthwhile.By the way the Beaver would be the easiest thing you ever flew. Yeah, I know. A charter operator let me take the controls of one for a few minutes this summer:) :) :) . Not, at a guess, terribly legally, so I didn't attempt to log the time :{ :{ :{

[Chuck Ellsworth]

From what the newspaper printed it was a Cessna 172 at the Duncan airport.

[BayAreaLondoner]

You might be interested in my posting from a few weeks ago regarding seaplane ratings:
http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=107960

California was mentioned, but Florida may be a little easier (and cheaper) for you to get to. Also, flying in Florida is probably a little cheaper than California.

As someone who now has a seaplane rating but wasn't allowed to solo (because they just don't allow that at Brown's), I can say that it was well worth it. Why? Well it is a different type of flying, different type of airplane, new experiences, new skills, etc. And let's not forget that it was fun. The most cost effective way would be to combine the course with a flight review, but even if you just go off and do it for no good reason, I think it is worthwhile. Besides, I entertain thoughts of a parallel universe that has me flying around the carribbean in a floatplane perhaps like this one (http://www.seastarplane.com/). :)

[PH-UKU]

Well I was lucky enough to do 8 Canadian hours in a PA18 this year and yes I did legitimate solo circuits. Amazing. Particularly when I returned to Scotland to find solo was out of the question :(

Och well, I've started saving those pennies to buy my own float dream !

[lkingscott]

For a low cost seaplane have a look at www.eurocub.com, less than £20 per hour all up costs.

We will be selling them in the UK shortly, regulatory issues permitting......

In the mean time, if you would like to fly one, use the contact on the web site. It's currently out of the water for the winter, but should be back next June. They do fly in the winter, but the lakes freeze up.

I spent a few days this year at Frolunda near Stockholme. I have never had so much fun flying both taildragger and seaplane. Swimming in the lake to keep cool!

I used to own a Yak12 and this is just like a mini version. 50m take off and landing roll, but much faster cruise.

We hope to find a lake on the Coswold water park to fly floatplanes, not sure whether there will be any suitable however.

Lisa

[PH-UKU]

Can't get that link to work :( Any other hints ?

[Sir Richard]

There is an extra comma at the end of the link, paste the address, delete the ,/ and all works well!