Float Plane "Trial Lesson"
 

Hi Everyone,

I'm travelling to Canada next week 31/08-12/09 and would love to have a float trial lesson if such things exist? I live in the UK so the potential of ticking this off the bucket list at home is pretty limited!

I hold a current EASA PPL (Land only) and know that I probably wont be able to log the time but just want the opportunity to fly one. We will be going on a pax trip but it's not the same as getting behind the controls.

We are visiting Vancouver, Victoria, port Hardy, Prince Rupert, Jasper and Banff. The latter destinations probably won't throw up many opportunities but any advice/recommendations or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

See this thread:
http://www.pprune.org/canada/583193-float-training.html

Thanks for the reply. I had seen that but the locations mentioned are nowhere near where I am going.

Try posting on the AvCanada forum. Lots more local knowledge there! Have fun!

BC Floatplane Association


Could I suggest that you check out the BC Float Plane Association at the above address.

Destination, try Fort Langley Air - Float plane training vancouver in Vancouver; Victoria Flying Club Victoria Flying Club and Ocean Air Floatplanes - Floatplane / Seaplane Charters, Tours and Training in Victoria. Depending on where you are in Vancouver, the Victoria locations are a bit closer to town than Fort Langley is to Vancouver.

Have Fun!

A 'cheaper' option might be to take the floatplane from downtown Vancouver to downtown Victoria Harbour Air If you're there first, you'll be able to sit in the right seat and get a front row view. They won't let you touch the controls though..

Fort Langley Air is a worthwhile place to fly. I recommend that location primarily because of its location - close to several beautiful lakes, which are very suitable for training. If you want to see the beauty of Vancouver Island, fly over there while you're flying, but the access to lots of fresh water places to land is well worth choosing Fort Langley Air. If you Google Earth "Pitt Lake", and virtually fly around it, you'll get the sense of how beautiful it is there. An added benefit will be that some of your training would include awareness of mountain flying.

Allow yourself some time just to hang around Fort Langley. It's a quiet, privately owned aerodrome, but there are usually some interesting people there to chat with. Some of the private float fliers there have the best stories!

I don't have any knowledge of Fort Langley Air, but I agree with Step Turn's recommendation about the area. I did my float rating at Vancouver International, but all my training was on the Fraser River adjacent to Pitt Meadows, Pitt Lake and Alouette Lake.

However, the best experience was landing on Widgeon Lake, a 2500' MSL mountain lake. Even if you do no other float flying, I would recommend a dual flight just for the experience of landing and taking off there. :ok:





And in the winter, you can try figure-skating!

If you would like your dual time in the float plane to be logable you can get a "Foreign License Validation Certificate- Training" issued by Transport Canada on the basis of your EASA PPL.

As mentioned above there are several outfits in the Vancouver and Victoria area that provide float training.

However consider yourself warned

Once you have experienced the delights of float flying you will not want to stop at one flight.

As someone who has done some float flying instruction I have had several pilots go from "I just want to go for a ride" to " Oh man I have gotta get the seaplane rating" to "I just bought a float plane":E

Hi All,

Thank you so much for your advice and recommendations. I would love to add a sea plane rating but there aren't any within 200 miles from where I live :-( A rail will have to do... for now!
Thanks again, I appreciate it.

I fly over that lake very often... didn't know it's name. Always thought it would be fun to land at Widgeon Lake.... looks fun.

Widgeon Lake is all kinds of fun, but that fun is the skill to get in one way, with no overshoot possibility, and then out the other. To add to the challenge, for the times I have been in there, it's been glassy. Challenging in that it's difficult, and more so, in that once committed, you have to make it work, because deciding to overshoot for a better setup is not going to happen. My first two photos in post #2 here: http://www.pprune.org/private-flying...te-flying.html are Widgeon Lake my first time in.

I used to do a lot of one way landings but they were all on land. Nice pictures.