Comments on: Easier Than It Looks

By: flightlevel69

flightlevel69 — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:58:11 +0000

thats not a pilot hot-shotting for the cameraman, thats an airplane experiencing a wind shift while performing H20 departure…..they handle a little different with boat skids than tires. give the guy a break, he, his wife and their dog managed to walk away.
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/822923.html

By: Comjam

Comjam — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 14:29:13 +0000

Salty:
It never looked like he was really on the step. Like I say, I have no Beaver time myself, but we have several that operate out of where I fly my float plane and he always looked too far back until the very last when he lifted the right float. Totally agree, should have cut power, taxied back and tried it again. I ain’t afraid to abort in the bay I normally fly out from. (lots of boats, wind surfers, kayakers and assorted waterborne idiots.)

By: saltydog

saltydog — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 05:27:37 +0000

Just to put pespective on this, I fly out of ANC and have watched from this same spot several takeoffs, IMO, the pilot was not showing off. The vantage point is right beside the water runway. Everyone flies down that channel along the fence. Possible that a gust (as the pilot claims) with poor control input did cause a early liftoff and he chose to continue rather than stuff the floats back into the water since he was already on the step. I’d say pilot error, but not showing off etc.

By: XBradTC

XBradTC — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 03:46:20 +0000

Herbal, I can’t believe they would breathe a word, if they thought they could have trapped you.

And decorated your plane.

By: Herbal

Herbal — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 01:23:21 +0000

I’m not a seaplane guy, but doesn’t it seem like he held too much AOA on the runup to takeoff? It looked to me like he should have used a little forward yoke and “planed out” on the floats but instead just held ‘em back and plowed through the water. Again, I’m no seaplane guy, so if I’m wrong someone please explain how that works.

Never landed at the wrong field, but I did take a COD into the break on the wrong boat during 3-carrier ops in W-72. Was “charlie on arrival” and realized it was the wrong boat as passed over the island and saw “69″ on the bow instad of “71.” Departed the pattern with my tail between my legs. Bet at least one guy was hollering at me on Ike’s tower freq, but I wouldn’t know because I had TR’s dialed up.

By: Byron Audler

Byron Audler — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 01:05:33 +0000

I’ve watched several videos of VIPs taking a hop with the Blues, and all of them got to taste the bananas and/or went “to sleep” with one exception: Dale Earnhardt Jr. He was laughing, hooting, carrying on, it was like he was on the best roller coaster ride of his life. You could tell the parts where the jet was pulling serious G, from the little G-meter in the corner of the picture, and from the attitude of the aircraft (sharp pull ups, tight turns). And who says NASCAR drivers aren’t atheletes…

And yeah, that Beaver driver needs to turn his ticket in, that was a really bad take off roll.