>
> I don't know, Bill. I've never been a seaplane person, although I
> should like to. The idea of being able to pick a landing spot so
> easily has always appealed to me :-)
>
Picking landing spots is always easy in every type of airplane. Picking
landing spots you can survive the landing in isn't.
Where I was learning to fly and where my dad flew was mostly over a very
very dense hardwood forest. The other alternative was over Lake Michigan.
Otherwise, you had to restrict yourself to flying circles over the random
farmfield or city. One time we flew kinda diagonally across the state and
with the exception of a very few not-so-pretty options, there isn't much to
choose from for landing a C172 with busting your chops. As a general rule,
minimum altitude to carry you to a suitable landing spot (roads were usually
not the best option due to the close proximity of the trees as well as
omni-present utility lines crossing the road) was usually 5000 AGL.
But having flown (as a right-seat passenger) in a float plane, I have to
admit that once you get past the initial fears, it's a tremendous rush to
have the freedom of landing on the water, but unfortunately, most water
isn't landable due to wind and waves. Float planes make LOUSY boats. And
speaking of boats--Michigan lakes on a summer day are always chock full of
boats--it's sometimes very difficult to "clear" a landing or takeoff spot.
Runways are easier...
AG
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