Searey Flight

skier

Line Up and Wait
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Jan 8, 2007
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Skier
I've liked the looks of the Lake Amphibian for a while now and have been dying to get my hands on the controls of one ever since I got my seaplane rating (in a Citabria on straight floats). Unfortunately, the Lakes don't pop up for rent many places.

Luckily, there's a local flight school that has now has a Searey on leaseback for a couple years. While it isn't a Lake, it does have the cool flying boat design I'm happy to report that I got my first flight in it today. Yes, it's an LSA. Yes, it's light. Yes, it bounces around a lot under fair-weather cumulus, over parking lots, or just about anywhere else you'd expect even a mild bounce. The overall handling characteristics are decent and much better than the Citabria I flew on floats.

We took off out of Danbury Airport and headed to Lake Lillinonah in the Housatonic River. On our low approach over the lake I noted what appeared to be a few small logs, but they were few enough to not appear to be a problem. We went around and setup our approach and as the plane touched down both the instructor and I noticed a log just off our nose. He held the plane in a high-speed step-taxi and darted around it. Turns out there was a lot more debris (and it wasn't all small) in the lake than we noticed from the air.

I taxied back to the other end of the lake (slow taxi, plough taxi, and step-taxi) and the instructor demonstrated a takeoff. We flew another pattern, and this time I landed the plane (mostly on my own). I tried the takeoff the second time around, but I needed a fair amount of help from the instructor. We then headed back to Danbury where the instructor did the landing (I'm not confident in my tail-wheel landings on pavement in a new plane).

All in all, it was a fun flight. I really liked the little plane and could see where owning one would be a blast. It helps that you can fly with the windows open. And it's a cool feeling to be sitting so low. I hope to get this little guy again sometime. I'd also settle for a try at a Lake, Taylor Coot, Volmer VJ-22, or Seabee.

Has anyone else here flown one? If so, what did you think.

IMG_3177.JPG
 
A pal of mine had one for awhile. He liked the fact that one aircraft could give him seaplane and tailwheel time. He flew it for awhile, then sold it to a fellow who sunk it in a river in West Virginia.
 
I also got my rating in a Citabria on straight floats. The only other seaplane I've flown is a 172XP on amphibs. I have been wanting to fly a Searey for awhile. Just got to make the time and go somewhere where there's one for rent or instruction. Congrats on doing it.
 
Nice!

Never flown one but seaplane ops are where it’s at!

Very cool you found one to rent, not many places rent seaplanes let alone amphibs
 
Nice!

Never flown one but seaplane ops are where it’s at!

Very cool you found one to rent, not many places rent seaplanes let alone amphibs

Yep. I've come to the conclusion that I am just going to need to buy one to fly one unless I want to pay to drag some ballast around in the other seat.
 
Can you share the contact or fbo at Danbury that rents it? I have a bfr coming up and this looks like it could be a really fun way to do it.

Keith
 
Yep. I've come to the conclusion that I am just going to need to buy one to fly one unless I want to pay to drag some ballast around in the other seat.

Do ittttttt
 
I have a few hours and about 8 landing in the Searey. I gave serious thought to purchasing a new one. I wound up with an S-LSA. Too many hoops, tail wheel endorsement, SES rating then a ridiculous amount of training for insurance. Decided to stick with tri-cycle gear.
 
We had a searey in KIMM, the guy broke the gear on landing, got it fixed, took off and landed 40 miles away then on takeoff put it in the trees. He blamed both the gear screwup and the tree incident on the airplane. It wasn’t the airplane. I spoke to this guy, a lawyer, he was a I know it all I don’t need instruction type. I spoke to recreational mobility, a searey dealer, and they said the pilot was offered free instruction which he turned down.
I was close and personal with that airplane for reasons I won’t disclose and it seemed like a solid design. Build quality was excellent.
 
Can you share the contact or fbo at Danbury that rents it? I have a bfr coming up and this looks like it could be a really fun way to do it.

Keith

It was Sport Flying of CT: https://www.sportflyingct.com/
phone: 203-895-1204

I believe the Searey is being used by the school on Leaseback from the owner. I think they've had use of it now for a couple years, but I don't know all the details.
 
Ooh, that looks like fun. Must be odd sitting down so low in the water.
 
then a ridiculous amount of training for insurance.

How much training? It seemed to me like it would have taken a few hours to get fully comfortable with the plane anyways. I would have thought that would have taken care of the insurance training requirements.
 
The seaplane assoc magazine had a story recently of someone who flew a searey around the world. Gutsy.
 
How much training? It seemed to me like it would have taken a few hours to get fully comfortable with the plane anyways. I would have thought that would have taken care of the insurance training requirements.

Unless you already have a SES rating, with some time attached to it, several insurers suggested I take the 13 hour Searey course. Taking it would bring me into the $3k range, that's on a new plane. 13 hours = about $5k in training costs. Also, I already have 400 hours retract time from when I owned my Cougar. Can't imagine how much more it would be if I didn't have that time. Another thing, years ago, as a kid, I started out in CUB's. I don't have those log books, so, I need a tail-wheel endorsement. Years ago, you found a plane and instructor, did a dozen or so landings in a few hours and WA-La, you got the endorsement. Well, jump ahead 30 + years, you gotta take the course. I kid you not...called several places all were in the $500 or more dollar range, JUST INSANE IMHO. I can afford the plane, but the added costs involved and the usefulness I'd get out of the amphibian here in the northeast, well, I did the math, it doesn't pay. BUT, the Searey, is way cool!
 
The searey dealer also said the Icon guys measured every detail of a searey at a show and lo and behold the Icon came out after that. He claims the Icon is a searey clone.
 
... He claims the Icon is a searey clone.

Yea, I don’t know if I’d call it a clone, that basic configuration and design probably came from Glenn Curtiss but I can see how it would be easy to pretend you were in an Icon A5 while tooling around in a Searey.
 
Yea, I don’t know if I’d call it a clone, that basic configuration and design probably came from Glenn Curtiss but I can see how it would be easy to pretend you were in an Icon A5 while tooling around in a Searey.
Not my opinion, it was of a searey dealer who watched the icon guys measure every inch of a searey.
 
How much training? It seemed to me like it would have taken a few hours to get fully comfortable with the plane anyways. I would have thought that would have taken care of the insurance training requirements.

There is a ton that goes into being a safe seaplane pilot and insurance proves it.

How dynamic water and backcountry ops are, how much research pre and during flight for each landing, the level of risk for where many of these accidents occur, frankly it’s easier to make a safe IFR pilot from scratch than a safe float pilot.
 
The two big issues with seaplanes (and bushplanes) is that you are operating in an uncontrolled environment and by "uncontrolled" I don't mean lack of a control tower I mean lack of anything. Nobody mowing the grass or filling in the gopher holes or clearing submerged snags of dead trees or posting a Notam that the water is down three feet and there's a big rock a foot below the surface. The other issue is recovery cost. Even if the damage you have incurred is relatively minor you have a problem if you are on a lake that is 40 miles from the nearest dirt road.
 
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