Sea plane landings - who governs the water ?

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VoiceOfReason

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VoiceOfReason
I live on a lake in East Grand Rapids, MI. (Reeds Lake).

Some guy landed a seaplane here a decade ago and it caused a stir. Why ? He was cited by the local city government and I don't know what the exact 'charges' were, but they were eventually dropped. The pilot was a CFI so it not like some reckless newbie did something obviously dumb...

How do I find out if I can land on this lake ? Who governs this even ? When in the air, a seaplane is just an airplane (not subject to local police rule) and when on the water its a 'boat' right ?

I'm having fantasies about a 206 on floats tied up in front of my house but not sure how to go about determining legal feasibility.
 
State law, or local laws govern uses of water ways. Start by researching state law, then go to local ordinances.

If your state has a dept of aeronautics contact them.
 
VoiceOfReason said:
I live on a lake in East Grand Rapids, MI. (Reeds Lake).

Some guy landed a seaplane here a decade ago and it caused a stir. Why ? He was cited by the local city government and I don't know what the exact 'charges' were, but they were eventually dropped. The pilot was a CFI so it not like some reckless newbie did something obviously dumb...

How do I find out if I can land on this lake ? Who governs this even ? When in the air, a seaplane is just an airplane (not subject to local police rule) and when on the water its a 'boat' right ?

I'm having fantasies about a 206 on floats tied up in front of my house but not sure how to go about determining legal feasibility.
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I think you'll discover it's not about what you do in the air but what you do on the "ground." To paraphrase you a bit, "When in the air, an is not subject to local police rule, and when it's in my back yard, a trespasser."
 
You may want to check out the Seaplane Pilots Association or the Seaplane Foundation's Water Landing Directory (mobile app too) which may or may not cover your local bodies of water and known restrictions, etc.

seaplanepilotsassociation.org

Seaplane Pilots Association - Promoting Safety In The Sky

The Seaplane Foundation is vital to the protection and promotion of seaplane flying. With help from our donors we are moving towards acheiving our goals.
seaplanepilotsassociation.org seaplanepilotsassociation.org

seaplanefoundation.org

Water Landing Directory App - Seaplane Foundation

The goal of this app is to create a convenient, useful and easily managed tool for seaplane pilots to obtain preflight planning information.
seaplanefoundation.org seaplanefoundation.org
 
Possibly there are few if any regulations regarding seaplanes on that specific lake. But that lake isn't really big enough to operate a 206 (especially) more than once in an emergency without raising real noise and safety issues with the neighbors. There will be a thousand reasons raised why not.
 
A few years ago, someone landed on Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis. Minnesota has to be the friendliest place for seaplane pilots. It took the authorities some time to find the right violation to charge: operating a motor vehicle inside a park not on an approved roadway. (Or something like that - it's been a while.)
 
It's too close to Gerald Ford airport I believe? It appears part of the lake is under the inner class charlie airspace.
 
kgruber said:
In 1967, I landed my Super-Cub on "Spirit Lake," next to Mt St Helens. A USFS guy there gave me a "ticket!" On the way home I tossed it out the window, and to this day I am waiting for the cuffs.
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Littering and…? 8)

I’m sure your ticket was gone within 15 years. Probably a little less. (Missing volcano emoji here.)
 
Really depends on who manages the water. Here in N.C. it can be a town, county, power company, army, state, you name it. Very hard to determine where it’s legal to land.
 
I had dreams of using the lake near my house… but it’s a no wake lake, so that’s a non-starter.

Wonder if I could get away with a helo on floats? :)
 
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The seaplane pilots association says Michigan is friendly, but only gives more information to members.

Michigan - Seaplane Pilots Association

Michigan is a seaplane friendly state. There are a lot of lakes and rivers to operate from. There are two fly in events each year. The first is at Otsego Lake near Gaylord on the second weekend of June. The second is on Grand Marais on the north shore of the upper peninsula on the […]
seaplanepilotsassociation.org seaplanepilotsassociation.org

Here's the state law. I didn't read the whole thing, but it seems to be a sort of State preemption that allows local authorities to enact restrictions with state approval.

www.law.cornell.edu

Mich. Admin. Code R. 259.401 - Seaplane Operations

www.law.cornell.edu www.law.cornell.edu
 
You can land on any navigable public lake or waterway in Michigan with the exception of Reeds Lake in East Grand Rapids and I believe Lake Angelus (but it may be another lake) on the east side of the state. Both of those are wholly owned or encompassed by the city so they govern what goes on in them or on them. It is nothing to do with the proximity to GRR because I was looking at a seaplane a few years ago and the tower guys told me I could take off on the Thornapple River which is right next to the airport without an issue just needed a phone call before departure.
 
It really depends on who owns the lake. Some are owned by the US Corps of Engineers, state, county, city, or private. Each will have their own rules.
 
midwestpa24 said:
It really depends on who owns the lake. Some are owned by the US Corps of Engineers, state, county, city, or private. Each will have their own rules.
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It actually depends on state law. In Texas, for example, seaplanes can land on any lake where boats are allowed, and no local regulation is allowed.
 
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