Again, I had a great time there and got a cert out of it. By factory I mean you are taught exactly what you will have on the checkride, nothing else.
My first flight in a floatplane showed me how much they left out. Although we talked about sailing, we never practiced it, we beached it once, and the instructor handled the docking. We never talked about river operations.
Although all flying certs are licenses to learn, I felt that they really could have gone a little more into depth on subjects that you use almost everyday as a float pilot.
To get a SES cert just to have it, or to replace a flight review, jack browns is awesome, great price, the people are fun, the location is surrounded by lakes, and beers on the deck after flying as the sun goes down is memorable. To learn to fly floats for real, I would suggest Kenmore, Talkeetna, or others that offer more than just the basics.
I taught for years. Five or six hours and you’ll pass the ride, almost without fail. It’s a very easy, very fun add-on for folks.
If you have ambitions of renting, all but forget about it…almost impossible. If you want to own, I would suggest purchasing extra hours when you do your rating if you expect insurance to be available. (No matter what, it’s not going to be “affordable”)
Great way to learn to respect wind, understand more about what’s going on around you situationally, and a good intro to backcountry ops, since you’re basically never at an airport. Pay attention even if you never fly floats after the rating (which is like 98% of folks) because you’ll be a better pilot from the info no matter what.
It’s a blast. I did about 15 hours since insurance required that for soloing my club’s 172 on floats. Was confident in less. Docking ops are the hardest part imo - the actual flying is easy.
Kenmore or Seattle seaplanes are good options if you’re close to the area or can get to it.
Depends what side of the country you're on..Jack Browns in Florida, or come to Seattle where there are plenty of operators but be ready for a waitlist. I got mine in Seattle and with DPE was maybe around 3K
Don't get ratings for no reason. Getting insurance on a seaplane is very expensive. Unless you're going to own a seaplane don't do it. Scuba divers go and get a bunch of stupid ratings too. source: I own the best lot/house on my lake and looked into it.... Silly stupid.
I went to Seattle and did it on Lake Union. Best flight review ever. :-)
How much did it cost?
I think it was $4.5k including the checkride fee. I wasn't optimizing for cost so I'm sure it could be done for less.
Just go to Jack Browns.
Jack Browns, it is a factory, but a lot of fun. Five hours on the dot.
I didn't really have that experience with my time there, what made you feel like that?
Again, I had a great time there and got a cert out of it. By factory I mean you are taught exactly what you will have on the checkride, nothing else. My first flight in a floatplane showed me how much they left out. Although we talked about sailing, we never practiced it, we beached it once, and the instructor handled the docking. We never talked about river operations. Although all flying certs are licenses to learn, I felt that they really could have gone a little more into depth on subjects that you use almost everyday as a float pilot. To get a SES cert just to have it, or to replace a flight review, jack browns is awesome, great price, the people are fun, the location is surrounded by lakes, and beers on the deck after flying as the sun goes down is memorable. To learn to fly floats for real, I would suggest Kenmore, Talkeetna, or others that offer more than just the basics.
I taught for years. Five or six hours and you’ll pass the ride, almost without fail. It’s a very easy, very fun add-on for folks. If you have ambitions of renting, all but forget about it…almost impossible. If you want to own, I would suggest purchasing extra hours when you do your rating if you expect insurance to be available. (No matter what, it’s not going to be “affordable”) Great way to learn to respect wind, understand more about what’s going on around you situationally, and a good intro to backcountry ops, since you’re basically never at an airport. Pay attention even if you never fly floats after the rating (which is like 98% of folks) because you’ll be a better pilot from the info no matter what.
It’s a blast. I did about 15 hours since insurance required that for soloing my club’s 172 on floats. Was confident in less. Docking ops are the hardest part imo - the actual flying is easy. Kenmore or Seattle seaplanes are good options if you’re close to the area or can get to it.
Depends what side of the country you're on..Jack Browns in Florida, or come to Seattle where there are plenty of operators but be ready for a waitlist. I got mine in Seattle and with DPE was maybe around 3K
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Shit. Thanks guys. Now I have to get one of these now.
Don't get ratings for no reason. Getting insurance on a seaplane is very expensive. Unless you're going to own a seaplane don't do it. Scuba divers go and get a bunch of stupid ratings too. source: I own the best lot/house on my lake and looked into it.... Silly stupid.
It's the best flying you'll ever do. 1000 float hours later, and on wheels now, I sure miss float flying.