CHALLENGES Plus— View the video. S t r e t c h yo u r s k i l l s by t r y i n g a n ew fo r m o f f l i g h t River L et’s all tip our caps to aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss, who was one of the first to brainstorm the possibility of marrying a boat to an airplane. Curtiss attached pontoons to a biplane and managed to get airborne in 1911, and pilots have enjoyed both the utility and the fun of being able to land and take off on water ever since. A seaplane rating has been on my to-do list for about as long as I’ve had a pilot certificate, but the time commitment to travel to Florida or Maine or Alaska had put the project on a way-far-back burner. When this installment of AOPA Pilot’s “Challenge” series came to me, I decided to see if there were any floatplane instructors in Maryland. After all, the PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS ROSE dance Floatplane flying combines the best of both worlds BY JILL W. TALLMAN AOPA PILOT • 79 • DECEMBER 2011