AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 52

PILOT BRIEFING
SUPER CUB SWEEPSTAKES

|

Sea wings
Testing the waters with a seaplane rating
B Y A LY S S A J. C O B B
I FELT LIKE A drunken sailor trying to walk on a swaying balance
beam while my seaplane instructor hopped around effortlessly on
the amphibious PA-12 Super Cruiser's floats. He was introducing
me to preflighting an aircraft on the water.
Tres Clinton, an instructor at ProMark Aviation Services
in Burnet, Texas, just northwest of Austin, had flown to Lake
Buchanan to pick me up at Canyon of the Eagles resort's dock.
We were to begin our two-day training program to prepare me for
the single-engine sea add-on. ProMark is donating seaplane training to the AOPA Super Cub Sweepstakes winner.
As we walked around on the floats, my first goal-to earn the
seaplane rating-was quickly eclipsed by another, more immediate goal: Don't fall in. After checking the float attach points to
the aircraft, fuel, and oil, I climbed inside the tandem two-seater
while Clinton pushed us back from the dock. I felt much more at
ease inside the aircraft.
"We're going to have fun first," Clinton had assured me, "and
learn something along the way."
During our first day of practicing glassy- and rough-water and
confined-area takeoffs and landings, Clinton worked in a break

CONTRIBUTORS
ProMark Aviation Services www.promarkaviation.net
Wipaire www.wipaire.com

52 | AOPA PILOT October 2018

EMAIL alyssa.cobb@aopa.org

SEAPLANE TRAINING
FOR THE WINNER

ProMark Aviation Services, owned by designated pilot examiner Ken Wittekiend, at Burnet Municipal Airport (BMQ) in the
Texas hill country, is donating training toward the seaplane
rating to the AOPA Sweepstakes Super Cub winner. Conveniently located less than 10 miles from Lake Buchanan, Inks
Lake, Lake LBJ, and the Colorado River, the school will offer
training in the sweepstakes PA-18 or in its Piper PA-12 Super
Cruiser, which is similar. The Sweepstakes Super Cub includes
Wipaire's amphibious Wipline 2100 floats, which are the same
floats on ProMark's Super Cruiser, making it ideal to train in for
the specific considerations amphibs demand.
-AJC

JANET DAVIDSON

Visit the AOPA Super Cub Sweepstakes webpage to see
photos of the latest adventures in the PA-18 along with a
complete list of generous contributors.
www.aopa.org/sweeps

to test the stick-and-rudder and aeronautical decisionmaking skills I had learned so far, while introducing a
new task: figure out how to land on the Colorado River,
taxi under a bridge, and dock so that we could eat lunch
at the River City Grille overlooking the water. Multiple
obstructions, including power lines, a dam, the bridge
itself, and 100-foot-high cliffs on either side of the river
provided a real challenge as I planned my approach and
landing on the water.
Mooring, docking, beaching, and ramping proved
the most difficult. Mooring is a game of timing and
energy management to prepare newbies for docking. My
assignment was to taxi to a buoy, shut down the aircraft,
unbuckle, step out onto the float, and touch the buoy-without falling in the water. The first time, simply getting out of the seat belt
and shoulder harness and stepping onto the float was hair-raising enough. After numerous attempts at mooring-many of which
produced chuckles from my instructor in the rear seat-before
trying docking again, I understood why Clinton commented that
"the skill of a pilot isn't judged anymore on your landing, it's your
docking." Docking is more difficult!
At the end of my training, I touched down on Lake Buchanan a
few minutes before sunset and slowly glided to the dock at Canyon
of the Eagles, effortlessly getting out of the aircraft and walking along
the float to the dock and pulling us to the side. Now a newly minted
seaplane pilot, I've built up my sea legs, and I haven't fallen in-yet.


http://www.promarkaviation.net http://www.wipaire.com http://www.aopa.org/sweeps

AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018

Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - Intro
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - Cover1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - Cover2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 4
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 5
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 6
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 7
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 8
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 9
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 10
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 11
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 12
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 13
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 14
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 15
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 16
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 17
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 18
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 19
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 20
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 21
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 22
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 23
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 24
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 25
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 26
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 27
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 28
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 29
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 30
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 31
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 32
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 33
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 34
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 35
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 36
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 37
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 38
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 39
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 40
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 41
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 42
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 43
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 44
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 45
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 46
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 47
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 48
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 49
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 50
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 51
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 52
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 53
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 54
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 55
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 56
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - R-1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - R-2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - R-3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - R-4
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - R-5
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - R-6
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - R-7
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - R-8
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 57
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 58
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 59
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 60
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 61
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 62
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 63
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 64
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 65
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 66
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 67
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 68
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 69
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 70
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 71
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 72
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 73
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 74
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 75
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 76
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 77
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 78
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 79
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 80
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 81
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 82
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 83
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 84
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 85
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 86
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 87
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 88
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 89
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 90
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 91
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 92
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 93
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 94
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 95
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 96
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 97
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 98
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 99
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 100
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 101
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 102
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 103
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 104
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 105
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 106
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 107
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 108
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 109
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 110
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 111
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - 112
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - Cover3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2018 - Cover4
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