Flight Training - January/February 2025 - 49

COMMUNITY TIES
SCHOLARSHIP HIGHLIGHT
The author was a recipient of a new
scholarship offered by The ALF Girl Project
which was initiated to honor the late Alice
Lawrence Forbes. Alice supported the
99s and spent over 4,000 hours flying
with her husband. The program is being
administered by the Katahdin Wing of
the 99s, and recipients must be at least a
private pilot and a member of the Katahdin
Wing or New England Wing of the 99s.
katahdinwings.org/contact-us
of trying to outclimb terrain. Flexibility
and a sharp eye to judge conditions will be
the guiding rule, and safe maneuvering at
slow speeds with no room for sloppiness is
required from day one-an essential skill
for any pilot to master.
Undertaking seaplane training doesn't
View the video
quick and accurate decisions in any situation,
in any aircraft and environment.
Seaplanes teach and demand
precision. In glassy water landings, for
example, when the still surface limits
depth perception, you can't wait till the
last minute to set up approaches or fix
one that's sloppy-flaps, trim, and power
settings must be established earlier to
give yourself time to fine tune them to
the speed and glideslope you want for a
stabilized descent. Taking the pressure
off yourself early and resisting the urge
to " wing it " pays off. When you're in an
airplane at or near gross weight with floats
that cause a lot of drag and yaw instability,
sinking like a rock, methodical precision is
necessary when hugging terrain and flying
lower to get that shallower approach for
better height judgment.
Tackling the specific challenges of
seaplane operation in an instructional
environment provides the safe space to
get comfortable in the farther edges of
the aircraft's envelope. In confined-area
landing and takeoffs, for example, you will
not only need to come in steep with full
flaps over the shoreline or trees to ensure
a touchdown point maximizing available
space, but your takeoff may not even be
in a straight line, perhaps necessitating a
shallow turn because of terrain or wind, or
a climb in a circle over the water instead
mean you absolutely must complete a full
course and take the checkride to earn a
rating. If that's your goal, wonderful, but
it's also fine to take a few lessons to get the
experience without the looming stress of
a checkride. Any experience in seaplane
operation will expand your comfort zone
and raise your baseline ability of the number
of tasks you can handle and information
you can process at once. Getting back into a
landplane feels much more manageable and
confidence-building when you are armed
with this stronger and expanded skillset.
Make it a point to seek out the chance
to feel at home with the trees and sparking
water, coasting over the blur of shore
and surface for that smooth touchdown.
Having this much fun while strengthening
mental muscle with skills valuable for a
lifetime makes seaplane flying an ultimate
bucket-list item for pilots, no matter where
their aviation journey takes them. FT
EMMA QUEDZUWEIT is tailwheel-endorsed,
seaplane-rated private pilot and historical
researcher.
Seaplane training is challenging but offers
valuable skills that can improve your technique
and enhance other aspects of your flying.
FLIGHT TRAINING JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2025 49
http://www.katahdinwings.org/contact-us
Flight Training - January/February 2025

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - January/February 2025
