 |
| Matt McFadden of Naples Seaplane Adventures prepares to land on Sebago Long Lake in his Cessna 180 Skywagon. COURTESY PHOTO |
When you think about what the ultimate off-road vehicle is, you probably do not
imagine that you see them every summer. Odds are if you live in either Windham
or Raymond, that ultimate off-road vehicle is the seaplane.
Every summer, seaplanes frequently fly in and out of Sebago Lake. However, we usually just admire from afar and take in what we are watching. We don’t take the time to think about everything that goes on behind the scenes when it comes to flying seaplanes, such as the challenges of landing on water, what kind of cargo they carry, and the simple fact that there is an entire organization dedicated to seaplane pilots called the Seaplane Pilots Association.
This summer is actually going to be a big one for the Seaplane Pilots Association as they will be celebrating their 50th anniversary. Since 1972, the SPA has been protecting and promoting the water flying community through its advocacy and representation of the seaplane community. It’s the only organization in the world solely focused on representing the interests of seaplane pilots, owners and operators.
The SPA obviously does a lot of work in the state of Maine when it comes to finding waterways to land on like our very own Sebago Lake, and also offering safety seminars for seaplane pilots like Matthew McFadden. McFadden moved to the Lakes Region area 21 years ago to learn how to fly seaplanes, and he did so at Naples Seaplane Service.
For his first nine years there he worked as a flight instructor teaching how to fly seaplanes and for the past eight years he has been operating Naples Seaplane Adventures where they offer scenic seaplane rides right off the causeway in Naples. There, as both a commercial pilot and certified aircraft technician, McFadden does everything that the business requires.
Another seaplane pilot in the Lakes Region area is Peter Marucci. Marucci
currently runs a scenic business out of Colonial Mast Cove Campground in Naples
under the name of Mast Cove Seaplane Base on Long Lake. Marucci’s parents
bought the campground 44 years ago when he was a teenager, and he started
working as a mechanic before ultimately becoming a pilot, and with his parents
owning a campground, he found that to be a great place to have a seaplane.
There are many challenges when it comes to actually landing a plane on water,
and both McFadden and Marucci are experienced pilots when landing aircraft in
the Lakes Region.
Marucci agreed.
“The first important thing to know is how to read the water, and the second is
that there’s no brakes,” said Marucci. “The most difficult thing is learning
how to handle the airplane while it’s docking on the water, and because of
that, I always try to keep my skills polished and land on Sebago Lake a couple
of times a year.”
Just like landing on water is very different from landing on solid ground,
flying a seaplane is different from flying a regular plane and through hours of
training, Marucci has acquired that skill.
“It’s not about flying the airplane, it’s about the skills of handling the
airplane on the water,” said Marucci. “It comes with time as wind and weather
conditions change quickly, and after 18 years, I am still learning.”
Another general assumption when it comes to seaplanes is that they are just
used for flying passengers in the summer, but McFadden said that they are used
for much more.
“As for the cargo some seaplanes carry, it can really be a laundry list at
times,” said McFadden. “They may need stuff at camp on a lake, like fishing
supplies, and or passengers. You name it, it probably has been hauled in the
air by a seaplane.” <
No comments:
Post a Comment