Airplanes: Floatplane Season
My favorite time of the year is floatplane season. It’s when a handful of my neighbors land and take off several times a day on the river behind my Yukon cabin. They fly homebuilt aircraft as well as classics like the Piper Super Cub and Cessna 182. I’m often at the big picture window with my binoculars announcing to no one in particular, “That’s the outfitter again, coming in to load up another group of fisherman.” Or, “Must be 15 knots out there. Look at him-- he’s on the step already!”
Airplanes: Glassy Water Landings
We haven’t had much of a summer in this northern country. The leaves are already changing and I can count on two hands the number of calm, warm days we’ve had since spring. For the floatplane pilots around here, that’s not entirely a bad thing. After all, a little wind is great for takeoffs and landings, and calm days bring glassy water. Glassy water makes depth perception nearly impossible, often resulting in bone jarring or lethal landings.
Airports Are Not Just for Waiting Anymore
Recently, I spent 24 hours at Vancouver Airport during a layover. Though I truly love airplanes and flying, I don’t like hanging out at airports for more than a few hours. And what I really don’t like is trying to sleep beneath bright fluorescent lights amid the noise of a busy terminal. I pride myself on being an experienced traveler, but I learned something the other day. If only I’d known about it while I spent those tedious 24 hours at the airport.
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