@ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Float Rating in Ontario

[Skyhunter]

if I am lucky in a plane I build myself. Am I going to go get hours of training... planning only on the minimum the insurance company will require. Pretty sure I can figure the rest out with time and experience, keeping things simple at first and trying harder stuff as get some experience.

It is said that you start out with a full bag of luck, and an empty bag of experience, and the trick is to fill the bag of experience faster than you empty the bag of luck.

In my opinion, the very modest requirements for seaplane skills demonstration are an inadequate attempt to assure that the new float pilot has had some exposure to differing conditions. Yes, most pilots can go and take the float training in a few days, and build those skills in similar conditions, and somewhat by rote. The challenge is that much more so that airports, or even the dreaded grass strips, water landings nearly always involve landing "away", where there is less "help" and familiar surroundings. Thus, more opportunity for things to go wrong fast, and much less resource in help. A plane off the side of a runway does not sink or drift away, the way a floatplane with a sunk float will. It's easy to get the landplane from the shoulder of the runway to "safety". Much more so than the half submerged plane 10 or more miles from a road.

Yes, working up from simple to harder is excellent, as long as one recognizes the "harder" and succeeds in avoiding it for a while. Maybe not as easy as it sounds. In my opinion, there is much more need for qualified mentoring in float flying than landplane flying. That translates to the new floatplane pilot should be allocating the time to learn more in a training/mentoring environment, not just the insurance minimums.

Funny I have learned a lot in aviation, and all the most important lessons have been while flying solo, unsupervised, and there is a good chance that if "supervised" I may not have learned them. And yes I do think going from simple to harder stuff is as easy as it sounds. Frankly I enjoy the challenge of teaching myself new things and pushing boundaries. I think there is something to be said in doing things in the minimum time and then learning on your own. If 5th flight in the hornet you can go solo pretty sure with a 6 hours of float instruction one can learn the basics to go build experience on their own if you have the right respect for the plane and a little bit of built in self preservation. Someone was the first to it, if they did so can I.

[Cat Driver]

So using that mindset why would anyone need training if you can just train yourself?

[PilotDAR]

Nothing I wrote said that you should not go solo, that is a vital element of skill building, when, as you correctly point out, you learn the most important lessons. But, meeting the minimum instruction requirements, going solo, and never seeking out more instruction is a short sighted attitude, in my opinion.

If a pilot receives the minimum instruction, and thereafter successfully flies a career with no more training, and no trouble, that demonstrates that they learned well, and then were cautious to fly in conditions which were within their skills. Good for them. They recognized their limitations, and worked within them. It's not ideal to not grow one's skills with more instruction, but it's okay.

The very nature of water flying will present you with conditions that you simply do not have time to cover during training. More instruction/mentoring - post solo - is desirable for water flying. Allow me to present one single real world example I witnessed decades ago, which causes me to steadfastly maintain the "you can never know enough" spirit:

About 30 years ago, as only a few hundred hour, and not yet seaplane rated pilot, I sat waiting in a Transport Canada waiting area for some long forgotten objective. A senior TC inspector, whom I present here as example of a really experienced and caring TC staff member, long since retired, but never forgotten - Jim Pengelly Sr. He brought out a flight permit to another fellow who was waiting across for me.

The flight permit would enable this fellow to ferry a float plane from Ontario to a Caribbean destination. Jim very politely probed this ferry pilot's experience. It sounded modest at best. Jim offered up some very sound advice to this pilot, and I realized a gold mine of wisdom was passing in front of me - for free. I took notes. Among the many things that Jim told this pilot, was that after you have chosen your landing area, but before you land, on a new lake, you sketch that lake, with a rough representation of the bays and arms, their relative dimensions, any hazards you might have observed, and finally where on that sketch, you will land. His reality was that once on the water, it's going to look very different, and you may have a terrible time finding the most safe takeoff path. You no longer have the benefit of the view from above. I never forgot Jim's kindness in mentoring this pilot, and the lesson I learned that day, not only about wise water flying, but the importance of mentoring. I'm certain that Jim's kindness prevented an unhappy event.

All the senior pilots know that the lesser experienced pilots want to go, and flex their wings, and be free of the tyranny of instructor oversight. Okay, you demonstrated the skills, met the minimums, and are insured - go ahead. But before you get too far into it, come back for more wisdom!

I can assure you that my water flying experience pales compared to others on this forum - indeed, my experience on the whole. I regularly annoy my more experienced mentors with requests for their wisdom - I'm not proud. Another poster on this thread is one of the best sources of float flying experience you will ever find. He has been very generous with his hospitality and wisdom to me. Wisdom is there for you and others too, as long as you are willing to seek it out to fill your bag of experience.