allardjd 1,853 Posted March 17, 2012 Report Share Posted March 17, 2012 A Flight in a Beaver - on Floats The Web Site: http://www.lakecountryairservice.com/ The Beaver Song: This was in Mt. Dora, Florida. There’s a guy at the lake with a Beaver on floats (not amphib – pure seaplane) who sells rides and we decided to go for it. $50 per person. The more people aboard (up to 5) the longer the ride. We were fortunate to fall in with a group of three so got the maximum 25 minutes, which includes only actual air time, not taxiing (or is that boating?). He taxied all the way across the lake to take off into the wind, so we got a pretty long boat ride and he demonstrated the effectiveness of the water rudders and how much more difficult it was to taxi with them retracted. It was pretty neat – first time I’ve flown behind a radial. Gross was near 6,000 lbs and he was off in 3,000 feet (his estimate) at 50 knots, which surprised me – I was expecting about 65. He had one notch of flaps out and was showing a tad over 30” MP on takeoff. I assume it was a normally aspirated engine, so that’s all there was. He went to 1200’ and cruised at about 29” and 1800 RPM (failed to note RPMs for takeoff but do remember it was the top of the green arc – may have been around 2400, but not sure). The engine has a 1,600 hour TBO – I asked. I’ll bet that doesn’t come cheap. Engine was a P&W radial and had 9 cylinders, not 7 - a Wasp, I think, but I failed to ask about displacement or horsepower. He never busted 100 knots and did about 85 most of the time with a little nose-up pitch attitude because of the weight. You could sense that the thing is powerful but draggy. There are interesting little trim knobs up in the overhead – like little rubber tires but only about 2-1/2” in diameter – just a thumb and forefinger kind of control. Prime was electric, which surprised me – I expected a manual pump, but in hindsight it would have had to be about the size of a bicycle pump, I suppose. Interestingly, there’s an oil filler cap in the cockpit, near the right seat occupant’s left ankle, coming out of the center console at an angle just a few inches above the floor. I suppose there’s an oil tank down there. I asked how much water the pontoons leaked in a day. He said there are 10 compartments in each and he gets about a quart a day total out of nineteen of them and about a gallon a day out of one about midway along the starboard one. He says it’s always done that and doesn’t seem to change, so he’s OK with it. By the way, the pontoons are quite large. It was a tour over the Harris chain of lakes and was interesting but I wouldn’t have cared if it was over desert or tundra or grassland. I asked for the right seat if no one else wanted it and everyone acceded to that. The pilot gave every indication of being highly competent and experienced. The AC was built in 1957 but was not ratty in any way. He had intercom headsets for everyone. He told me that the fuel burn is about 25 gph. He’s from Minnesota and this was his first season here. He will return there with the plane for the summer, departing here right after Easter. He does something similar there. He will return here in late October. He operates from a dock on the waterfront in Mt. Dora, which is a quaint little tourist-trap of a town with about five blocks of shops, restaurants and watering holes with a look and feel not unlike Key West, but smaller, quieter and not quite so far out on the “edge”. Your wives would love the shopping. John Link to post Share on other sites
ddavid 149 Posted March 17, 2012 Report Share Posted March 17, 2012 Excellent trip, John - Thanks for the photo's and narrative. All I can say is that I'm green with envy!! Cheers - Dai. Link to post Share on other sites
allardjd 1,853 Posted March 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2012 Don't miss the song at the top of the post. It's the best part, almost... John Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,488 Posted March 17, 2012 Report Share Posted March 17, 2012 Hi John, Superb post, Pam looked really happy!? More shots for the digital photo-frame me thinks I cannot believe how cheap that flight was ... and you got the best seat in the house! It's a shame the summer season is further north, otherwise that would be on my itinerary! I have never flown in a radial, I bet it sounded great. Looking forward to watching the video later. Joe Link to post Share on other sites
ddavid 149 Posted March 17, 2012 Report Share Posted March 17, 2012 Don't miss the song at the top of the post. It's the best part, almost... John ... a close second - Thanks for the reminder! Cheers - Dai. Link to post Share on other sites
brett 2,299 Posted March 17, 2012 Report Share Posted March 17, 2012 Thanks John, really enjoyed that. Would love to get the chance to fly in one for real. It's in beautiful shape. I recently purchased the Aerosoft Beaver and have been flying it almost exclusively, sweet aircraft. The procedures and gauges readings were spot on when compared to how I fly it, which was fun to see. There are some good mods availible for the gauges and popups too. I have it set up with a few other things added also, like a pocket watch for timing flights. I added a AP but hardly ever use it she flies so true. Love the video and song too, you know you have a classic, on hand, when they write songs about it. I also got a kick out of the bands name. Link to post Share on other sites
SEATAC 400 Posted March 17, 2012 Report Share Posted March 17, 2012 Awesome! And $50 is a bargain. Great photos John. I'd love to take a ride in that beauty. Looks like you had a Beautiful weather. Thanks for sharing! Link to post Share on other sites
hurricanemk1c 195 Posted March 18, 2012 Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 Excellent shots John - you looked really comfortable in the left and right seat! Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,488 Posted March 18, 2012 Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 Caught up with the the song John, it was quite entertaining! Link to post Share on other sites
Tim_A 997 Posted March 18, 2012 Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 "There's all kinds of things you can throw out the back door of a beaver..." Looks like you dad a grand day out Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,488 Posted March 18, 2012 Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 I'm surprised no-one has said it yet but "Nice Beaver!" Link to post Share on other sites
needles 1,011 Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 You pipped me Joe. And don't call me Shirley. Great pics John.......Jealous. But I have a 1 .5 hour flight coming up in April in a Piper Warrior from EGPE so I'm looking forward to that. Cheers Link to post Share on other sites
allardjd 1,853 Posted March 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 It really was a memorable experience. I didn't even know it was there - we just stumbled on it. Brian, I'm sure you're going to have the time of your life, and that's long enough to really soak it up. John Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now