Water Flying Aviation Podcast

Dan Dufault sits down with Steve McCaughey for this episode of the Water Flying podcast. As a former Maine Game Warden, Alaska lodge pilot and floatplane adventurer, Dan has a wealth of experience and and engineering background that has lead him to design innovative products such as the T3 Tailwheel, Paddle Pump and numerous other products used by passionate bush pilots. From stocking fisheries vi...

Gregg Munro Chairman of Kenmore Air Harbor was, quite literally, born into the Kenmore Air family. He grew up on the banks of Lake Washington, surrounded by mechanics, and seaplanes. In this episode, of the Water Flying podcast Gregg sits down with Steve McCaughey to discuss the amazing history, flights and services Kenmore has provided over the years. For more than 75 years Kenmore has been an in...

Robert Grant joins us on this episode of the Water Flying podcast. Robert is a regular feature writer with WaterFlying magazine, he has logged over 20,000 of flight time, 6,000 hours of seaplane time - 3,000+ of which he did in the Turbo Beaver flying for the Ontario (Canada) Ministry of Natural Resources. Join us as Robert shares his experiences flying these amazing seaplanes in the Canadian bush...

Turbine Grumman Gooses are ultra rare, and Doug DeVries not only spent 10 years restoring one but also has taken this G21G on a series of incredible adventures. In this episode of SPA's WaterFlying podcast, I sit down with Doug to discuss restoring the Goose, learning to fly it, and embarking on a flying boat adventure to the outer most Aleutian islands. Doug has an amazing passion and commitment...

David L. Johnston joins Steve McCaughey in this WaterFlying podcast to discuss his experiences as a dock boy for Avalon Air Transport (Catalina Air Lines), which at the time operated a fleet of Grumman Gooses as well as the incredible Sikorsky VS-44 four-engine flying boat. In addition to working the seaplane dock between 1962 and 1968, David has become a passionate aviation historian of the long...

Having conducted over 19,000 seaplane checkrides; more than anyone else in history - Jon Brown is a true seaplane legend. In this episode of Water Flying, Jon joins Steve McCaughey for a reflection on his 48 years as a seaplane examiner. Jon's father opened Jack Brown's Seaplane Base, the world's most active seaplane school in 1963. Now, 60 years later business is stronger than ever. This a must-h...

Photos of seaplanes have a magical allure that attracts people to them like a magnet, and this is a well known secret among marketing agencies, movie & tv producers and aviation magazines like AOPA Pilot, EAA Sport Pilot and Flying among others. Mark Twombly, editor of "WaterFlying" magazine joins Steve McCaughey for an exploration of how to capture great seaplane photos. Whether you are shoot...

Charlie Hammonds joins Steve to discuss the little known history of the massive floatplane community that used to exist in Louisiana. Over 300 seaplanes worked the oil fields with extremely demanding conditions including weather, night operations, and risky dockings. Charlie was one of the pioneers of the floatplane community starting a commercial seaplane operation, base and flight school when he...

Kaylab Verdin from Fire and Medical Training Centre in Houma, Louisiana joins Steve McCaughey to talk about the AUET (Aircraft Underwater Escape Training) for seaplanes that they provide in their Triton training system. Leading by example SPA's Board member's recently joined SPA staff members Steve McCaughey and Carter Clay for this invaluable training for seaplane pilots. This discussion explores...

SPA Lifetime Member Dave Wellman returns for a fascinating account of his attempt to fly a straight float Cessna 172 across the United States. In part 1 of Dave's journey, we discussed the inception of the idea, the planning and preparation and the training that took place before he started this epic journey east bound from Washington state to Maine to attend the Greenville International Seaplane...

SPA Lifetime Member Dave Wellman joins us on this episode of Water Flying to explore whether or not it is possible to fly a straight float seaplane across the United States. This is the first of a two part episode exploring Dave's attempt to fly a straight float Cessna 172 from Washington state to Maine. This is the kind of adventure many seaplane pilots dream of getting the chance to embark on. W...

SPA's event and volunteer coordinator Carter Clay, joins Steve to discuss the opportunities, and many of the needs the Seaplane Pilots Association has for volunteers in 2023. Volunteers are the real horsepower of non-profits like the Seaplane Pilots Association, and we have numerous ways you can put your passion into action helping the Water Flying community. Whether you volunteer for a single eve...

Seaplane Pilots Association Chairman Steve Williams joins Steve McCaughey for a 2022 "Year in Review." As the last episode of the year we always like to take time to provide a very condensed and shortened version of our activities during the year. As always, 2022 was a busy year dividing our time, energy and resources between in person events, safety & education, communications activities such...

Steve McCaughey is joined by Peter Christie, Slade Rosamond, and Carter Clay to discuss their lessons and experiences learned flying with Steve on a 5,000 mile seaplane cross country. The Super Cub's first stretch was flown by Slade from home base in Winter Haven, FL to 19-Mile Bay, NH in support of keeping the Lake Winnipesaukee bay open. After the public hearing in New Hampshire the plane was fl...

Todd Rust the owner and operator of Rust's Flying Service the largest seaplane operator in Alaska joins Steve for a fascinating discussion of the history of Rust's and the unique experiences that you can have when flying with them. From glaciers to beluga whales, moose and bears when you fly with the largest off-airport operator in the United States every flight is a dream come true for those seek...

Brian Flegel, Chief Flight Instructor at Kenmore Air, joins Steve for an exploration of seaplane training at their facility in Kenmore, Washington. Brian's journey to becoming the Chief Flight Instructor at Kenmore is a true success story not only for him, but also for the effectiveness of the Seaplane Pilots Association's seminar and workshop programs. This is both an informative podcast for thos...

Winter seaplane operations are the focus of this episode of Water Flying. Curt Sneddeker, the Maintenance Department Manager at Wipaire in South Saint Paul, Minnesota joins me to discuss useful tips for seaplane owners to conduct for protecting their aircraft during winter operations. With over 40 years of aviation maintenance experience and over 20 years specializing in s...

Richard McSpadden, the Executive Director of the AOPA Aviation Safety Institute, joins us on this episode of Water Flying to discuss the results of the recent Seaplane Study the Seaplane Pilots Association partnered with ASI to conduct. In this episode, Richard and Steve McCaughey review some of the most important results of this study. These results will guide our areas of focus as we develop fut...

Kelli O Donnell is a passionate Seaplane Pilots Association volunteer, marine biologist with NOAA fisheries and is dedicated to helping more women enter the wonderful world of seaplane flying. In this episode of Water Flying, we will discuss the Seaplane Sirens (Women who charm the winds) Facebook group and how it is serving women who want to join our seaplane flying community.

Roger Paradise from Currier's Flying Service sits down with Steve in Currier’s hangar lakeside Moosehead Lake in Greenville, Maine, for this episode of Water Flying. Currier's is currently operating two ultra-rare Cessna 195s on floats as well as a De Havilland Beaver and couple of Cessna 180s on floats. Learn what kind of challenges Roger faces operating this historic seaplane service flying vint...

Missy Lee from Alaska Floats & Skis @AK8 joins Water Flying on this episode to discuss the unique experience pilots will have flying with them in Talkeetna, Alaska. Whether it be remote river bar landings, landing on roads, ski operations, or seaplane training, pilots flying with Alaska Floats & Skis will expand their flying horizons! https://www.alaskafloats.com

John Gowey, Director of Flight Operations at Kenmore Air Harbor, joins me for an in-depth discussion on how the wind affects seaplane operations. How to properly read wind direction on the water and align correctly for a safe landing into the wind. Additionally, what you need to know about wind sheer which occurs when wind flows over and around terrain or other vertical obstructions and how this w...

The Birches is a must visit seaplane friendly resort in northern Maine and a frequent destination for the Seaplane Pilots Association. John Willard who owns this amazing resort joins us on this episode of Water Flying. John is a passionate seaplane pilot and owner operator and has worked tirelessly to create a resort that offers a seaplane destination seaplane with a marina, gravel strip, numerous...

Steve Williams from Acme Cub joins Steve at Lake Hood to discuss the in-depth seaplane instruction that they provide in Alaska. The sheer number of seaplanes and seaplane operations at Lake Hood is unlike any other seaplane base in the world, but it share the strong sense of community that seaplane pilots are known for. With well over 17,000 hours of backcountry Alaska on big tires and floats Stev...

SPA Field Director, Don Goodman, joins Steve to discuss seaplane flying opportunities in the Pacific Northwest. A mountain climbing expedition ignited Don's interest in pursuing his pilots license, and lead to Don owning a Cessna 182 on straight floats. From boarder crossings to island destinations and even inland alpine lakes the Pacific Northwest abounds with a diverse variety of seaplane flying...