From the Federal Aviation Administration, Seaplane, Skiplane, and Float/Ski Equipped Helicopter Operations Handbook provides the most up-to-date, definitive information on piloting water-related aircraft. Along with full-color photographs and illustrations, detailed descriptions make complicated tasks easy-to-understand, while the index and glossary provide the perfect reference for finding any topic and solving any issue. The Federal Aviation Administration leaves no question unanswered in the most complete book on how to fly water-related aircraft available on the market. Seaplane, Skiplane, and Float/Ski Equipped Helicopter Operations Handbook is the perfect addition to the bookshelf of all aircraft enthusiasts, FAA fans, and novice and experienced pilots alike.

The basic skills and aeronautical knowledge necessary for piloting airplanes or helicopters on water, snow, or ice are introduced in this official FAA handbook to seaplane operation. Pilots looking to gain their seaplane licenses, rated seaplane pilots wishing to improve their proficiency, and flight instructors engaged in the instruction of both students and transitioning pilots will find this guide indispensable. Clear explanations of seaplane regulations, NAVAIDS, water characteristics, skiplane operations, and emergency open sea operations are included along with information on float and ski-equipped helicopters; these are further enhanced by a glossary, index, and full-color graphics.

Notes of a Seaplane Instructor is a distillation of all the tips, techniques and procedures of a veteran flyer and teacher, in an accessible and informative format. Author Burke Mees has an affinity for the "feel of the floats on the water" and how to communicate it in writing, as well as a sensible, professional approach which lends a truly "one-on-one" aspect to reading his book. All the seaplane maneuvers are covered, starting with preflight, proceeding through taxiing, takeoff, landing, and postflight procedures; also operating in various water conditions, stability of the aircraft on the water, step-taxi and -turn, and much more. Many illustrations, taken from and inspired by the author's own original flight instruction notebook sketches, help to further explain the concepts. In this new second edition, Burke provides even more notes on technique and performance particular to the world of floatplanes, with a special emphasis on safety and the best kind of pilot decision-making processes that keep seaplanes flying. The Second Edition also features an added chapter on multi-engine seaplane flying, and an appendix with notes on "pumping the floats" and "ropes and splicing." What is it like to fly single-engine float planes? How do pilots develop and then hone their water-flying skills? What techniques apply to both landplanes and seaplanes, and which ones belong in only one realm? The answers to these questions comprise a unique approach to seaplane flying, in a book that reveals what floatplane mastery is really all about. Notes of a Seaplane Instructor offers insights to all pilots, from already-rated seaplane pilots to those looking to experience the benefits and pleasures of seaplane flying for the first time.