This is a rather long story, but I won't try to tell the whole thing here because it should appear in Kitplanes magazine in a few months. The quick version is that I got wind of a fly-in for SeaRey owners and builders.  I was interested right away because it was a Kitplanes article about a SeaRey back in 1996 that prompted me to take flying lessons.  I'd been pondering Life and Where To Live and such Things, and that article suddenly gave me a moment of clarity in which I saw a lawn sloping up from the water, a SeaRey taxiing up on it, and somewhere just out of sight there was a house...  Suddenly everything seemed clear and pure, and I knew what to do.  The vision of that little two-place homebuilt amphibious flying boat kept me focused through flight training, the FAA written exam, and the checkride.  Since then I've been for rides in a couple of SeaRey, but was never quite certain that it was the sort of airplane I really wanted to own or build.  Last fall I got a seaplane rating, though, and since then I've been looking pretty seriously for some kind of seaplane.  All airplanes seem to be compromises, though.  I wanted an amphibian, but didn't particularly like either the height of amphibious floats or the tandem seating of the floatplanes I could afford.  The Lake is nice, but it's relatively expensive to buy and maintain.  Etc., etc., etc.  I thought and thought.  I flew different airplanes.  I read books and magazines.  I talked with people.

Then I heard about this SeaRey fly-in at Garner's Landing, 1FL0, near Winter Haven, Florida.  I emailed the Kitplanes editor, who seemed interested in an article, packed a few clothes and a couple of cameras, and hit the road.

Most of the story will (I hope) be in the magazine, but I'll just say that in addition to talking with the some 30 SeaRey owners who attended the fly-in and looking over lots of the little planes. I also flew a SeaRey for a few minutes.  I had been concerned about how they handle on paved runways--because that was the only reservation that anyone I've talked with seemed to have about the airplane.  They all said it handles beautifully on water and grass, but were less enthusiastic about pavement.  So I got Kerry Richter, the designer to take me over to the Winter Haven airport.  He landed--uneventfully--and I taxied the SeaRey back around on the paved taxiway to the runway and did the take off.  I found the SeaRey to be much easier to handle than the Citabria in which I got my tailwheel training.  And in the air it flew similarly, except for needing less rudder input.  And of course the visibility from the cockpit is terrific.

All right, here are a few more photos to give you an idea of what I found at the fly-in.

One on the beach, one landing.

Beginning of a "high speed" pass--flat out at maybe 110 mph

 

The same SeaRey as above passing by, showing the hull, sponsons and retracted landing gear.

Dan Nickens flew this SeaRey on a 3000 mile trip up the Mississippi and into Canada last year.  He said that at one point he thought about flying a straight course up the river, but then, he said, "I realized that getting there fast wasn't the point, so I stayed with the river."

 

The prettiest paint job, Frank Gacy's SeaRey, showing one of the things I don't like--the exposed engine.

 

Matt Toia's answer to the exposed engine.  He's selling these cowlings.  This SeaRey also has an inflight adjustable, reversible prop, so he can back up in the water.  It also has a full IFR panel and a 3-axis autopilot.

Oh, and about my search for a seaplane?  Well, I hope it's over--at any rate, despite some reservations I've ordered a SeaRey kit and expect to begin building it as soon as it arrives.
 

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