SHORELINES

Flying a floatplane a long distance requires ample time and charting a route with waterside fuel stations. But that's no problem for the fly-it-wet crowd. Like May and Welden, Rutland and her husband have flown to Oshkosh, Wis., for AirVenture, the country's largest aviation show. All kinds of aircraft flock to the event, including scores of floatplanes that join the big "splash-in" on Lake Winnebago. Russell. Today he owns that very plane, along with an "We've also flown it to the big Sun-N-Fun splash-in in amphibious Husky A-1B. He keeps the Husky at the Shelby Lakeland, Fla.," she says. "That's the second largest air show County Airport, using it to train pilots on various lakes in the country." Alabama's closest equivalent is the popular (Lay, Mitchell, Jordan, Logan Martin). He teaches them fall splash-in at Lake Guntersville, where the floatplane base to read the wind on the water, to minimize noise and to be is next to the lakeside airport. courteous to residents and boaters. "We're lucky to have so many accessible lakes in Alabama," Whether they're flying to a splash-in, a shoreline restaurant or golf course, or (as Bob May does) spotting Welden says. "I've taught pilots from all over the world here. trash from on high for volunteers to remove in the annual It's easier to get this training in the U.S. and fuel is cheaper." Renew Our Rivers lake cleanup, these pilots use their Floatplane pilots who regularly land on Smith Lake include floatplanes to good advantage. They can and do hop a Birmingham doctor and a FedEx pilot whose plane is actually across the country, but their favorite places to land are the the other kind of seaplane, a flying boat, which has a floating waterways of Alabama. fuselage and pontoon-like stabilizers that keep the wingtips out — Jeff Book of the water. You're most likely to spot the vintage Piper J-3 Cub owned by Sara Rutland, her husband, Glen, and their partner in Shoreline Aviation Services, Alton Brown. All are high-rated For more photos of floatplanes, visit Alabama Power's NewsCenter. alabamapowernews.com professional pilots who love the seat-of-the-pants style of flying floatplanes. They use a modified World War II bomb dolly to carry their Cub between its lakeside hangar and the water — a perfect match for the aircraft, she explains. "This little airplane is what World War II pilots learned in. When you fly it you're flying a piece of history," she says. "For those of us who fly for a living, flying is working. This plane reminds you why you wanted to fly in the first place — it's fun. When I got my floatplane rating I spent the whole time laughing." Above: Photo by Bernard Troncale — Charles Welden flies over Lay Lake. Above right: Photo by Bernard Troncale — The control panel of a floatplane. S hor el i ne s | 2013 Vol:4 17

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