I noticed this pic on AKTahoe's blog:


Why would anyone do that to their airplane???
Well, in this case it looks like the pilot is flying for Meridian Air out of Homer, so it's somebody elses airplane....

I guess to pick up those surfers but I don't know for sure.

No different than landing floats in the salt water.

Maybe it's a fresh water beach the only plus side I would think about floats in salt water is being able to land in fresh water after, and then wash it, seems like it would flush it pretty good

Tom

gbflyer wrote:I guess to pick up those surfers but I don't know for sure.

No different than landing floats in the salt water.

Not quite. Magnesium, which is used for most of our single engine land plane wheels, does not do well at all when exposed to salt water, let alone being submerged in it. Wheels used on amphibs and a few land planes are aluminum and they are a lot less susceptible to salt water corrosion.

When I took my one and only seaplane lesson in BC 2 years ago, the CFI spent about 15 minutes hosing down the airplane with fresh water after pulling it out. Considering it was an older 172 on straight floats and showed no signs of corrosion, I'd say that was a pretty good preservation tactic. No reason not to do the same thing to the one on the beach.

Cary

blackrock wrote:

gbflyer wrote:I guess to pick up those surfers but I don't know for sure.

No different than landing floats in the salt water.

Not quite. Magnesium, which is used for most of our single engine land plane wheels, does not do well at all when exposed to salt water, let alone being submerged in it. Wheels used on amphibs and a few land planes are aluminum and they are a lot less susceptible to salt water corrosion.

All in the cost of doin' business my man. Some new wheels once in a while are the least of his worries.

Just make sure you get paid a good rate and that Credit Card clears.

My old Citabria spend a lot of time on the beaches and salt air on the west coast of Vancouver Island. I never let the bird see the salt water. The salt in the sand was bad enough! The plane got washed and "shop vac'd" every trip. The sand had enough salt in it to rust out the lower longerons, landing gear parts, and eat the wheels real quick if you didn't clean it out. Zinc Chromate was no match for it...2 part epoxy paint did well though.

It's a harsh environment even if you're not on floats. TLC goes a long way to extending the life of the bird. I loved landing on those beaches and I loved the coast but I'm glad I'm away from it for my plane's sake...although I still visit

There is a c185 in JNU that has over 20k hours on the airframe. It comes off floats long enough to go on skis. There is saltwater everywhere and the pond is brackish. Lots of wash downs with a hose and ACF-50 is a friend. Lots of inspections and new parts. Full - time mechanics. $30K a year insurance. Guess that's why it's something like $400/hour. I can't afford it but apparently somebody can. I agree with the OP, "why" is exactly right.

AKclimber wrote:I noticed this pic on AKTahoe's blog:


Why would anyone do that to their airplane???
Well, in this case it looks like the pilot is flying for Meridian Air out of Homer, so it's somebody elses airplane....

My guess would be they got back to the plane a little late and got cought by the incoming tide.