Have been thinking really hard the past couple of weeks about buying a float plane. Suddenly, it hit me. Where the f*** do I park this thing? Obviously Lake Hood is out of the question as I'd have to wait ~20+ years for a slip spot. Is anyone aware of other nearby lakes with slip rentals? As of now, I'm thinking my only options are to either buy land off of a lake, wait 20 years for a spot at Hood, or buy a trailer and rent a tie-down spot to store the plane on after every trip. Thoughts?

Post a wanted ad on alaskaslist. If you have base access you can use 6 mile lake on Elmendorf.

Many folks have plane on a trailer...transfer from land to water and back again for flight. Some friends do that, and still manage around 70 hrs a year. It sounds like a PITA, and while a slip certainly would be nicer, the trailer option is very doable..

seward wrote:Many folks have plane on a trailer...transfer from land to water and back again for flight. Some friends do that, and still manage around 70 hrs a year. It sounds like a PITA, and while a slip certainly would be nicer, the trailer option is very doable..

That's what I was afraid of. I don't mind it, just not ideal. PITA seems right. Unfortunately, I don't have access to Elmendorf's 6 mile lake either.

Yes. If the conversion was not so expensive I would try to get a float kit and floats for my 182 and try them for a few years anyway. It would be nice....while it would make more financial sense to just get something already on floats, I would have to sell the 182 to help with costs. Dont want to do that....

its only money!

There can be space available from the bigger lease holders on hood. It’s best to ask most of them earlier before they fill up. Alaska Airmen’s, museum, there’s a few others. There’s also transient. Park you plane for a week in transient when your using it a bunch then pull it out on a trailer. Or longer...
Campbell and Sand lake are floatplane friendly but it would take some door knocking to find someone willing to rent their backyard.
Fire lake in eagle river has float plane slips if your willing to drive out there.

PAMR MX wrote:There can be space available from the bigger lease holders on hood. It’s best to ask most of them earlier before they fill up. Alaska Airmen’s, museum, there’s a few others. There’s also transient. Park you plane for a week in transient when your using it a bunch then pull it out on a trailer. Or longer...
Campbell and Sand lake are floatplane friendly but it would take some door knocking to find someone willing to rent their backyard.
Fire lake in eagle river has float plane slips if your willing to drive out there.

Hmm, I will have to check out the deal with the Airmen's Association and the Museum. Read that Fire Lake has flying club which the slips are sold through? I'll need to investigate that option. The transient idea when using the airplane a lot seems like a good idea as well, definitely cuts down on the trailer hassle.

You can check at white wings hangers. West shore of lake hood. I’ve parked there for about four years. And he usually seems to have a spot available. More expensive than from lake hood tie down office but at least you are on the water. While I’ve never done the trailer option I’ve heard it really isn’t that big of a pain in the ass depending on where you are parked.

I'm based at Fire Lake, which is very convenient for me since I live in Eagle River. Of course, how convenient it is for you will depend on where you live in Anchorage. Muldoon area would be convenient while the far side of town would not be. I think the run on the Glenn Hwy is about 12 miles.

D&C Fire Lake Flying Club is the name of the business, but it's not really a club. The slips are a yearly lease and last year was $870. There is avgas on the lake which is a key system, if there are any keys available. Last summer it didn't look like all the slips were even taken. The owner is Chris and he lives on the SE corner of the lake.