Big disappointment--just received an email that the Splash-in has had to be postponed. The wind forecast for the weekend in the La Junta area is making safety problematic for seaplane operations. I'll post again as soon as a new date has been determined.

Cary

Cary wrote:Big disappointment--just received an email that the Splash-in has had to be postponed. The wind forecast for the weekend in the La Junta area is making safety problematic for seaplane operations. I'll post again as soon as a new date has been determined.

Cary

Darn. Wanted to see a new lake! Keep on...

It ALWAYS blows like stink in La Junta - and the major crosswind runways are closed and in rough shape. Last time I was in there with my J3 it was blowing 40+kts and I had a wyoming wheel landing crosswise a taxiway. An excruciating ground taxi and i was afraid to get out of the plane and nobody there to help. I still do this day don't know how I wasn't blown off the ramp before i could get her tied down for a bug infested and questionable carpet stained night in the FBO. Still I was so happy to be on the ground - it was probably one of the best sleeps of my aviation career. #thankYouLawdSweetBabyJesus

Just received an email this morning--now rescheduled for June 18th (day before Fathers' Day). There will be a new website up and running in the next couple of days, also: http://www.coseaplanes.org/

Cary

mtv wrote:Well, if nothing else, it'll be entertaining watching folks smoke their motors while using most of that lake for takeoff... . I'd be min fuel and no pax in there if the temps are above the fifties, except for a very few high performance machines.

The balance between creation of sufficient lift while overcoming the massive hydrodynamic drag is a tough battle at that DA, and notwithstanding Cary's comment, I'll bet not many float fliers out there have much experience on the water at that DA.

MTV

Nothing like pissing in somebody's Cheerios!

Most pilots know the capabilities of their machines.
There are plenty of experimental types and ultralights and certified that would be capable.
Zenith, Just, Avid, Rans, Bearhawk......... just to name a few.

I congratulate the effort to get something going in Colorado!!!
Anything to promote aviation helps all of us!

TangoFox wrote:

mtv wrote:Well, if nothing else, it'll be entertaining watching folks smoke their motors while using most of that lake for takeoff... . I'd be min fuel and no pax in there if the temps are above the fifties, except for a very few high performance machines.

The balance between creation of sufficient lift while overcoming the massive hydrodynamic drag is a tough battle at that DA, and notwithstanding Cary's comment, I'll bet not many float fliers out there have much experience on the water at that DA.

MTV

Nothing like pissing in somebody's Cheerios!

Most pilots know the capabilities of their machines.
There are plenty of experimental types and ultralights and certified that would be capable.
Zenith, Just, Avid, Rans, Bearhawk......... just to name a few.

I congratulate the effort to get something going in Colorado!!!
Anything to promote aviation helps all of us!

Yep, an event for amphibious seaplanes only, at a very high density altitude......Lots of Rans, Zeniths, Avids, etc on amphibious floats, right? I can't say that I've ever seen one of those on amphibs.......but maybe..... A Husky will do okay at that DA, and maybe a big engine cub, but any of the four place planes are going to be pretty challenged if it's warm there.

I support aviation in nearly all its forms, but sometimes we try to stretch a bit, and like some other things SPA is working on, I'm not convinced this is a great place to put much effort. Maybe there are places in Colorado where seaplanes could work, but this one doesn't sound like one of them to me.

I don't know about you but I have flown seaplanes at some fairly high density altitudes, and it isn't much fun. And, on amphibs, it's next to impossible to keep them light.

I hope they have a good turn out, and I hope the event works out for them. But to me, I can't imagine Colorado ever being a good place for seaplanes. Opinion only, and yes, you're welcome to yours as well.

MTV

I hope you're wrong, Mike, but I'll report back either way--no "I told you so's" from anyone.

Cary

Cary wrote:I hope you're wrong, Mike, but I'll report back either way--no "I told you so's" from anyone.

Cary

Cary,

Frankly, I hope you're able to say "I told you so". As I noted, I'm a supporter of aviation. But, this is like taking a Citation into Johnson Creek......it's possible, but I can't really imagine that there will ever be more than a couple of seaplanes in Colorado. But, if there are folks out there willing to go there, why not?

MTV

Still on for June 18th! The latest word is that we'll have more seaplanes, and favorable winds. Unfortunately, it'll be really hot, which means high density altitude.

Cary

COMPLETE SUCCESS!!! I don't know how to change the title of the thread, but it went off without a hitch as postponed, to this past weekend, June 18th.

When I get around to transferring from my camera to the computer, I'll post pix. We had 4 airplanes show up, a turbine Beaver, 2 Lakes, and a 206. The 206 only did a few landings and take offs and fly-byes, but the others came to shore and spent much of the day there. The turbine Beaver and one of the Lakes also came up the ramp, and both gave some rides to specific "dignitaries" (whatever that means). We had a nice ribbon-cutting ceremony and handed plaques to some of those who helped make it possible.

It's hard to say how many people were there. I've heard guesses of 500, but I don't think it was that many. There were many there, though, some who'd come exclusively for the seaplane event, and many who had come for boating and camping. They were a mix of somewhat local folks and people who came from as far as Colorado Springs and the Denver area. One of the Lake pilots actually came from the Bahamas, where he has a home, on his way to his second home in Boulder.

The weather was hot, and I calculated the DA at about 6800', but none of the airplanes had any observable difficulty. Both the Lakes did some demos of water maneuvers, along with some formation take-offs and landings. All the flying that I observed was done safely and sanely, by pilots who obviously know what they're doing.

The only glitch that happened was the turbine Beaver, which got stuck in the soft sand at the side of the ramp while going down, which was quickly handled by a raunchy old Chevy pickup which gently pulled it back up. Then apparently in the haste to get back down the ramp more centered, he forgot to pull up his water rudders, and when the airplane leveled into the water, one of the water rudders incurred some minor damage.

Otherwise, it was a very enjoyable weekend. I decided to pull up stakes yesterday, as the forecast was for 100F temps, more than I really wanted to "enjoy". I drove over to the La Junta airport, where my Daddy learned to fly B-25s in 1944 and where my Ma had her first airplane ride, "in the bombay of a B-25" as she often told me. There are still several WWII buildings there, repurposed for newer uses, as well as some remnants of foundations. The field beacon is still there. It was very quiet, but it wasn't hard to imagine the beehive of activity it was, as young men learned to fly and maintain America's war machines. Frankly, it was a bit of surrealistic experience.

While I doubt that Colorado will ever become a hot bed of seaplane activity, this First Ever Colorado Splash-in proved that it can be done. The Tamarac Beach Seaplane base is now open to the public, and there's a marker visible from the air. When/if it will get charted is not for me to say. Whether the Colorado legislature will come around and authorize seaplanes on state-owned waters is yet to be seen. But little steps have been made. And it was fun!

Cary

Cary wrote:COMPLETE SUCCESS!!! I don't know how to change the title of the thread, but it went off without a hitch as postponed, to this past weekend, June 18th.

When I get around to transferring from my camera to the computer, I'll post pix. We had 4 airplanes show up, a turbine Beaver, 2 Lakes, and a 206. The 206 only did a few landings and take offs and fly-byes, but the others came to shore and spent much of the day there. The turbine Beaver and one of the Lakes also came up the ramp, and both gave some rides to specific "dignitaries" (whatever that means). We had a nice ribbon-cutting ceremony and handed plaques to some of those who helped make it possible.

It's hard to say how many people were there. I've heard guesses of 500, but I don't think it was that many. There were many there, though, some who'd come exclusively for the seaplane event, and many who had come for boating and camping. They were a mix of somewhat local folks and people who came from as far as Colorado Springs and the Denver area. One of the Lake pilots actually came from the Bahamas, where he has a home, on his way to his second home in Boulder.

The weather was hot, and I calculated the DA at about 6800', but none of the airplanes had any observable difficulty. Both the Lakes did some demos of water maneuvers, along with some formation take-offs and landings. All the flying that I observed was done safely and sanely, by pilots who obviously know what they're doing.

The only glitch that happened was the turbine Beaver, which got stuck in the soft sand at the side of the ramp while going down, which was quickly handled by a raunchy old Chevy pickup which gently pulled it back up. Then apparently in the haste to get back down the ramp more centered, he forgot to pull up his water rudders, and when the airplane leveled into the water, one of the water rudders incurred some minor damage.

Otherwise, it was a very enjoyable weekend. I decided to pull up stakes yesterday, as the forecast was for 100F temps, more than I really wanted to "enjoy". I drove over to the La Junta airport, where my Daddy learned to fly B-25s in 1944 and where my Ma had her first airplane ride, "in the bombay of a B-25" as she often told me. There are still several WWII buildings there, repurposed for newer uses, as well as some remnants of foundations. The field beacon is still there. It was very quiet, but it wasn't hard to imagine the beehive of activity it was, as young men learned to fly and maintain America's war machines. Frankly, it was a bit of surrealistic experience.

While I doubt that Colorado will ever become a hot bed of seaplane activity, this First Ever Colorado Splash-in proved that it can be done. The Tamarac Beach Seaplane base is now open to the public, and there's a marker visible from the air. When/if it will get charted is not for me to say. Whether the Colorado legislature will come around and authorize seaplanes on state-owned waters is yet to be seen. But little steps have been made. And it was fun!

Cary

Awesome!

lets see some pics!

Here are some random pix. Bear in mind that I am neither a great photographer, nor do I have anything other than the camera's built-in telephoto lens.

The turbine Beaver, entering the water:




One of the Lakes, entering the water:




Both Lakes, beached:




Lake overhead:




Turbine Beaver landing:




206 fly by:




Lake landing:



Cary

Looks like the lake did not present significant/dangerous terrain. Very nice pictures. Thank you Cary.

8GCBC wrote:Looks like the lake did not present significant/dangerous terrain. Very nice pictures. Thank you Cary.

It's pretty flat in that area, and the "trees" here and there are more like bushes, so it's almost ideal for a relatively high DA lake. Any airplane that can get off the water into ground effect should be able to make it, unless the pilot attempts to climb too soon before reaching a reasonable climb-out speed. Like I said, I didn't see any observable difficulty for any of the airplanes. Admittedly, they were all pretty well powered. One of the Lakes was turbo'd; I believe that the other was normally aspirated, but both had 540 Lycomings. The 206 was turbo'd, and of course the turbine Beaver had power galore.

Cary