An Air Of "Frenetic Tranquility" Abounds At The Lagoon
by ANN Correspondent Matt Russell
At the south end of Wittman Field, I board a big yellow bus for
the ride to EAA’s Seaplane Base. After a 4.5-mile ride
through the cornfields, and with the madness of AirVenture
completely out of sight, we disembark on the side of the road and
walk into the woods through a gate. We follow a well-cut nature
trail.
The temperature cools under the towering forest, and senses
awake to the lakeshore sounds and smells. Soon the trail opens and
we are back amongst the airplanes, but this time they are all...
floating. A calm lagoon appears to be holding near 50 seaplanes
when I arrive, and a flurry of activity is quietly occurring. From
somewhere up in the trees a woman’s voice on a loudspeaker
calmly reminds the visitors, "Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! We have
water and lemonade, and it’s gonna be a hot one!"
I am lucky to meet Paul Seehafer, chairman of the Seaplane Base.
Paul is a very busy man because he and a roster of around 225
volunteers are in constant motion during AirVenture to support
operations at the Seaplane Base.
"We always like to meet new people, but it’s a family
atmosphere," says Seehafer. "Our first campfire night that we have,
we call the reunion campfire. It’s where we get together and
catch up with each other." Strolling through the Seaplane Base
grounds, Seehafer proudly showcases the "something different"
aspect of the environment. "See those two over there?" he says,
pointing to a couple in lawn chairs, quietly viewing the water. "We
have people doing that all the time. Once, a journalist walked up
to a couple doing the same thing and asked what they were looking
at. They replied ‘nothing,’ and that was the beauty of
it." Seehafer continues, "That’s kind of what the Seaplane
Base is about. We’re like being at the beach house."
Asked about a schedule of activities, Seehafer explains, "We
don’t try to schedule things. We try to encourage people to
go fly and let others see the airplanes."
I ask Seehafer, who owns a Lake Amphibian and a Kitfox on
floats, how his team educates the visiting General Aviation
community about seaplanes. "We recently have been trying
demonstration flights. A lot of people are interested to learn
things, like how a plow taxi and a step taxi are different, or
simply how you turn a seaplane in the water. We have someone on
shore with a microphone who can announce information about each
airplane."
A Republic SeaBee, N713ET (above), pulls into a slip, aided by a
couple of dock volunteers. "He’s an airline pilot from Puerto
Rico," Seehafer explains, "…and he loves giving rides to
volunteers. That’s what the pilots do here… they
donate their time and fuel.
Other donations, mostly in the form of time, are made by the
volunteers who keep things moving on the water. "We have our radio
point volunteers who provide advice to each plane, and control
access to the lagoon," says Seehafer. "They let you know when
it’s safe to enter, because the opening is only 100 feet
wide." He points across to the shore, "Then we have our Dock Boss
who decides where you should park, depending on what kind of
airplane you have."
Over on the dock, five-year volunteer Brett McKinney takes
Minnesota resident John Justad out to his DeHavilland Beaver, which
is moored in the lagoon. "This is my first floatplane, and my first
time to fly a floatplane to the Seaplane Base," he says, who bought
the Beaver about two years ago. Justad further explains owning the
floatplane "...may turn out to be a 'been there, done that'
experience," but one he’s having great fun with.
Volunteers regularly operate pontoon-boat tours of the Seaplane
Base. This gives AirVenture tourists a chance to view the wide
variety of visiting seaplanes up close. When asked how far pilots
travel to reach the Base, Paul Seehafer points to a
turbine-converted Cessna on floats and says "Germany… a man
and his ten year-old son made the trip from Germany this year."
The EAA Seaplane Base has a small camping area reserved mainly
for volunteers and pilots who keep their plane at the Base.
Concessions and vendors (of seaplane products) are also on-site.
Nightly events include bonfires, karaoke, a fish fry, and an annual
watermelon social.
"As far as I know, this is the largest seaplane gathering in the
world," says Seehafer. But of course.