Floatplane in high winds/heavy waves

[Cat Driver]

Canadair can and will scoop
in the open ocean in ten feet waves,

Really?

[cloudrunner]

Canadair can and will scoop
in the open ocean in ten feet waves,

Really?

+1

[RoundEngineRumble]

How does one measure wave height from the air, and how accurate do you think your measurement is?

Very True. I would never have landed at Sabourin Lake that day with the 4 foot waves had I known how big they were. Lucky for me (and the plane) that they were close together so I slowed down a lot before coming off the step and slamming into them. Backing into the dock was a challenge. Staying on the dock with those waves would have been very bad however so I took off for a better harbour

I call BS. Sabourin doesn't have the distances to put up 4 foot rollers in a big wind, even if it's out of the southeast. And it has two very conveniently located islands when it is rough and you're a super keener to land there.

A 1.5 foot wave is surfable with the right beach. A 2 foot wave quickly appears to be a 4 foot wave to most inland sailors and perfessional pile-its.

If you look down or out onto the water and it looks like a dumb idea to ride into the waves at 80 mph on a Jet-ski in your boardshorts, it's no smarter to try it with a set of floats. Trust your "This doesn't look like a good idea" meter as you gain confidence and come up with clever ideas. If you think you should ask if it's too rough to go, you have a great opportunity to save face while you save your breath.

[1000 HP]

Sabourin definitely has enough room to put up the big waves in 25 to 40 knot winds as were the conditions that day. It's 1.5 nm of water with a southwest wind. It's also a fairly shallow lake. The island is only 500' wide (the long way) and I have swam out to it many a time from the dock. The island in that kind of wind is only 400' wide and definitely not a choice for a lee landing as the wind wraps around from both sides. Thus, there is no lee. Plus, unless you are a flying god or have a deathwish, coming in over 60' of trees and landing in towards an island about a kilometer from shore in very gustly conditions is just asking to be parked on that island. The shallow rocks start about 100' out from the island.

I will admit I did not use a yardstick to measure the waves and perhaps the waves were only 2 feet

In Little Grand, the waves have exceeded 4' at times and once, sunk one of my airplanes at the dock when a storm came up quickly. I refused to fly an Indian Affairs guy across to the reserve 3/4 of a mile away once in 4 footers. I took him in the 18' boat instead. We were both soaked in short order.

I've flown the Otters in 3' waves for several years and the only floats I don't like in those conditions are the 7170's. The Edo 7850's used on the Polish Otter are the best.

[Liquid Charlie]

Rough water and float planes -- back in the day the greatest motivator to be cautious and look for the sheltered bay -- taxi a little longer - have a snooze and wait was the damage done to the aircraft -- split keels -- an pumping floats forever in the morning and several times a day -- busted motor mounts -- sea plane braces etc --- were enough for this cowboy to stay put when the water got too rough -- and guess what -- the trip was still there once it calmed down -- inland lakes and the wave action they create are very hard on equipment --

[flightpath.cyyb]

If the lake is smaller or sheltered then the waves don't have enough space to build up too high. 25-30 kts is very managable, assuming you don't have too large a gust factor. If you are in a large, open body of water then even 15 kts can cause some very large waves.

CAP3000's can handle larger waves, but if you have a strong wind (20kts +) and big waves then you might be able to land, but the problem is that you don't dare turn the plane broadside into the waves/ wind. You can sail backward, but if you are heavily loaded then I would recommend doing it with power on. It helps to keep the plane straight and prevents the heels from digging in backwards and flipping the plane. However, if the wind and waves are so bad that you have to employ this technique then you probably shouldn't be flying.

[peterdillon]

The amount of wind obviously depends on the brand and size of floats, the landing, the taxi route, or takeoff area, and the load being carried but as a general rule we use 25 - 30 knots for the 180 185 series. If you read the accident reports alot of planes end up upside down when operating in the 35 knots plus range. Most common are digging a wing when landing, turning or taxiing down wind. Landing or taking of in narrow rivers while close to high treed shorelines in heavy cross winds can require very aggressive co-ordinated control inputs just to maintain control of the aircraft.
Carefully thinking ahead before the flight and planning your taxi and takeoff run and then doing the same with your landing location and taxi path will help you decide how much wind is acceptable. Pays to allow for a little more wind than forecasted at the other end. The pendulum effect of turning in high winds and big waves in open water is especially dangerous as it exposes the underside of the wing to the wind. No two situations are ever exactly the same so careful preflight planning, caution and working your way up to higher winds over time is the safest. Seems every experienced float pilot can recount play by play some wind situation that is still pretty vivid in their mind.