South Pacific by Seaplane
Discussion
Theoretical only unfortunately!
I've been idly thinking a lot recently about, if money was no object, what would be the ultimate extended holiday/trip. My number one choice would be to learn to fly, get type-approved on a proper seaplane, then fly round the South Pacific generally enjoying life. Clearly, a plan of this nature would involve an incredible amount of time, effort and money, and a not inconsiderable amount of planning.
So, help my pretend a bit more that this would actually be possible!
- What plane would you choose? In my dreams it would be a Grumman Goose, but practicality probably means it would be best to have a Twin Otter on floats to maximise reliability, availability of spares and maintenance.
- What sort of prep would the aircraft need? Can you fit long range tanks etc, turn it into a flying caravan for overnighting in? Would you buy the aircraft new or used? Presumably best to buy from Canada and have it shipped, or would you try and seek out a locally available one?
- How quickly can you become safely qualified, from scratch, to operate a Twin Otter on floats in pretty remote locations? I'm guessing you'd want plenty of hours on the type before heading off on adventures.
- How to run the logistics of fuel etc in remote locations?
- Presumably it would be similar to sailing, a process of trying to find anchorages for the night, supplemented by regular fuel stops at strategic airfields?
It's nice to dream.
I've been idly thinking a lot recently about, if money was no object, what would be the ultimate extended holiday/trip. My number one choice would be to learn to fly, get type-approved on a proper seaplane, then fly round the South Pacific generally enjoying life. Clearly, a plan of this nature would involve an incredible amount of time, effort and money, and a not inconsiderable amount of planning.
So, help my pretend a bit more that this would actually be possible!
- What plane would you choose? In my dreams it would be a Grumman Goose, but practicality probably means it would be best to have a Twin Otter on floats to maximise reliability, availability of spares and maintenance.
- What sort of prep would the aircraft need? Can you fit long range tanks etc, turn it into a flying caravan for overnighting in? Would you buy the aircraft new or used? Presumably best to buy from Canada and have it shipped, or would you try and seek out a locally available one?
- How quickly can you become safely qualified, from scratch, to operate a Twin Otter on floats in pretty remote locations? I'm guessing you'd want plenty of hours on the type before heading off on adventures.
- How to run the logistics of fuel etc in remote locations?
- Presumably it would be similar to sailing, a process of trying to find anchorages for the night, supplemented by regular fuel stops at strategic airfields?
It's nice to dream.
Around the world by Zeppelin. Only way to travel.
I wish.
A company called "Hamilton" (or similar) was proposing Zeppelin flights across the great planes of Africa - a sort of flying safari, but it didn't take off so to speak.
Another scheme was to follow the "Last African Flying Boat" route and provide cruises along the length of the Nile and through the Alps to Europe.
They sounded like fun.
I wish.
A company called "Hamilton" (or similar) was proposing Zeppelin flights across the great planes of Africa - a sort of flying safari, but it didn't take off so to speak.
Another scheme was to follow the "Last African Flying Boat" route and provide cruises along the length of the Nile and through the Alps to Europe.
They sounded like fun.
If money was no object I'd pay someone else to fly while I enjoyed the view - I'd have my own Catalina, a modern version of the LIFE magazine one.
Bear in mind the South Pacific is jolly big so 99% of your trip would be staring at water...
Scotty2 said:
Another scheme was to follow the "Last African Flying Boat" route and provide cruises along the length of the Nile...
A Catalina did that for a TV programme some years back - a great show. One lake was so high they couldn't take off again, so a lot of weight had to be offloaded and transported overland to the next stop!Bear in mind the South Pacific is jolly big so 99% of your trip would be staring at water...
Re A/C, I think you'd want enough space to be able to have some facility to sleep in it - I'm thinking proper deserted island visiting here. Fuel (and sea state overnight) could cause problems for that though.
Re distances, fair point. Perhaps the Carribean instead? Not nearly as deserted unfortunately, but suspect the infrastructure is slightly better suited for the trip. Or maybe the Maldives - much smaller scale but equal in beauty. Wonder if you can fit a compressor in a Twin Otter to refill your dive tanks?!
Catalina would be lovely - not sure if there's many spares available for the Wright Cyclone these days in the South Pacific though. At least ones that aren't at the bottom of the ocean.
Re distances, fair point. Perhaps the Carribean instead? Not nearly as deserted unfortunately, but suspect the infrastructure is slightly better suited for the trip. Or maybe the Maldives - much smaller scale but equal in beauty. Wonder if you can fit a compressor in a Twin Otter to refill your dive tanks?!
Catalina would be lovely - not sure if there's many spares available for the Wright Cyclone these days in the South Pacific though. At least ones that aren't at the bottom of the ocean.
I wouldn't discount the Goose option, just buy a new one…:
http://www.antillesseaplanes.com/index.htm
Living in the South Pacific i can vouch that most places operate either Turbo Otters, Twin Otters and some even have a few Beavers (snigger…). There's plenty of these kind of services in the islands so there must be the service and fuelling infrastructure in place to facilitate all you'd need - can't vouch for quality and cost though…
We recently used this mob - http://www.pacificislandair.com - to fly back to Nadi from Waya Island in the Yasawa Group. Great flight over beautiful waters.
South Pacific's not that big either in the sense that if you're touring around you'd be island hopping most of the time. Thus you'd be following island chains the majority of the time with a few bigger passages between nations thrown in for good measure - not too different from doing it on a yacht really. In fact if you're researching this more you might be best served to get into some of the cruising yacht forums on the South Pacific.
http://www.antillesseaplanes.com/index.htm
Living in the South Pacific i can vouch that most places operate either Turbo Otters, Twin Otters and some even have a few Beavers (snigger…). There's plenty of these kind of services in the islands so there must be the service and fuelling infrastructure in place to facilitate all you'd need - can't vouch for quality and cost though…
We recently used this mob - http://www.pacificislandair.com - to fly back to Nadi from Waya Island in the Yasawa Group. Great flight over beautiful waters.
South Pacific's not that big either in the sense that if you're touring around you'd be island hopping most of the time. Thus you'd be following island chains the majority of the time with a few bigger passages between nations thrown in for good measure - not too different from doing it on a yacht really. In fact if you're researching this more you might be best served to get into some of the cruising yacht forums on the South Pacific.
Dad's mate flew one of his Falcons down to Oz, doing all the small islands where possible. The paperwork for refuelling and permits was such a nightmare for a private plane, he ended up creating a fake commercial airline, Eagle Air, to do the trip. Now called Aiglle, still in business as a hanger operater.
Fishtigua said:
Dad's mate flew one of his Falcons down to Oz, doing all the small islands where possible. The paperwork for refuelling and permits was such a nightmare for a private plane, he ended up creating a fake commercial airline, Eagle Air, to do the trip.
Not like the Francis Chichester/pioneer days then - just turn up, wave your British Passport at them and ask for the petrol wallah 
I occasionally struggle to keep up with the engines at work; there are 4 of them, they have 3 dials each and even if they all stop the ship won't sink. The lights will light up darkly and the chief will box my ears, but dying in a fiery ball of death probably won't happen. I know my limits so my euromillions hangar will have a glass cockpit equipped Albatross, although you may have a point about the round engines; the ones that have been converted to turbines all seem to have RR Darts out of scrapped Viscounts, I can't imagine they will be easy or cheap to maintain.
Eric Mc said:
I like keeping original stuff original - so would not like turboprops or glass cockpits retro-fitted to an old classic.
Would you do that to a vintage Bentley?
I would if I was reliant on the engines turning to deliver me safely to the next remote island. But yep, on the whole original is nicer.Would you do that to a vintage Bentley?
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