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What are the rules with regards to landing a float plane on a body of water? Can I land anywhere (non-emergency, obviously) that would also accommodate the take-off? If not, how do I determine which bodies of water would allow it and which would not?

Lnafziger
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Canuk
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    Are you asking legally, or technically? If you're asking for regulations, you should specify which jurisdiction. – falstro Dec 19 '13 at 18:41
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    I'm asking about the regulations (legally) in the United States. Whether FAA or local. I realize there are considerations to see if you can do it technically (trees on the end, more length to take-off then land, wind, etc.) I'm just wondering if you would get in trouble from the authorities. – Canuk Dec 19 '13 at 18:50
  • Ok, then I would suggest adding the faa tag, as I'm pretty sure the lba will cut your ears of if you land anywhere except a designated airfield... :) – falstro Dec 19 '13 at 18:51
  • What does ases mean here? – Danny Beckett Apr 18 '14 at 06:15
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    ASES = Airplane Single-Engine Sea. The FAA divides stuff into categories and classes. In this case, the Category is Airplane, then the class is Single-Engine Sea. I've seen it used to shorthand refer to "floatplane"-related stuff. Contrasted with ASEL (airplane single-engine land) for "regular" airplane (private and single-engine commercial "land planes"). – Canuk Apr 24 '14 at 07:16

5 Answers5

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It really depends on the state, though you can't land in National Parks (the National Park Service regulates that, not the FAA). The FAA doesn't care where you land it, though if you ball it up due to poor choice of landing area then they'll have something to say.

Some states don't really care where you land (like Oregon), others don't let you land anywhere (like New Jersey). You should contact your state and get the regulations from them.

Khantahr
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    Any idea generally which state agency you would ask? – Canuk Dec 19 '13 at 18:52
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    I'd start with the state department of transportation. If they have a specific aviation department then they'll direct you to it. – Khantahr Dec 19 '13 at 19:00
  • That's not quite right. I'm sure the FAA would care if you land in a national park/forest or in a wildlife protection area. – egid Dec 19 '13 at 19:06
  • No, the FAA wouldn't care. The Park Service might, but the FAA wouldn't. – Khantahr Dec 19 '13 at 19:06
  • The FAA specifies minimum altitudes over those areas; I can't imagine they would remain uninvolved if the park service attempted some kind of enforcement. – egid Dec 19 '13 at 19:15
  • They actually don't. The FAA mandated minimum altitudes are specified in 91.119. The minimum altitude over national parks is a request from the park service, and the prohibition on landing in national parks is also regulated by the park services. See the AIM – Khantahr Dec 19 '13 at 19:22
  • That is perhaps technically true but likely not a legally important distinction. As I understand it, the AIM contains the request, which means it's the FAA. There are plenty of certificate action cases that refer to the AIM. It's not regulation per se, but it will be used against a pilot who ignores or violates guidelines specified in the AIM. – egid Dec 19 '13 at 19:52
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    The AIM specifically says request and it also says it's the park/forest service that is making the request. It's very rare that that phraseology is used. Requests are not regulatory and never have been. I'm aware of may certificate actions referring to the AIM, I'm not aware of a single one that refers to part of the AIM that is including a request from a separate government entity. In fact, I'm not aware of any legal cases of any nature that are based on a statement that "requests" unless accompanied by stronger language. – Khantahr Dec 19 '13 at 21:11
  • @Ralgha the wording may well be because the USPS wants the right to themselves (and their contractors) to do just what they don't want the general public to do. They make a tidy penny renting out all kind of franchises in the national parks, from icecream stands to jetski rentals (and in winter snowmobile rentals) and campsites. Things that without a permit from the USPS you can't do in the parks. Were it an FAA restriction the USPS would not be able to franchise operators offering helicopter sightseeing tours for example, or floatplane charters to remote campsites. – jwenting Mar 18 '14 at 07:54
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    I was soo confused what "USPS" was referring to - I wasn't sure what the Postal Service was doing renting ice cream stands. For the record, I can't find an official abbreviation but most of the time it seems to be called U.S. National Park Service – SSumner May 13 '14 at 00:41
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    @SSumner it seems to be NPS, a la their website and stuff on info page: https://www.nps.gov/aboutus – Nick T Mar 28 '16 at 21:40
  • Yeah, NPS = National Park Service, USPS = United States Postal Service. I've never seen the park service abbreviated as USPS before (they probably specifically avoid that in order to avoid confusion with the postal service.) – reirab Aug 01 '20 at 17:37
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This is handled on jurisdiction by jurisdiction basis. While sea plane "bases" are marked on the sectional, this only means that the location has been registered with the FAA.

The air space over the water is handled federally. The water itself is handled locally. When the aircraft is on the water, it is generally considered a boat under the law, except where a jurisdiction has chosen to single out sea planes.

Unfortunately many jurisdictions have done just that. Any little mud puddle can potentially be banned for sea plane operations by the local community.

There is an association of sea plane pilots who involve themselves in advocacy to keep waters available. They publish some useful materials on this subject.

If you plan on going for your sea plane endorsement, your instructor will give you the pertinent details. If you would like to fly locally, you will need to check out your local codes. If operations have not yet been banned, it would be sensible to join the association, and take an active role in keeping local waters open to sea planes in your area.

Jacob Aanderson
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  • On the water, considered a boat, there may be local speed limits which you have to take into consideration as well. – ghellquist Jun 19 '18 at 19:56
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States with coastlines often manage this through a "port authority" association, like Massachuesetts.

Sometimes it is a joint association, like in the case of the PA-NY-NJ Port Authority.

New Alexandria
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According to my research. It comes down to the owner of the body of water. Please read this link as it will explain everything in detail. When it comes to landing a plane and a body of water the FAA has Little to no say. There are some inspections that have to be performed. You have to consider the zoning, other traffic, possible hazards, neighborhoods and flightpath, The amount of traffic and whether or not there is a viable airport within 5 miles. Of course it also depends on the state.

https://www.seaplanepilotsassociation.org/resources/faq/facilities-landing-areas/

Rockrabbit
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    Welcome to aviation.SE. Please consider putting relevant information (e.g. regulation quotes) here rather than behind a link. – Federico Oct 24 '18 at 05:11
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Drawing on some personal observations, many float-plane sites around Seattle are marked on maps.

Kenmore
Lake Union
Rosario

But I've also observed float planes taking off and landing at sites that are not appropriately marked on the map.

I cannot cite regulations, but my eyeballs suggest that any safe place may be legally okay.

abelenky
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