As an extension of the flight home in our Flight School's new Sling "Yankee" ZU-FYA we flew to Langebaan lagoon at Saldanha up the west coast a short flight north of Cape Town. Here we met up with Rainer of Wings 'n Tracks who flies the only amphibian plane presently flying in South Africa - the Seagle, ZU-SEA appropriately named NELSON - the Seagle's name is Nelson ha ha.
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| Louis goes for a ride in "Nelson" |
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| The Langebaan lagoon is vast with sheltered areas suitable for landing as well as a large are where they are harvesting mussels |
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| Final Approach Langebaan Lagoon |
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| The Seagle touches down and the fusillage becomes a boat partially submerged in the water |
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| Myself and pilot Rainer, two of only a handful of seaplane-rated pilots in South Africa |
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| The wingtips become stabilising floats which just touch the water and give directional stability. The plane also has a water rudder which helps steer once you have landed in the water |
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| The Seagle's top-mounted Rotax 914 turbo keeps water away from the propellors and one is able to adjust the blades once landed to provide reverse thrust for sailing the plane backwards if needed to manoeuvre in difficult places or mooring. |
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