Splash-in 2022

Story

Since 1915, the sound of aircraft engines has been heard overhead at the Lazaretto grounds in Essington, PA. It starting as entirely Curtiss flying boats in 1915 to eventually being drowned out by the peculiar sound of big jet engines thrusting passengers from Philadelphia to all parts of the world. On October 22, 2022, it was the unique sound of a little Rotax 100HP engine and of a big Continental 0-470 that caught people’s attention.

It was a near perfect day at this little seaplane base. There was a slight breeze, some ripples in the river, and a warm late-October sun. The tide was high, the gravel ramp rolled, the landing lane surveyed by the Coast Guard Auxiliary, Philly ATC alerted of our activities, and the grass nicely mowed by the township. We were lucky, too, that no flight restrictions were in place that regularly happen when the president is at home in Greenville, DE.

We had about a hundred folks in attendance for this late-season splash-in that included a catered lunch by Cipolloni Catering. We even had a wedding party from the neighboring firehouse event hall stop by for wedding photos on the ramp. Even without aircraft, this would have been a beautiful day by the river. Happily, we had two intrepid seaplane pilots splash in.

Richard Drumheller flies a homebuilt, two-seat Aventura II flying boat, powered by a Rotax engine. This aircraft is similar to a Searey, another very popular small recreational “flying-hull” style seaplane. Richard’s manual landing gear extension mechanism works well in the air for extending the gear for landing on a regular runway, but in the water, it difficult to extend the gear for a ramp arrival without getting weight on the wheels to lock them down. With the help of two volunteers getting their feet wet, we were able to get the gear down for Richard to taxi onto the grass.

Being the first to arrive, the little Aventura was the star of the show for quite awhile, gawked at by the excited spectators that had been anxiously awaiting the first arrival. Richard answered everyone’s questions about the aircraft.

About an hour later, Steve Kent arrived in his beautiful Cessna 182 on amphibious floats. This was a first test of the refreshed gravel ramp by a large amphib. Steve’s skill was apparent in navigating the ramp in and out of the water and his arrival gave us more hints about how we might improve the surface even more for future events.

A Cessna on amphib floats is an impressive site sitting up on the beautiful grass here. Those in attendance were impressed by the airplane and were equally impressed with Steve’s willingness to answer all their questions about flying seaplanes.

Overall, it was a very pleasant day, despite cancellations by a number of other seaplane pilots. The late season date may have had a depressing effect on turnout as pilots start moving their seaplanes south for the winter this time of year. Event dates here are dependent on having high tides, no flight restrictions, and good coordination with other township events.

Invitation

Oct 21 Status: The gravel ramp is cleaned and rolled and looks as nice as ever. No TFR and light winds should make for good conditions. The river conditions are reported to be good with regards to debris. The water here is considered fresh.

Ideal conditions will be for Philly to be using 27 Right departures. The airlines are well above our 250 ft pattern. See more info on recommended flight patterns under “Base Info” and watch Rob Richardson’s excellent video. We will monitor 122.9.

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We are planning a Splash-In and lunch at the Essington Seaplane Base on October 22. Everything is weather dependent and a bit TFR dependent. The latest status will be posted here.

In the case of TFR, it is still possible to arrive. Typically, transponder and ADS-B are required, though we can work with FAA/TSA for exceptions. TFR Procedures here.

If you think you might fly in, we’d love to know. mailbox@phillyseaplanebase.com

Bulletin Board Announcement

Pilots: 

• The floating doc is in OK shape to accommodate one or two aircraft.
• The gravel ramp is in good shape during mid to high tide. High tide is around 11:25AM on Saturday, so the best window is 8:30AM-2:30PM for anything other than a tailwheel amphibs.
• Additional floating boat docs to the right of the seaplane base might accommodate an aircraft or two, but beware of high pilings there.

See more info on flight patterns under “Base Info“. We will monitor 122.9.