Flight Time–Winter Haven

Recently, I’ve been thinking about what I need to make myself a more complete and potentially a more hirable pilot. One of the things that is missing is a seaplane endorsement. So, I did a little bit of investigating and found a few flight schools that provide seaplane training. The top choice for me was Jack Brown’s Seaplane Base in Winter Haven. Today, I planned a flight to Winter Haven to see the place for myself.

The flight over started around 9:00 AM with me leaving Valkaria. The flight did not start off as desired, though. I recently bought a new iPad mini, and I haven’t worked it into my routine yet. Since it does not have a built-in GPS, I must ensure that it is connected via Bluetooth so that it can get location data from the ADS-B receiver. I did not do that before taking off, so my location was not showing up on Foreflight. Once I was clear of the airport and stabilized, I connected the device, and everything worked properly from that point forward.

The flight to Winter Haven was short and took about 30 minutes. The sky was mostly clear, and the ride was smooth at 2,500 feet. The weather reports I reviewed earlier showed some areas of fog and low clouds, and I flew over a few patchy areas along the way.

At Winter Haven, I entered the pattern and landed on Runway 23. From Google Maps, I knew that the seaplane base was at the western side of the airport, but I wasn’t sure if I could park the plane there. Instead, I parked on the ramp near the FBO.

The FBO at Winter Haven

The FBO is very nice and modern. I was greeted when I walked in, and I asked if there was any way I could get a ride over to Jack Brown’s. The attendant told me he’d check, then came back a moment later. He said that he could drive me over in the company truck. We walked out to the truck, then proceeded to drive down the taxiways and across Runway 11. He dropped me off, then gave me the number to call when I was ready to be picked up. How cool was that?

Meanwhile, I noticed that I had a voice message, so I listened to it. It was Pat from Jack Brown’s. She told me that she’d be there and to come on in when I arrived. I went inside, met Pat, and we talked about what it takes to get a seaplane endorsement. Then she gave me a quick tour of the place. I left her and walked out to the docks and watched as a ‘student’ prepared to fly the Cessna 172 on floats. The pilot started the plane, then slowly taxied to the far end of the lake. Eventually, they took off and I went back inside.

Cessna 172 on floats prepares for flight

I talked to Pat again and we worked to find a time on the busy schedule. The soonest I could get in was the end of October. She gave me a packet of information, then I walked back outside and called for a ride back to the FBO.

Back at the FBO, I thanked them for the ride and walked out to the plane. The flight back to Valkaria was quick, but bumpy. The clouds were now building, and I stayed under them at 2,000 feet.

Back in Valkaria, I topped off the gas tanks, cleaned the plane, then headed back home. The plan was to get cleaned up and go back to the office. Unsurprisingly, I found it very hard to concentrate on work after thinking about aviation all morning. I'm looking forward to reading and learning about what it takes to operate on floats.

The flight tracks are shown below.

Flight track to Winter Haven

Flight track to Valkaria

Flight Time: 2.0 hours
Total Time: 629 hours