A Weighty Issue

For seaplane pilots, weight can make the difference between getting airborne from the water or not. Land planes have the luxury of long runways and rolling tires. If you have ever waterskied, you know that you begin down in the water and as the boat accelerates, first you are plowing through it and all of a sudden, your skis tip forward and you are gliding along the top of the water. Seaplanes, whether on tall floats or hull type (the kind we are flying), act the same way - there is a boatlike shape on the front with a "step" several feet behind the front which becomes perpendicular to the water when the airplane is level. The goal during takeoff is to gain enough speed the "get on the step" at which point the seaplane is skimming on top of the water like a waterskier and can gain speed to take off. If the seaplane is too heavy or improperly loaded with weight in the rear, it will NEVER get on the step.

So why have I just provided this mini-lesson in seaplane flying? Well, David and I both have committed to weight reduction programs! Neither of us are where we want and NEED to be and we are hitting the protein shakes and exercising! The picture above is NOT us!

Furthermore, since our 60 day excursion is much longer than a weekend jaunt, we have to bring a lot more things along like 3 phones, laptop, SLR digital camera, emergency location tracker, spare parts, empty fuel bladders for carrying fuel from auto pumps to the plane, a cart, tools, food for when there are no restaurants (or, we could just fast!), camping gear, and an anchor. I have committed to bringing only 6KG/13LBs of stuff!!!!! (a future blog post) That's phone, shoes, clothes, vitamins, & personal care items. My PURSE sometimes weighs more than that!

Have you ever HAD to no-kidding get weight off? Any secrets you would like to share?