: I have story that I am really glad I have a witness to. David and I
: are paddling towards the head of the Beech Creek and I spotted a
: couple of small planes that looked like they are formation
: flying, very close together. My first thought was it was a drug
: runner with DEA flying high and behind in his blind spot. I kept
: waiting of something to be tossed from the plane into the lake.
: Rare, but it has happened around here.

: Lead plane dips down over the lake and other loops outward to his
: side. So they are just out joy riding or something. They
: eventually head our way and went toward the causeway still
: flying really low and pretty close to us, obviously saw us. If
: the pilot was anyone I knew I would have recognized him, he was
: that close. And it had large windows similar to crop dusters
: with open windows.

: A few minutes latter I commented to David that it sounded like they
: were headed back. I am not flexiable enough to twist around and
: look behind but David can and said "He is skimming the
: water!" I was thinking he was a brave pilot to be flying
: low over the water but when he came in site HE WAS SKIMMING THE
: WATER!

: He was flying a plane with a large set of wheels on it, obviously
: for dirt landing strips and he had those wheels ON the water.
: Sending up a spray he flew down the lake like it was dirt! Gives
: a new meaning to Hydroplaning. I reached for my camera but it
: was off and he was moving too fast. He lifted up staying low
: they flew on down the lake. Further up we saw him do it again
: and he must have gone 1/2 mile skimming the water again. What he
: probably didn't know was he was in an extremely shallow mud
: flat, one stump after another. I was just waiting on the
: cartwheeling!

: Obviously one heck of a pilot! I know some pilots and water landing
: is not something they want to ever make because when the wheels
: contact the water the plane will cartwheel on you. So his is
: either good, lucky or both! But it was a heck of a show!

: Jeff

Old saying in flying, "there are old pilots and bold pilots but there are no old bold pilots". Doing stuff like that will get you dead and gives a bad name to the guys/gals that do it the right way.

Bill H.