By Brad Irwin

I was recently invited to Lake Havasu City, Arizona by my good friends, Dan Walsh, Col. USAF (Ret), and Mike Quijada to get a seaplane rating. Dan Walsh, aka “Firecan” Walsh, is a former Air Force fighter pilot and instructor who has flown just about every type of aircraft known to man from fighter planes to Citation jets to piston twins to seaplanes. Mike is the Battalion Chief of the Lake Havasu City Fire Department and a CFII who has been flying since he was 17.

Dan Walsh is a graduate of the USAF Fighter Weapons School and flew a succession of fighters including the F-86, F-100, F-4, F-5, F-105, and F-15. According to Firecan Dan, flying seaplanes is about the most fun he has ever had in an airplane and Mike agreed 100 percent. While I have never flown a jet fighter, I could not imagine how a seaplane could be more fun than that? Well, given that the focus of this current issue was seaplanes, the timing could not have been better. I was going to find out what the heck these guys were talking about!

One Man’s Journey to Earn a Seaplane Rating

Landing at HII was a pleasant surprise. This is a really nice GA airport with a long runway and a great FBO. I met Dan at D2 Aero and he introduced me to Darin Craig, one of the owners of the FBO. I have to say that D2 Aero was probably the best FBO that I have ever visited and really provided outstanding service throughout my trip. Dan set up my training in advance with Lake Havasu Seaplane which is owned and operated by Maurice “Moe” Martin. Moe has a 172 on Baumann amphib floats in virtually pristine condition that he keeps hangared at HII. This was really a nice plane to use for seaplane training. Simple to fly, easy to land, and a whole lot of fun. O.K., I figured out on day one what Firecan Dan was talking about. This was the most fun I have had flying – EVER!

Flying over and on Lake Havasu was a blast. This is really a beautiful place to get a seaplane rating. Surrounded by canyons and desert, it is about the most interesting landscape for flying seaplanes that you can imagine. Lots of little bays and coves to land in made this training more fun than I could imagine.

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