There are lots of seaplane videos on the Web. Here's one that runs mostly in real time--an hour of Jim the Pilot flying a Beaver on amphibious floats, with an interesting bit about his nav and rescue devices beginning at 35:50.

An hour of video is a lot to expect someone to watch, especially when most of it is waiting for something to happen--waiting for the oil to warm up, for arrival at a destination, and so on. But in this case, that long hour is the strength of the video because you really get the effect of riding along in the right seat. (I confess to skipping ahead a few times.) If you're still game by the end, there's a half hour of Part 2 that will probably start up automatically.

In any case, it reminds me of why I really enjoy flying my Searey--because it's a relatively simple airplane that starts up simply, takes off simply, cruises simply, lands simply, etc. No primer, no wobble pump. A Beaver is a solid airplane, much larger than a Searey and faster, but it's certainly not simpler! (Jim's Beaver is simpler than the L-20 Beavers the US army had when I was a G.I. in Korea. They often used the hand-cranked inertial starter and needed a pilot with three or four hands, especially in cold weather.)

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Jim the Pilot Flying a Beaver

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Old Beaver POH

Fig 1-6

Why not have a couple more lines going down to the schrader valves on the tires for a few more litres. jeez..

Here's part 2, the GOOD part!

Very enjoyable way to spend an hour and a half. I like this guy. He makes you feel like you're flying along with him.

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Part 2

Great find, Mark! I'm not so sure about "the GOOD part!" part, but it is fun to watch (even though it's shorter).

My assessment was based on the scenery.

There's another! Mark got me searching for Jim the pilot," which turned up sunglasses adverts and this 8:35 minute video of Jim Howard taking off and never landing. He seems to be irked about something at the very beginning, but soon settles into giving us a nice tour of the San Juan Islands, and all.

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Reid Harbor to Seattle 7-4-2018

Mark, do you even think we might be living on the wrong coast?

Nah. Not a chance.

Anyway, here's Wikipedia's take on Reid Harbor and environs:

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Reid Harbor

And here is a nice, chatty Beaver walkaround, conducted by an affable Texan:

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Beaver Walkaround

aaaaand one more, by Harrison Ford. It's really quite good. His Beaver is named Olivia. (Think of movie stars from that era.)


When I think of seaplanes, what always comes up is PBY, Beaver, SeaRey.

Others come to mind now and then; but those three ALWAYS come up.

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Harrison Ford's Beaver

So before he made the movie with him flying a beaver, Harrison Ford got his bush flying qualification at a little airport in NJ where I
learned to Fly. Andover Aeroflex. The instructor, Damian, also taught me ski flying in a cub.

I always found the Beavers an interesting plane since the wings appear to have such a narrow chord in relation to their lengths.

Also, the engine controls appear to be placed in an awkward location, but the pilots don't seem to mind.

Last year (October 2019) I took an hour of dual in a Beaver on Amphibious Floats to celebrate the 49th anniversary of my first solo
flight. We only had 3 people on board. The launch (from a runway) was pretty quick and once airborne it flew like a big Cub. My
fondest memory was touch-and-goes on a local river . . . we were burning about FOUR GALLONS per circuit!!

There's a guy in my area that privately owns a Beaver on amphib floats. He flies it regularly. Must be nice to have money.

Jim is a friend of mine!
He has been flying Beavers for a long time and very good at it!

Cool! Please tell him we've been enjoying his videos.