Float Flying 2014!

piker · May 07, 2014, 04:30:18 PM

Ha!

Going through some old pictures, I found this one of my first trailer lid retrieval boat. It looks so small!

Well it was! It was only 7'x4' compared to 8.5'x5' of my current one. Makes a big difference!

BTW, this is at Frenchman's Bay in 2007.

piker · May 13, 2014, 01:43:04 PM

Since I don't talk about float flying enough

(that's sarcasm), I figured I'd tell you guys about a new spot I found last night.

Well, it's not really a new spot for me as I used to fly seaplanes there in the early '90's when I lived in the Beaches (Beach) area of Toronto. On a calm evening, I would grab my old American Eaglet on floats, or my Navigator flying boat and head to Cherry Beach, near the bottom of the DVP, specifically at the bottom of Cherry Street.

It was a wonderful location in those days as the water would be calm and the beach was long and open. I've often thought of trying that location again, but figured it might be too busy now.

Well, last night I stopped by to check out an area of the beach, more off to the east end that looked less likely to be busy with swimmers and sun bathers. I was very pleasantly surprised that the area I had in mind is less ideal for beach use, but wonderful for float flying. In fact, swimming is not permitted in this area as it's intended for "craft use", meaning, I guess, for launching kyaks, etc. That's good news as we would be launching air"craft" in that area, so it should be more accepted.

Also, the area is separated by a little bit of a bay shaped shoreline which makes it a little more secluded.

Some other pros and cons are: Pro, we would be facing south so the wind would be onshore or along the shore most of the time, and it would be clean (not turbulent) air. Pro, the area of water is surrounded by Leslie St Spit, so the water shouldn't get to rough. pro, the shoreline provides nice access with no weeds in the water and good visibility. Pro, it's at the bottom of the DVP, so is more central than Pickering, for most people. Pro, I think there will be less boat traffic there, or at least it'll be further out. Con, there may be more people traffic there, but maybe not... last night, it was quite empty. Con, we'd have to carry our equipment a little further, but there's more room to park.

Anyway, I think this could be a really nice option for float flying. I think we should try it out for the next float fly, after the one this week. I'll let you know

If you've followed to this point, give me your opinion about the location for travel (for you). Would it be easier or harder to get to, say on a Saturday evening or a weekday evening, than Frenchman's Bay. I'm thinking it would be a good place for a week day evening float fly.

Here's a link to the specific location:

https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/43.6544566,-79.3500512/43.6386192,-79.341372/@43.6422242,-79.3458421,3087m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m3!4m2!1m0!1m0

And here are some pictures I took with my phone last night around 8:00pm. Not the best conditions, but you can see the layout and the potential.

Papa · May 13, 2014, 01:54:17 PM

What exactly is a "longer walk"?

Jack.

wollins · May 13, 2014, 02:06:40 PM

Looks nice!

sihinch · May 13, 2014, 02:10:41 PM

Might be better for me. But as usual, Friday and Saturday evenings are not great for me.

Weekdays and Sundays evenings this would be great.

piker · May 13, 2014, 02:11:16 PM

That last picture was taken from beside my truck in the parking lot. The water is just beyond (10 ft) that grassy group. So, I'd say about 100 feet... or about from the TEMAC parking lot to the middle of the new geo-fabric runway. Not far at all, but further than Frenchman's bay

piker · May 13, 2014, 02:15:40 PM

Quote from: sihinch on May 13, 2014, 02:10:41 PM
Might be better for me. But as usual, Friday and Saturday evenings are not great for me.

Weekdays and Sundays evenings this would be great.

Cool! Yes, I'm thinking this would be good for weekday evenings. Going down the DVP would be opposite of rush hour traffic and it would be closer for a lot of people like @sihinch, @bfeist, @electroflyer, @wollins, @Frank v B, etc.

gmcnic · May 13, 2014, 05:11:22 PM

Looks like a nice location for tanning and float flying!
Do we need to be concerned about being in City Centre airspace?

Perhaps Captain Andy "Sno balls" can add comment.

piker · May 13, 2014, 05:38:28 PM

I'm sure it's not ideal, but I kept an eye on the planes when I used to fly there and they approach and take-off north of the beach area. Not even close to where we'd fly, and they're pretty high at that point. Less of an issue than at TEMAC as far as I'm concerned. Plus, we don't fly float planes that high usually

eric · May 13, 2014, 08:08:54 PM

Frenchman's Bay is 45 minutes for me, but an easy drive traffic wise. For Cherry Beach, I would have to go 10 kms west and 2 kms south just to get on the 404 at the very top end, probably an hour each way with no traffic. For a chance to go float flying, though, I'll do it! Getting out during the summer is always hit and miss for me as I'm up north a lot, but if that spot works out better for everybody, I'll definitely not let the extra 15 min. chase me off. Count me as one vote for.

I do love the Bay, though. I spent my youth at my Grandfather's cottage further east about a hundred yards or so on the Bay side, so each time I go there is like a trip down memory lane (at least, what memory I have left).

Eric

Skyking · May 13, 2014, 11:46:36 PM

Why not give it a try?
If I leave Markham and Sheppard at that time and I'm at the bottom of the DVP in 1/2 hr or less. Frenchmans is easier for me But Cherry beach looks like a pretty good site and it does seem to have a few advantages as mentioned by the Piker.

Ken

piker · May 14, 2014, 09:42:30 AM

Thanks for the feedback, guys!

Just to clarify... I'm not considering this place as our one and only place for float flying. Frenchman's Bay will remain our primary for now.

My goal is to have several places that we can alternate between to keep things interesting and for some diversification in case we lose one of our sites. So far we have Frenchman's Bay, Tavares pond (where we flew last summer), Preston Lake (which I need to get into our regular rotation if I can work it out with Fred), and probably Cherry Beach.

And, I'm still hoping for others. One day, maybe I'll be able to secure a place that we can sanction as an official club float flying site... but that ideal spot is not easy to come by in this part of the province. I have a place in mind, and have approached the owner, but getting permission is unlikely.