Seaplane Flying in Florida 2018

Renting a seaplane in the USA has become difficult due to insurance problem. There are only a very few places where a seaplane pilot can rent a seaplane and fly solo. I found a great solution at Tavares FL, America’s Seaplane City. Here you can join the Jones Brothers seaplane flying club for moderate costs, with a seaplane insurance and six hours seaplane flying included. Unfortunately this club is now closed.

Cessna 140 on floats 1946.
Cessna 140 on floats 1946, beaching at Eaton’s Beach Sandbar & Grill for lunch with my wife. Jones Brothers seaplane flying club
Overnight staying with the C140.
Overnight staying with the C140 at Sebring in front of the Inn of the lakes hotel. A displays say „do not disturb alligators“.

Beaching the C140 at Tiki Bar Grill for lunch.

Beaching the C140 at Tiki Bar Grill for lunch with Martina.

I also flew some hours on a Searey, an amphibious airplane with Rob. Jones Brothers seaplane flying club

Unfortunately I was not able to fly it solo due to insurance coverage for this specific plane. Hopefully next time this will be solved and we can use it for trips. Below a flight with Kerry, the developper of the amphibious Searey. They are only a few miles away from Tavares.

Other places to fly seaplanes in Florida: 

Landing with the C140 for refuelling.
I flew the C140 to his place for refuelling puposes. Apparently there is a possibility to fly seaplane solo with restrictions. www.adventureseaplanes.com/rentals
CJ3 seaplane at Browns base. www.brownsseaplane.com, no solo possible due to missing insurance coverage for pilots.
No solo possible due to missing insurance coverage for pilots. They fly JC3 Piper Cub seaplanes. www.brownsseaplane.com