Washington

You might be surprised to learn that we fly Seaplanes all year long in Washington State. On a typical afternoon you might see three or four seaplanes at the same time in one scan of the sky around Seattle, taking people to the islands, doing training operations, or just out having fun.

Thanks to that giant heat source called the Pacific Ocean, we actually have a pretty mild climate which allows year round operations. We do have real weather and yes it does rain a lot between September and June, occasionally heavy. Often we have morning fog, there are some real screaming fall wind events, sometimes a few weeks of barely freezing weather mid-winter, and then forest fires in the summer. But rarely hail, super-cells, or tornados, so days to go fly can usually be found any week of the year.

In Washington State we fly seaplanes in pretty much any terrain and on any water you might find elsewhere in the United States. From West to East we have ocean, bays, inland waters, rainforest, mountains, lakes, rivers, and across the Cascade Mountains a high mesa with desert, rolling farmland, canyons, and more rivers and lakes.

Washington is the gateway to spectacular seaplane flying in British Columbia, Idaho and Montana as well as a frequent kickoff or return point for flights to Alaska.

Several commercial operators and flight schools are based in the Seattle area, notably Kenmore Air and Northwest Seaplanes. They offer regularly scheduled service as well as charter service in Washington and British Columbia. Currently there are about a half dozen training providers, all based in or near Seattle.

The Washington Seaplane Pilots Association is vigilant and active in protecting current seaplane access to our waterways, to increasing our access to new locations and to promoting safe operations by all of our members and operators.

Come visit Washington. Look us up and we’ll go fly any day of the year.