Grand Caravan is Not the Smoothest!

AE7I0299.jpgIt might seem a bit absurd but, when watching all of the floatplane activity down in the harbor in Vancouver, you can get a bit used to the Otters and Beavers and hope for something a little different.  One operator was using a Cessna Grand Caravan on floats and this got my interest.  I saw it coming in on the approach and watched it all through the touchdown and slowing down to taxi speed.

AE7I0272.jpgThe transition off the step and onto the floats did not seem to be a very smooth process.  As the speed decayed, the aircraft pitched up and then oscillated between level and very nose high.  The tail seemed to get very close to the water and there was plenty of spray.  I have no idea whether this is the normal transition or whether this one got a bit out of sorts due to the conditions but it did no look like it would have been very comfortable inside.  All was well, though.  They flew out again a little while later with no issues.

AE7I0289.jpg

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *