Water, water everywhere
Flight International took a trip with Loch Lomond Seaplanes from the Clyde to Tiree and on to Oban on a clear day in November. After we boarded the Cessna Caravan at the Glasgow Science Centre, pilot Andrew Kennedy - a Fijian who has flown seaplanes all over the world but says the west of Scotland wins hands down for scenery - taxied around 1,000m (3,300ft) westwards up the river towards Clydebank.
Once cleared over the radio by a colleague who sweeps the river in a dinghy for any hazards, we turned and skimmed eastwards down the river, taking off after 600m. Banking 180°, we flew VFR at 500ft above the towns at the mouth of the Clyde - Greenock, Helensburgh and Dunoon - and eventually over Mull before landing, gear down, at the airport on the island of Tiree, the 175km (95nm) trip taking 35min.
Picking up a passenger, we flew the 85km east to Oban, landing on our floats 19min later in the town's harbour. Kennedy's fellow crew-member, dock hand David Pacey, secured the Caravan to a pontoon, and a small launch arrived - on cue - to pick up our passenger. Our 52nm final leg, back to the Clyde, took 22min.
Source: Flight International
