New instructor in the house!

Posted on December 12, 2011 by toby

James and me, just after his checkride

BIG congratulations are in order around here:  my buddy James just passed his Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) test!

James has been flying here at Seattle Seaplanes for a few years now. He’s flown many of our scenic flights, and entertained his passengers every moment of the flight.  He’s been a pilot for his entire adult life, just about, and now he gets to add the initials “CFI” after his name!

Becoming a flight instructor is a tough, but rewarding, process (or so they tell me – I’m just a dog, so I’m just going by what they tell me :-)   James stuck with it, and I think that’s just grand.

Congrats, James, from your old pal “Turkey Lips” !!!!

Come see all of us before 2011 comes to a close….  and/or make plans to see us in 2012!

Cheers,

Toby James

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Support your friendly local small business!

Posted on November 28, 2011 by toby

Hey, everybody!

Did you know that Seattle Seaplanes is featured on the City of Seattle’s web site as a local business?  It’s true – click here to see us highlighted, along with the venerable Pike Place Market, and others.

It’s the time of year when thoughts turn to the holidays, and gift-giving.  Stumped for ideas?  How about a seaplane flight?!  I’m just saying….   Support your friendly local small business (it bears repeating!)  Contact us today!

Cheers,

Toby James

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My “brother from another mother”

Posted on November 15, 2011 by toby

Brothers!

Hey, gang,

The leaves are falling, the air is crisp and cool, and my nemeses the geese have taken wing for warmer climes. Must be autumn.

I thought I’d take this time to tell you a little bit about my “little brother,” Oliver Murphy. He’s older than I am, and, although he’s a lot shorter and lighter, he’s still kinda the one in charge. (don’t tell him I said that, though!)

Oliver is a Dachshund, another breed (like Doberman!) that began in Germany. Dachshunds are fearless for their size – and they’d have to be! The name Dachshund means Badger Hound in German, and have you ever heard of a friendly badger?!

Oliver (sometimes called “The Murph”)  usually hangs out at home with our “mom,” but occasionally he comes to work, too.  I like having him around, although I like to play it cool and pretend like he isn’t there…. lol!  When he is here, he likes to curl up in my friend Kit’s chair:

Keeping warm in the autumn cool!

Stop by to see us – maybe you’ll get to meet The Murph!

Cheers,

Toby James

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Congratulations, Cap’n Princess Suzanne!

Posted on October 27, 2011 by toby

Gimme five, Suzanne!!

We have another pilot in the house! My fabulous friend Suzanne recently passed her Private Pilot checkride!!

Suzanne’s just the best – she was our customer, but now she’s helping run the show around here. I’m very proud of her for sticking with it, and making her dream come true.

Did you know that there are only about 600,000 pilots, total, in the USA? And that out of that 600,000, only about 6% are women? Dobermans are better at math than the average dog, so I believe that means Suzanne is one of only about 37,000 women in the entire COUNTRY who is a pilot!! (I looked this all up in the FAA’s Fact Book. And, if you want to know more about women in the world of aviation, you can check out the great organization Women in Aviation International.)

Suzanne sailed through her checkride with her usual flying colors. Stop by to congratulate her, and ask us how we can make your aviation dreams come true!

Cheers,

Toby James

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New Pilot!

Posted on October 11, 2011 by toby

Carl, Private Pilot

 

It’s been a really exciting week here at Seattle Seaplanes.  We have a brand-new private pilot in our “family” now!

Carl started taking lessons here last year.  He walked in one day, announced he wanted to learn to fly, and learn to fly here, so we were more than happy to oblige.  He stuck it out through various and sundry hurdles (bureaucratic, meteorlogical, mechanical, etc.) and studied diligently.  He’s got such a friendly, can-do attitude, and we’ve really enjoyed having him around!

Earning one’s pilot license takes a lot of hard work, but it’s super rewarding, too. We’re one of the only flight schools in the entire country where a person can earn their initial private certificate on floats.  How cool is that?  (Carl would tell you “pretty darn cool!”)

We hope to see more of Carl in the days and weeks ahead, especially when he brings his son, Simon, down to visit. 

Carl’s now joined the ranks of only about 600,000 people in the entire USA: proud holders of FAA pilot certificates.  We’re all very proud of him! 

Congratulations, Carl!

cheers,

Toby James

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The vacationing student

Posted on October 7, 2011 by toby

 

My pal Patrick!

 

Hey, everybody!

Long time, no blog, I know.  Believe it or not, it’s still been busy around here, even though it’s now officially fall. Activity on the lake is slowing down, but we’re still flying lots.

I made a great friend in September: Patrick.  Patrick spent most of the month in Seattle on vacation: he, his wife, and their dog “Maggie” live in Chicago, but decided to live the slow life on a houseboat in Lake Union for a while. I didn’t meet Maggie, but Patrick and I got to be great buds!

Patrick is a longtime pilot of RC planes, and seeing the floatplanes on Lake Union really got his attention.  He decided to start flight training with us, even though he knew he’d only be in town for a few weeks. Why not, indeed?

We had a ball – he did a great job, and if he were to have stayed in town much longer, he’d most likely be a solo student pilot!  As it is, we look forward to seeing Patrick again when he’s in town (especially me, ‘cuz he brings me treats!)

Here’s Patrick on the beach at Seward Park

Seward Park, Seattle

Patrick proved that even if you don’t have a whole lot of time available, you can still take flight training.  What are YOU waiting for?! 
 
See you again soon, Patrick!
 
Cheers,
Toby James

 

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On top of the world! (Africa, at least)

Posted on September 7, 2011 by toby

Becky's getting me in shape for the next climb!

I want to tell you about something really cool that one of our pilots did recently. My friend Becky, who flies for us here, recently climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro!  Wow!

Mount Kilimanjaro is  the highest point on the African continent, soaring up to 19,336 feet, or nearly 5900 meters. That’s really up there. And Becky went up using her own two feet!  And the skills & services of the wonderful porters, who carried everything, from food coolers to tents to chairs to backpacks, on their heads!  (not all those things were Becky’s, by the way.)

Why Kilimanjaro?  Because it’s in the middle of the world – a snow-covered mountain near the Equator. It’s the top of Africa.  And, of course, “because it’s there.” 

Becky told us that it was a hard climb from about 15,000 feet on up, but the stars were “amazing,” and she was somewhat surprised at the sheer physical & emotional effort of it all.  Also, she discovered that “gaiters are essential for civilized life.”  And, that she could survive for six days without a shower!  (hey, we dogs go longer than that…. ok, yeah, sometimes we shouldn’t, but…)

Becky’s done some high-altitude flying, and she was amazed to have a similiar view of the landscape as when she’s flying up high. But, the coming-down part “hurt.”  I’ll bet!

What’s next for our intrepid climber?  Probably Mt. Rainier, in our own backyard. Becky’s made it to 12000 feet on Mt. Rainer, and now she’d like to tackle the whole 14, 410 feet of it.

I don’t think dogs would do very well on a Kilimanjaro climb. I guess I’ll just stay here and listen to the stories.  Way to go, Becky!

Cheers,

Toby James

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Congrats to Alex and Jeff!

Posted on August 30, 2011 by toby
My friend Alex, all smiles after his checkride!
Jeff and I share a laugh on the dock!

So, we had a couple of checkrides this week!  My friends Alex and Jeff recently became ASES-rated pilots, and I couldn’t be happier for them.

 Alex came to us from California, but he was born in Russia, so I learned some Russian from him.  I learned I am a собака, pronounced by English-speakers as ”suh-BAH-kuh.”  That’s “dog” in Russian :-)

 Jeff is studying in the AMT program at South Seattle Community College, along with two of our stellar employees Jennie and Heather!  He’s also a recent graduate of Rocky Mountain College in Montana, with a degree in Aeronautical Science.  Wow!  He and his instructor, my friend Kit, had a lot of fun talking about Montana.

Hey – why don’t YOU come fly with us?  I’d love to share some laughs with you, too!

Cheers,

Toby James

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Is it back to school time already?

Posted on August 18, 2011 by toby

My friend Tim, an O'Dea graduate who's off to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Howdy, all,

I’m a little sad this week – excited, but a little sad.  You see, my friend Tim is off to COLLEGE this week, which is really, really cool for him!  But I’m going to miss him (and sharing his lunches :-)

 

Tim is off to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida.  He’s starting his freshman year there, and I can’t wait to hear about his college experiences.  He’s been working at Seattle Seaplanes all summer, doing everything from tending the garden to fuelling the planes to cleaning up the porch to painting the dock to….. well, you name it!  In fact, that’s why he’s wearing Carhartt overalls in this picture!

He’s managed to do some flying along the way, too: he’ll be the envy of the other students at ERAU, because he has ASES hours in his logbook.  Tim has promised to send us email and a picture when he solos down in Florida!

So, it’s hard to think that summer is really starting to wind down – but it gets better knowing that summer’s end means an exciting beginning, too.  Good luck, Tim!

Cheers,

Toby James

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Dawg days of summer

Posted on August 8, 2011 by toby

A Flying Dawg?!

So, I hope you’re all enjoying summer (or winter, if you’re “down under.” )  We’re sliding into August, and the days here on the lake have been starting out a bit cloudy, then warming up to just the right temperature.  It’s great for flying.

And we had a distinguished guest this week – my friend Kit’s dear friend, Dr. Harry Bruce, who is the Dean of the Information School (“iSchool”) at the University of Washington.  (And, the University of Washington is the home of the Huskies, hence, the ‘Dawg’ days of summer – see what I did there?)

Kit and Harry enjoyed an introductory flight together, and marvelled at the beautiful “UDub” campus from the air.  They even peeked at Harry & wife Lorraine’s house from the air, too — it’s always fun to see your own house from 1,000 feet above.  Makes the garden and the deck and so forth look even better, sometimes.

And here’s something else that I think is cool – Harry and Lorraine are originally from Australia!  As in “down under!”  Another place I love to hear about……..

Harry’s flight was a gift from my friend Nancy, who teaches at the iSchool.  I’m telling you this because maybe you have somebody in your life who would just love the gift of flight.  Consider yourself hinted at…..

My friend Nancy, and my "brother" Oliver Murphy

 

The Information School received some attention last year for this student-produced video, “Librarians do Gaga.”   It went “viral” on YouTube, and got mentioned all over the place. So, this is the kind of fun they’re having over at the iSchool!

So, I hope you’re enjoying the dawg/dog days of summer, and I hope maybe we’ll see you here soon, too! The weather’s fine, and we’re flying.

Harry and Kit, all smiles after the intro flight

 

Cheers,

Toby James

 

 

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