With fresh seaplane rating in hand and your chest puffed out with seaplane pilot ego, thoughts turn to actually renting a seaplane to feed your new addiction. Unfortunately, that could be a pipe dream. The buzz-killing reality is that seaplane rentals are few and far between. After surviving the initial training and seeing your instructor (and the examiner) hover centimeters from your controls, you should know why.
Several operations told us insurance matters are the major obstacles in the way of solo seaplane rentals. According to one school, its insurer is we’ll aware of the risks inherent with water operations and gets heartburn at the thought of a five-hour seaplane pilot going it alone. Additionally, it’s too risky for the school to jeopardize the flow of training revenue should a renter break its one-and-only seaplane.