Almost live from AirVenture 2025! Steve McCaughey is joined by Steve Guetter to discuss the incredible Fire Boss. Steve Guetter is not only the General Manager of Advanced Flight Training & Leasing, he is also a Seaplane Pilots Association Board Member and Minnesota Field Director.

Join a great discussion between the two Steves focused on the amazing performance and capabilities of the Fire Boss. Listeners will gain insight into the training and operation of this legendary firefighter with a 59' wingspan and 1,600 hp engine.

JT Grainger of Sheridan Pilots 307 joins Steve McCaughey for a discussion on the challenges and rewards of flying high altitude lake operations in the school's Cessna 172 on Wipline amphibious floats.

Based in Sheridan, Wyoming, JT is a SPA Field Director and passionate promotor of all things aviation. JT's school is the only seaplane training facility in Wyoming, and we are thrilled to see such a unique opportunity for pilots to learn high density operations in a Cessna 172 at a lake surface elevation of nearly 4,600ft. I did it, and I can attest... rated seaplane pilot or not this is a great opportunity to not only earn your seaplane rating, but to learn how to operate seaplanes in high density altitudes.

In this episode of SPA’s Water Flying podcast Steve sits down with Dr. Loel Fenwick to discuss “The World's Most Beautiful Amphibian”, which happens to be Loel’s own Grumman G-73 Mallard—or maybe both of Loel’s Mallards. Recorded while sitting under the wing of one of Loel's G-73s at his gorgeous Tanglefoot Seaplane Base on the shores of beautiful Priest Lake, Idaho, this podcast will take listeners on a journey of romance, history and adventure that few have had the gift of experiencing. Join us!

On this episode of the Water Flying podcast Steve is joined by Addison Pemberton to discuss his amazing N3N seaplane. This round-engine biplane is the only one of its kind flying on a single mono-float.

The N3N was the primary seaplane trainer for the US Navy from 1936 until 1961. It is a rare example of a military aircraft that was designed and produced by the US government and not an industrial aircraft manufacturer such as Boeing and its Model 75 Stearman. Join Steve and Addison as they discuss the unusual construction and handling characteristics of the N3N.

Danny Seybert ,president of the Alaska Aviation Museum, joins Steve McCaughey on this episode of the Water Flying podcast to discuss growing up in a historic aviation family in Alaska in the 1970's. Danny's father Orin Seybert founded PenAir in 1955 which famously flew Grumman G-21 Gooses throughout the Aleutian Islands.

The Alaska Aviation Museum has many great historic aircraft including a PBY, Grumman Goose, Grumman Widgeon, a Sikorsky S-43 cockpit section, Beech-19 on floats and a Waco YKC on floats among others.

Visit the museums website at: https://alaskaairmuseum.org

On this episode Steve is in Sausalito, California with Aaron Singer of Aero Adventures. Commodore Center Seaplane Base, where Aero Adventures operates, dates back to the romance of the Pan Am Clipper Ships.

The base has an amazing safety record and a colorful history as the location where Otis Redding wrote "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay," and as a recording location for artists such as the Greatful Dead, Janis Joplin, Carlos Santana and Jefferson Airplane among many others.

Today Aero Adventures has endured challenges by the local community. With SPA's help, it continues to offer flightseeing operations off of the mud (listen to the episode to learn more), where customers can fly over Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco Bay and the amazingly beautiful Pacific Coast.

Join Amanda and Steve McCaughey for a discussion about both the Clear Lake Splash-In and the growing vision and opportunities for seaplanes at this Northern California secret gem.

Clear Lake is the largest lake fully within the state of California, with over 100 miles of shoreline, and yet the region is sparsely populated and under visited. Of specific interest to seaplane pilots, the lake has 100 years of seaplane activity with everything from the Pan Am Clipper ships to the military using the lake as a primary location for PBY, PBM and Martin Mars training.

Our thanks to Herb Lingl, the Skylark Resort, the city of Lakeport and all of the volunteers who made this event such a success.

Join our team of Clear Lake Splash-In volunteers by emailing us at [email protected]

The SPA team is small, hardworking and known for moving mountains for our members. Slade joined the SPA team in 2021 and has traveled extensively supporting our mission, largely became our goto solution for maintaining, wrangling and implementing our technology needs amongst the many other demands put on the team.

With great regret, but simultaneous support Slade will be leaving the team to pursue the next chapter of his aviation career. Join Slade and Steve for a little reminiscing and a bittersweet farewell for now...

On this episode I am joined by Steve Anderson, President of Aviat Aircraft as we explore the Husky. Let's be honest, there are very few certified bush/seaplanes being made today. The Aviat Husky is a two place American made and owned aircraft that has the capability to fill a mission few current production aircraft. It boasts a higher gross weight than any other current two seat aircraft, a higher cruise speed, great STOL and low speed performance. Not to mention, folding and adjustable seats and many other innovations.

Learn more about the Aviat Husky at https://aviataircraft.com/

Jack Jacobson and Amy Fenwick from the Washington Seaplane Pilots Association join Steve McCaughey on this episode to provide a recap of the 2023 Tanglefoot Seaplane Splash-In on Priest Lake, Idaho.

Perfectly calm, cool and clear weather welcomed over 30 seaplanes and their pilots. This amazing event which was hosted by the WSPA and Fenwick family at their amazing seaplane base nestled within the backcountry of Northern Idaho, just 40 miles from the Canadian border.