[Leica] Ketchikan float planes

[cummer at netvigator.com (H&ECummer)]

Hi Howard,
We have been through Ketchikan twice - once on the Diamond Princess in 2012 
and last year on the Crystal Symphony. On each cruise we were docked in the 
same position and I had a good view
of the float planes taking off and landing. On the first cruise we took the 
fiord side trip and while we were in the fiords we saw a float plane land as 
you describe. Both cruises the weather was
wonderful in Ketchikan and we enjoyed the place very much. There is a very 
good bookshop there and I bought a book on the Beavers. It was The Immortal 
Beaver by Sean Rossiter if you are interested. The float plane pictures from 
the first cruise are here: 
<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/FloatPlanes/FamAirKw.jpg.html
 
<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/FloatPlanes/FamAirKw.jpg.html>>
Appreciate you looking and commenting. Thanks much,
Howard

Date: Sun, 31 Jan 2016 00:03:57 -0500
From: Howard Ritter <hlritter at bex.net <mailto:hlritter at bex.net>>
To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org <mailto:lug at 
leica-users.org>>
Subject: Re: [Leica] Ketchikan float planes

Hi, Howard?

What cruise line/ship were you on? In 2003 my family and I took a flight to 
Fairbanks, train to Denali and Anchorage, and bus to Seward. From there we 
took a Princess cruise ship to Vancouver, with stops at Ketchikan and other 
ports along the way. At Ketchikan we had some hours for excursions, and I 
had one of the most memorable experiences of my life. We signed up for a 
flight into the mountains, and as a sailplane pilot and a fan of prop-driven 
airplanes, especially those with radial engines, I was delighted to find 
that we?d be flying in a de Havilland Beaver, the float plane shown in the 
first series of your photos. As the heaviest passenger, I was put into the 
right front seat, beside the pilot, and had just about my best flight ever. 
We flew into the interior, low over high mountain meadows, through valleys 
with slopes above our altitude, and landed on a glacial lake. The pilot 
brought the Beaver to a stop and killed the engine. I and several others got 
out onto one of the floa
ts and stood there in perfect silence, taking in the lake and the mountains 
and the beautiful aircraft we were standing on. The whole flight was a 
transcendent experience.

I love those Beavers! Thanks for the stroll down memory lane. BTW, I too 
have the 80-400 VR, which I used on my trip as well.

?howard