[Leica] Ketchikan float planes

[Howard Ritter]

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 floats 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


> On Jan 30, 2016, at 9:56 PM, H&ECummer <cummer at netvigator.com> wrote:
> 
> Hi Luggers,
> 
> When our cruise ship was docked in Ketchikan its position was alongside the float plane take off and landing area.
> 
> I went up on the promenade deck at the back of the ship with the Nikon D4 fitted with the 80 - 400 VR zoom and spent a pleasant (if cool) couple of hours
> shooting the float plane traffic. Here are seven of the best shots starting with this one and then please shift right.
> 
> <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/FloatPlanes2015/KetchSP7861.jpg.html <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/FloatPlanes2015/KetchSP7861.jpg.html>>
> 
> Please view large. C&C always welcome.
> 
> Howard
> 
> 
> 
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