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AviationSeaplane post-landing procedures
After the flight in a seaplane, you anchor, moor, dock or beach it the right way for the water, the tide and the wind, run the checklist, inspect it and secure it. It is Task B of Area XII, Postflight Procedures, in the FAA Private Pilot Airman Certification Standards, for the airplane classes listed below.
Free to startScenarios
- Airplane single-engine sea (ASES).
- Airplane multiengine sea (AMES).
The steps
- If anchoring, pick a suitable area for the seaplane's movement, water depth, tide, wind and weather changes, with enough anchors and lines of the right strength and length to hold it.
- If not anchoring, approach the dock, mooring buoy, beach or ramp in the right direction and at a safe speed for the water depth, tide, current and wind.
- Complete the appropriate checklists.
- Do a postflight inspection and document any discrepancies and servicing needs.
- Secure the seaplane for the wind, waves and changes in water level, or follow the land after landing, parking and securing procedures in an amphibian on land.
Safety rules that stop the station
- Any action, or lack of action, that makes the examiner step in to keep the flight safe is unsatisfactory.
- If you do not use sound aeronautical decision-making, including single-pilot resource management, the examiner marks the task as failed.
To pass
- The seaplane anchored, moored, docked or beached safely for the conditions, the checklist done, the inspection written up and the seaplane secured.
- Know mooring, docking, anchoring, beaching and ramping, the postflight inspection and how to record discrepancies, and the risks of activities and distractions, seaplane base security procedures and disembarking passengers safely.
- Missing the standard on this task fails the task and its area of operation.
Official source
Federal · FAA Private Pilot ACS
Private Pilot for Airplane Category Airman Certification Standards (FAA-S-ACS-6C)
The FAA publishes the Private Pilot Airman Certification Standards free: every task of the checkride with its knowledge, risks and tolerances.
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