Friday photo: fishing from the wing of a Maule
No better way to pass the time fishing from the wing of a Maule somewhere in the Exuma Cays, Bahamas while on a charter flight.
Captain Paul Harding, originally from the UK, was brought to the Bahamas as a youngster after being educated in England. In 1989 he ordered a factory new straight-float seaplane from Maule Air in Georgia—not having a clue how to fly! He attended flight school at Rockledge Air Park on the east coast of Florida. He soled in nine hours and passed his PPL with just 40 hours. He then added a seaplane rating at Jack Brown's Seaplane Base in Winter Haven to complement his new seaplane with just less than 48 hours total time. Over the years he added all his commercial/instrument/multi ratings in land and sea. Paul formed the first commercial seaplane operation in the Bahamas in 1990, retiring after 17 years with nearly 14,000 hours experience. He published his autobiography, “Sharks in the Runway,” which is available on Amazon.
No better way to pass the time fishing from the wing of a Maule somewhere in the Exuma Cays, Bahamas while on a charter flight.
The islands of the Bahamas never cease to amaze. The combination of white sandy beaches and beautiful blue water makes for the perfect flying destination and a great view. Paul Harding captures this color palette with a shot of the Schooner Cays, as seen under the wing of his Cessna 172.
Rotating ten feet off the water, there was an ominous and very audible bang from the rear of the aircraft. Immediately the seaplane skewed 45 degrees into the east wind, heading us at 80mph toward a frightening scene. One can scoff at that expression of “doing things by the book” but in near every case of incident, almost all were resolved safely by resorting to this method—except this was not in the book.
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