8.22 - Seattle Sea Plane Ride: Northwest Seaplanes Aerial Tour

My mom lives in Renton near the Boeing 727 plant and Renton Airport. The airport is used by light aircraft, including seaplanes. While my wife’s uncle was visiting Seattle, we decided to schedule a sightseeing aerial tour of Seattle, via seaplane. It proved to be a very smart investment.

We walked over to the Northwest Seaplanes hanger where they promptly whisked us away to the Beaver seaplane at the dock. The five of us settled into the small but comfortable vintage aircraft and pushed out onto Lake Washington. Once the propellers wound up, it wasn’t long before we were airborne. You couldn’t even tell when the pontoons actually lifted off the water, it was so smooth.

The pilot was able to fly the nearly half-century old plan with two fingers, gently correcting the controls as we gained altitude. Our route took us past houses (or compounds) of two of the richest men in the world: Paul Allen and Bill Gates. You get a much better appreciation of what money can buy as you look down upon acres of semi-camouflaged estate.

We headed north, then West across Lake Washington at less than 1,500 feet of altitude, over the Husky Stadium, over Magnolia and out to Puget Sound, before looping around towards downtown. We flew by the Space Needle, a stately sight we’d visited only earlier that day. We crossed over Lakes Union and Washington towards Bellevue, before turning south back towards Renton Airport.

The landing was as smooth as the takeoff, and as soon as it had started, it was over. In about 40 minutes, we’d seen Seattle proper, from a very unique, and glorious, perspective. While anyone with a plane can circle the city, it’s worth the price to experience it in a vintage Dehavilland Beaver float plane care of Northwest Seaplanes.

[tags]Seattle, Sea Plane Ride, Northwest Seaplanes, Seattle Aerial Tour, Renton Airport[/tags]