Landing float planes around MArine bases question...

[cvearl]

I am trying to get sorted out on the correct usage of the marine lights on the water where you land these puppies.

Victoria+ FSX has marine bases as does Tongass fJords and even the FSX default scenery in some select areas.

Some ligfhts flash. Some are one color and others another.

Is there some rhyme or reason as to how to taxi with those marine signals? How to find the start and end of runways?

Stuff like that?

Charles.

[mfitch]

According to documentation at the FAA green should be on the left of the plane and red should be on the right when coming "from seaward." Additional markers may indicate the middle of a channel. These are just safe passage markers. I don't know if there are any other markers (our local float plane airport does not need markers).

The FAA documentation can be found at http://www.faa.gov/library/manuals/aircraft/seaplane_handbook/

[Holger Sandmann]

Hello Charles,

actually, the marine navigational aids provided with Tongass X, Vancouver+, and Victoria+ are for (virtual) boaters and have no direct bearing on floatplane operations. The only exception is Victoria Harbor, for which the Vic+ manual on page 13 explains the markers and proper procedures.

At some seaplane bases I placed a bunch of dolphins (bundles of wooden poles rammed into the ground) to mark smaller islands, which can be difficult to spot because the limited mesh detail doesn't make them rise above sea level.

For Van+/Vic+ and Tongass X we used the current Coast Guard light lists - http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/pubs/LightLists/LightLists.htm and http://www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca/eng/Ccg/atn_Publications- and the US Coast Guard has a summary document for boaters that explains the different signals and their meanings: http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/pubs/LightLists/ATON%20Plates.pdf . The placement of these aids and their respective light effects is sufficiently accurate to test your marine navigation skills. For example, starting in Petersburg harbor and heading southwest into Wrangell Narrows is great fun in any add-on vessel, especially at night or in poor weather: lots of marine lights and several tight turns.

Cheers, Holger

[scott967b]

a seaplane, when on the water, must follow the nautical "rules of the road" aka 72 COLREGS. Rule 23 for lights on powered vessel, and modified by rule 31 for seaplanes.

It should be noted that the US maintains a parallel set of regulations known as the "Inland Rules of the Road".

In addition, the "red, right, returning" rule for buoys is for US inland waters, though now the world is divided into region "b" (Americas) and "a" (everything else) so the rule applies in region b.

For region "b" see this:
http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/pubs/LightLists/ATON%20Plates.pdf
note that the US has in some cases different rules for the Great Lakes and Western rivers (Mississippi River) but these shouldn't concern seaplanes that I can think of.

scott s.
.

[mfitch]

Thanks for the information Holger. I do a lot of flights between Petersburg and Wrangell airports (j2 cub wheels or floats, Kodiak mostly). The Coast Guard info I will have to read as well as looking up state law about how planes and boats should (or not) mix.

[Holger Sandmann]

Hi guys,

Scott makes a very good point (thanks for that!): while the marine signals aren't usually placed with floatplanes in mind pilots will have to follow nautical regulations while on the water. Thus, at least some signals may indeed have importance for floatplanes too. Mea culpa.

I also should have mentioned that all official seaplane bases have information that would indicate any specific rules or potential hazards. For the US one source is AirNav, e.g., http://www.airnav.com/airport/63A , and for Canada it would be Nav Canada's Water Aerodrome Supplement (WAS) - http://www.navcanada.ca/NavCanada.asp?Language=EN&Content=ContentDefinitionFiles%5CPublications%5CAe ronauticalInfoProducts%5CPublications%5CWAS%5Cdefa ult.xml - which, unfortunately, isn't available for viewing online.

Cheers, Holger

[jdhaenens]

For Alaska specifically the Inland rules will apply:




§ 80.1705 Alaska

The 72 COLREGS shall apply on all the sounds, bays, harbors, and inlets of Alaska
.

As a seaplane you will normally be the burdened vessel in most encounters (just above a personal watercraft IIRC).

[mfitch]

Thanks for all the info. It looks like some was posted as I typed my last entry. That is superb turn around time.

[cvearl]

Thank you all!

Charles.

[scott967b]

If you want to get into it, from a US standpoint, you are fortunate because NOAA provides all US navigation charts online. They come in two flavors: there is a vector format called ENC that is intended to use in ECDIS systems (think ship version of a glass cockpit). There is also a raster format called RNC that is a scan of the paper chart intended as a backup for ECDIS. Both formats are obscure (peculiar to the maritime industry) but there are programs for displaying either style of chart either free or trial (which provides all you need for sim purposes). The ones I am familiar with are Coastal Explorer from Rose Point Navigation. and Chart Navigator Viewer from Maptech (I believe Maptech was involved in NOAA's digitization work).

Here's an example for Wrangell, AK:

http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/5683/wrangellenc.jpg (http://img51.imageshack.us/i/wrangellenc.jpg/)

http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/6438/wrangellrnc.jpg (http://img189.imageshack.us/i/wrangellrnc.jpg/)

scott s.
.

[Holger Sandmann]

Hi Scott,

indeed, I've actually used the Maptech online nautical maps extensively to check the marine signals I've placed: http://maptech.mytopo.com/onlinemaps/index.cfm?CFID=2245511&CFTOKEN=44932521

Cheers, Holger