水上飛機(jī)

能在任何水面降落是水上飛機(jī)最大的便利，有時(shí)甚至不需要碼頭，只要有水就可以在轟鳴的飛機(jī)引擎中體會(huì)上天入海的自由感。這種自由感的獨(dú)享需要有碧海藍(lán)天的依托，因此在世界上很多水域充足的地方，水上飛機(jī)早已成為那里人們?nèi)粘Ｉ畹囊徊糠帧?/p>

Seaplanes can land on any water body， and park without the need of a dock. In the roaring sound of its engines， seaplanes can take you up into the blue sky or dive onto the azure sea. In places with waters， seaplane has become part of people’s daily life.

地球上超過70%的面積被水所覆蓋，無疑為水上飛機(jī)提供了豐厚的“土壤”。不論海洋、湖泊或者河川，水上飛機(jī)均擁有自由起降的可能。水上飛機(jī)可以算是飛機(jī)中的老資歷，由于早期陸上機(jī)場數(shù)量不多，跑道和輪式起落架的不完善曾造成了許多意外事故，因此水上飛機(jī)曾一度占據(jù)主流。中國的第一架水上飛機(jī)誕生于1919年，這架名為“甲型一號(hào)”的水上飛機(jī)當(dāng)時(shí)的性能也曾一度平行于世界最高水平。在世界范圍內(nèi)水上飛機(jī)也擁有輝煌的歷史，也被廣泛應(yīng)用于戰(zhàn)爭及運(yùn)輸?shù)阮I(lǐng)域。盡管擁有曾經(jīng)的輝煌，但隨著航空器及機(jī)場設(shè)施在上個(gè)世紀(jì)的迅猛發(fā)展，水上飛機(jī)也開始逐漸退出主流航空器的舞臺(tái)。如今只在陸地面積較小且被水環(huán)繞的地區(qū)，水上飛機(jī)才能體現(xiàn)其效能。水上飛機(jī)更被當(dāng)成一種自由愜意的生活方式吸引著眾多水上飛機(jī)愛好者的體驗(yàn)，被湛藍(lán)的海天包圍、躺在平靜的水面上，他們樂于獲得這種隨走隨停的自由感，上天感受飛行的魅力，下海體會(huì)夏日的清涼。

曹威：隨走隨停的飛行生活

在美國明尼蘇達(dá)州學(xué)習(xí)駕駛水上飛機(jī)的經(jīng)歷給曹威留下了很深的印象。他在2012年拿到了水上飛機(jī)駕駛員和水上飛機(jī)教員的資質(zhì)，成為目前國內(nèi)唯一擁有水上飛機(jī)教員資質(zhì)的人。明尼蘇達(dá)州位于美國大陸的極北端，北鄰加拿大的馬尼托巴省和安大略省，東臨蘇必利爾湖。明尼蘇達(dá)州有15000多個(gè)湖，是一個(gè)名副其實(shí)的多湖州，由于交通所需，水上飛機(jī)在當(dāng)?shù)赜兄容^廣泛的應(yīng)用。

“水上飛機(jī)在明尼蘇達(dá)州十分常見，那里湛藍(lán)的海水和濃厚的飛行氛圍為水上飛機(jī)的存在提供了便利。我去時(shí)正好是夏天，天氣比較暖和，短褲、背心和拖鞋也就是我們當(dāng)時(shí)駕駛員的裝備了。”在明尼蘇達(dá)，曹威水上飛機(jī)執(zhí)照的考試員雖已年近80歲，可幾乎每天都在過這樣的生活。

玩水上飛機(jī)需要合適的地域。在美國，芝加哥、洛杉磯、明尼蘇達(dá)這些湖區(qū)林立的地方，水上飛機(jī)數(shù)量更多，與當(dāng)?shù)厝说纳罱Y(jié)合得也更緊密。“我當(dāng)時(shí)所在的飛行學(xué)校是一個(gè)湖，相當(dāng)于一個(gè)水上的飛行社區(qū)，幾百架水上飛機(jī)停靠在湖上，湖周圍就有很多餐廳、酒吧、碼頭，甚至一些小的旅館和娛樂場所。”曹威說那片社區(qū)是圍著一個(gè)湖建成的別墅群，匯集了很多水上飛機(jī)玩家。物業(yè)為玩家們建了很多水上飛機(jī)停泊碼頭，為他們提供最大的便利。

“在那里學(xué)習(xí)駕駛水上飛機(jī)是一件十分悠閑的事情，不僅因?yàn)楸Ｕ闲栽O(shè)施比較完善，還因?yàn)樗巷w機(jī)在當(dāng)?shù)貜膩矶际且患p松的設(shè)備。我們可以隨時(shí)停下來游泳，人們站在自己飛機(jī)上釣魚也是種很常見的場景。”對生活在那里的人來說，水上飛機(jī)是一種必要的交通工具，很多人從這個(gè)湖起飛駕駛飛機(jī)去上班，下班后再飛回來，水上飛機(jī)儼然是他們生活中的一部分。

這個(gè)大型水上社區(qū)為水上飛機(jī)提供的保障措施十分完善，“水勤”管理員相當(dāng)于社區(qū)的物業(yè)人員，他們的服務(wù)非常貼心。“比如當(dāng)我們將飛機(jī)停駐在碼頭，走進(jìn)一家酒吧喝點(diǎn)酒時(shí)，會(huì)有專人為碼頭停泊的飛機(jī)加油和清洗機(jī)身。”

由于那里飛行的自由和便利性，曹威和朋友們嘗試了用水上飛機(jī)做各種有趣的體驗(yàn)，例如水上飛機(jī)的編隊(duì)飛行。“我們當(dāng)時(shí)計(jì)劃用3架水上飛機(jī)編隊(duì)沿著大湖一路從美國飛到加拿大，這是個(gè)有趣的經(jīng)歷。”一行人也在沿途見到了許多平日里見不到的美景，可以隨時(shí)在任何喜歡的水面上游泳。“一路上都能見到很多水上飛機(jī)社區(qū)，飛累了，我們就把飛機(jī)停在社區(qū)的碼頭邊，走進(jìn)沿湖的酒吧，點(diǎn)上一杯扎啤一邊看著美景一邊閑聊，酒足飯飽后再開飛機(jī)離開。”

由于當(dāng)?shù)貙︸{駛員酒精的要求不高，因此在保證駕駛安全的前提下，適當(dāng)?shù)仫嬀埔膊贿`反規(guī)定。“酒足飯飽后，我們幾個(gè)人還要一起把飛機(jī)從碼頭推到湖中準(zhǔn)備起飛，因此駕駛水上飛機(jī)穿拖鞋短褲或許也是正確的選擇。”

卡爾：加拿大的極北打獵之旅

相比美國水上飛機(jī)的相對集中，多湖國家加拿大的水上飛機(jī)規(guī)模更加龐大。與美國有明顯的不同，加拿大的水上飛機(jī)都是水陸兩用型，因?yàn)榧幽么蠖鞎r(shí)間較長，湖面容易結(jié)冰，飛機(jī)需要在陸地起降。同時(shí)加拿大寒冷的氣候，也不允許駕駛員穿得單薄。

卡爾供職于一家加拿大水上飛機(jī)運(yùn)營公司，小鎮(zhèn)地處加拿大山區(qū)，水域廣闊，是加拿大西部典型的地勢。由于地面交通很不方便，因此水上飛機(jī)有著廣闊的用途，比如戶外旅行。作為水上飛機(jī)駕駛員，卡爾經(jīng)常搭載很多周末從各地趕來休閑放松的游客，水上飛機(jī)也是人們唯一能想到的出行方式。

卡爾所在的水上飛機(jī)運(yùn)營公司總部位于離小鎮(zhèn)不遠(yuǎn)的溫哥華，作為重要的港口城市，那里眾多的游船碼頭也為卡爾駕駛的這種水上飛機(jī)停靠提供了便利條件。碼頭周圍長期停放許多水上飛機(jī)，這些都是溫哥華的上班族們的日常交通工具，他們會(huì)西服革履地駕駛著水上飛機(jī)到碼頭，再搭乘路面交通工具到達(dá)單位。因?yàn)樗巷w可以幫他們節(jié)省大量的時(shí)間成本。

與城市中的代步工具不同，卡爾駕駛飛機(jī)純屬來自其對飛行的熱愛。在父親的影響下，他愛上了飛行，也最終選擇將自己的愛好當(dāng)作工作。他說自己喜歡在空中貼近大自然的感覺，也樂于在空中向自己的乘客介紹每座山和每座島的奇聞趣事。他的健談也使旅途變得輕松愉悅，“因?yàn)閬磉@里玩的人很多都是我的老朋友，他們很多人非常喜歡打獵，很多人來這露營，總之都離不開水上飛機(jī)。”

很多時(shí)候卡爾將乘客們送上岸后都不能返航，因?yàn)橛行┏丝鸵诋?dāng)天再搭乘卡爾的飛機(jī)返航。“我會(huì)在約定的地點(diǎn)等他們一起回去，有時(shí)候也會(huì)和他們一同進(jìn)山打獵或者獨(dú)自待在飛機(jī)上看書、聽廣播。”

卡爾經(jīng)常在自己飛機(jī)的行李艙中放著釣竿。因?yàn)殡S便降落在哪個(gè)湖，那里都會(huì)是一個(gè)天然漁場，釣上來的魚他就隨手扔在飛機(jī)浮筒中。他很享受這樣一個(gè)人一片湖水的閑暇時(shí)光。

卡爾所在的公司中有包括賽斯納208及賽斯納182等10架經(jīng)過改裝的水上飛機(jī)。和美國的水上飛機(jī)不同，加拿大的水上飛機(jī)會(huì)在加裝浮筒后再加裝輪式起落架，因?yàn)槟抢餁夂蚝洌辛溯喪狡鹇浼芫涂梢员ＷC飛機(jī)在冬天湖面結(jié)冰的時(shí)候正常飛行。

由于那里適宜水上飛機(jī)停靠，因此也擁有著巨大的水上飛機(jī)市場。在加拿大的部分城市，以水上飛機(jī)為主的通勤航線也十分火爆，這樣的生活和出行方式是不少加拿大人的選擇，許多飛行愛好者就將自己的水上飛機(jī)停放在私人碼頭。

卡爾說，在他所在的小鎮(zhèn)，水上飛機(jī)甚至已成為主要出行工具，因?yàn)槠涫褂脙r(jià)格低廉，當(dāng)?shù)卣叩姆鲋惨餐苿?dòng)了水上飛機(jī)通勤的發(fā)展。巨大的市場為他們帶來了可觀的收益，很多人會(huì)來此度假，很多人就生活在這里。“在這里，水上飛機(jī)早已成為人們生活的一部分，只要有水就可以起飛降落，享受這種特殊的自由感。”

70% of the Earth is covered with water， be it ocean， lake or river， on which seaplanes can land and take off. As one of the earliest craft， seaplane was once the dominate aircraft when airports were few and wheeled landing gears were still under development. The first seaplane of China， named as A-1， was produced in 1919 with world-class performance. On a world scale， seaplane has a glorious history with its wide use in warfare and transport. But with the development of airports and aircraft， seaplane retreats from the mainstream market to only water surrounded areas. Today， seaplane has become a lifestyle pursued by flying lovers who enjoy the free switch between soaring in the boundless air and floating on clam waters.

A Seaplane Lifestyle in Minnesota

Cao Wei’s memory of his seaplane training in Minnesota is still fresh. He obtained his seaplane pilot certificate and instructor qualification there in 2012， making him the first and only qualified seaplane instructor in China. With over 15，000 lakes， Minnesota is unquestionably a state of lakes where seaplanes are widely used for transport.

“Seaplanes are a common sight in Minnesota. Its rich water resources made it ideal for flying seaplanes. I was there in summer. So shorts， singlet， and slippers make up my pilot wears.” Most locals dress like that， as is his over-80-year-old examiner.

It takes the right terrains to fly seaplanes. In the United States， Chicago， Los Angeles， and Minnesota boast the most seaplanes because of their large number of lakes. “Beside my flight school is a lake. It was a flying community for locals， moored with over 100 seaplanes， and surrounded with restaurants， bars， berths， hotels and recreational facilities.” According to Cao Wei， private villas around the lake formed the local community， many seaplane owners and lovers live there. Berths were built around the lake to park the planes.

“It is very relaxing to learn seaplane flying there， not just because of its comprehensive facilities， but also because seaplanes are easy to maneuver. We can stop anytime we want for a swim. And it is common to see people angling on their seaplanes.” For locals， seaplane has become part of their lives. Many who live here fly to work every day.

Water managers in the community， like property managers， offer considerate services for seaplanes. “For example， when we stop for a drink at a bar， someone will be there to refuel and wash our plane.”

Enjoying the freedom and convenience， Cao Wei tried all kinds of interesting experiences together with his friends， including flying in formation. “We flew three seaplanes in formation all the way to Canada. It was an interesting experience.” They flew over rarely seen beautiful scenes and landed on waters they like for a swim. “We fly past many flying bases. Whenever we were tired， we would stop at one of the bases， order a beer at a lakeside bar， chat about the beautiful views， and depart again when we are well fed.”

The alcohol limit for local pilots is not so stringent. As long as you can ensure safe flying， a few drinks would not break the law. “After food and drink， we have to push the seaplane to the center of the lake for takeoff， so short pants and slippers might just be the right choice for seaplane pilots.”

Seaplane Trips in North Canada

Unlike in U.S. where seaplanes are concentrated in certain areas， Canada， with its extremely large number of lakes， hosts a bigger number of amphibious aircraft suitable for take-off and landing on frozen lakes during its long winter. The cold temperature does not allow pilots to wear thin either.

Karl is a seaplane pilot of a Canadian seaplane operator. He works in a typical western town surrounded by mountains and an expansive range of water. Because of the inconvenience of ground transportation， seaplane becomes the only practical means of transport there for commuting and sightseeing. At weekends， Karl would fly tourists from all places on leisure trips.

His company is headquartered in Vancouver， which is not far from the town. As an important harbor city， Vancouver offers convenient docks for seaplanes. Along the harbor a large number of seaplanes could always be sighted. They are used for public transportation in and out of the city. As seaplanes can save a lot of time， office workers dressed in suits could often be seen flying seaplanes to the city and transfer onto ground transportation.

Karl flies seaplane out of love. Under influence of his father， Karl fell for flying and made it his career. He likes the feeling to be close to nature in the air， and he loves to tell tourists anecdotes about every mountain and every island. His eloquence made the flight enjoyable. “That is because many who came here are old friends of mine. They love to hunt and camp here， none could be possible without seaplanes.”

Sometimes， upon arrival at a destination， Karl has to wait for his passengers to take his plane back. “I will tell them to meet me at an agreed time and place， sometimes I would go to the mountains to hunt with them， other times I would just stay onboard reading or listening to radio.”

Karl often brings his fishing rod on the plane since basically everywhere he lands is a natural fishing place. Any fish he got， he would throw onto the flout. He enjoyed his time alone on a lake.

His company owns 10 modified Cessna 208 and Cessna 182. Unlike in the US， seaplanes in Canada are always equipped with a landing gear to support take off and landing on frozen lakes in winter.

Canada has a huge market for seaplane. In most cities， commute routes operated by seaplane are quite popular. It is a lifestyle chosen by many Canadians. Many flight lovers even have their private docks.

Karl told us， seaplane is a major means of transport in the town he works in. Government support has made seaplane commuting affordable and popular. The big market generates significant revenues. Many people come here for holidays， some of whom may choose to stay. “At here， seaplane is part of our everyday life. We enjoy the freedom of taking off and landing anywhere with water.”