Saturday, 11AM- 3PM. High tide 1:00PM.Rain Date, Sunday, 11AM-3PM. High tide 1:48PM. We are planning a Splash-In and BBQ at the Essington Seaplane Base on August 7. Open to the public. If you think you might fly in, we’d love to know. mailbox@phillyseaplanebase.com Pilots: We plan to have the floating doc in good shape to accommodate a […]
My First Splash In
My first Splash-in (by Sarah Wolfe – Aeronautical Engineering student, Purdue University) I have only been involved in aviation for a few years, but funnily enough, I can’t ever remember a time when I haven’t been fascinated by seaplanes. Every time I watch one takeoff I am entranced by the way they glide gracefully across […]
Splash-in 2019
June Splash-in at Essington, PA by Robert Dant The first little heat wave of the summer hit Philadelphia just prior to June 29, the date for the annual seaplane splash-in at Essington, Pennsylvania. Hot conditions and afternoon storms were forecast, but the morning start helped keep the worst of the heat in check. Six seaplanes, […]
ICON A5 Demo Rides
Icon Aircraft visited Essington as part of their east coast sales tour on August 22. They had a reception at Wings Field the night before, and scheduled demo rides at the Philly Seaplane Base in the afternoon of the 22nd. The Icon team had no issues utilizing the floating doc for their operations. Without sponsons, […]
Tropic Ocean Air visits Essington
Tropic Ocean Airways (link) provides scheduled seaplane service from Florida to the Bahamas. They also offer charter service and are trying to expand to the New York and mid-Atlantic area. On August 3, 2018, they landed at the Essington Seaplane Base to pick up a passenger for a flight to the New York area. The […]
Getting my Merit Badge from Commander Mi...
During 1966, give or take a year or so, I can’t remember exactly, I was a young strapping passionate aviator around 12 years young: a Boy Scout. Many times, I passing by the Philadelphia Seaplane Base riding my bicycle from Norwood to head down ‘Old Rat Road’ behind Westinghouse (where my Father worked for 35 […]
Stopping in for fuel
The seaplane base does not have fuel, but if someone needs some, we can arrange to ferry some jerry cans from a local airport. On May 3, 2017, a Cessna 172 was being ferried from Sarasota, Florida to Orilla, Quebec, a 1200NM trip. Brendan was ferrying the plane for its owner who uses it in Florida […]
Splash-in 2017
August 6, 2017 Friends of the Essington Seaplane Base gathered for a splash-in on the Delaware River. The weather was ideal for a picnic and for seaplane operations. The most dramatic change to the site is the major refurbishment of the Lazaretto house. The massive porch has been demolished and the trees have been taken down. But, the […]
How to plan a seaplane splash-in?
How do you plan a successful seaplane splash-in? There seem to be at least four key ingredients…. Big rocks: Gathering interest of pilots Planning food Getting volunteers Setting a Date Things to do: Event Calendars: Add event details and RSVP to website(s) Advertising (public): Flyers, Local newspaper, Facebook Invitations (aviators): Seaplane Pilot List, Fly-in Calendars, […]
Splash-In 2016
Invitation: June 18, 2016, 10AM – 2PM. High tide: 12:30PM. We are planning a Splash-In and cook out at the seaplane base on Saturday. Drop us a line if you are interested in this event. If you think you might fly in, we’d love to know. mailbox@phillyseaplanebase.com Pilots: The floating doc is in good shape and can […]