EAA AIRVENTURE - SEAPLANES
Aircraft and water
When you visit Oshkosh you definitely need to visit the SEAPLANE BASE.
This base is only a few miles (15 minutes drive) away from Wittman Airport. For a few dollars you can take the bus towards this chill place were you will find a very nice atmosphere.
Located at Lake Winnebago in the neighborhood of Willow Harbor I visited the seaplane base. From the shore you are able to see the take-offs and landings at the lake. Multiple different types of seaplanes can be seen at this location.
Notice that a lot of different seaplanes also visit the main stage at Wittman Airport.
Note : The same type as the Republic RC-3 'Seabee' (N6222K) in above pictures was used in the James Bond movie 'The Man with the Golden Gun, ninth James Bond movie with Roger Moore playing James Bond (1974). The Seabee (N87545) is in the movie destroyed with a solar gun by Francisco Scaramanga. This RC-3 used in the movie crash-landed (08/11/1971) in a Las Vegas shopping mall after experiencing a mechanical failure. The film crew destroyed this aircraft with explosives for the movie after a California man purchased it and brought it towards Thailand in 1974. The Seabee was often used in movies, reg N6261K was used in the Beatles movie 'Help'.
- N98TP : Because of the higher needs for amphibious aircraft Grumman presented a new design towards the US Navy. Type of this aircraft was G-64, development started in 1944. 2 prototypes required by the US Navy and out of those the legendary "GRUMMAN ALBATROSS" was born.
His maiden flight was on October 24, 1947. However this type was asked by the US Navy it was the US Air Force that placed the first orders. This was because the US Air Force took over the worldwide responsibility for search and rescue from the US Navy. Later on the US Coast Guard placed also some orders. More than 450 aircraft were built during the years. Below aircraft N98TP (1951 HU-16B, owned by UNIVERSAL EXPORTS INTL LLC) was purchased by the US Air Force in 1953 as a Tri- Phibian (land, water, skis). It was active in several wars (Vietnam, Korea) / at the Northern Polar territory and over Antartica.
However this type of aircraft was operated by different military users it was not economic enough for civil use, mostly because this aircraft was overpowered.
