Instead of hearing, “The plane! The plane!” a local group of aviators hopes you’ll hear someone on Lake Lanier shouting, “The seaplane! The seaplane!”
Troy Wheeler is both the owner and president of Lanier Flight Center Owner and field director for Seaplane Pilots Association Field Director for Georgia.
Troy and his associates have been working since June of 2013 holding several informative and strategic meetings with local and regional Army Corp of Engineers officials to earn the right to land seaplanes, also known as floatplanes, on Georgia’s largest lake.
The Lanier Flight Center website says, “Safe practices on our waterways are the responsibility of the certificated pilots of floatplanes, and we want the community to know that our desire is to work with boaters and lake homeowners to establish reasonable guidelines for lake access.”
Executive Director of the Seaplane Pilots Association Steve McCaughey has spoken in support of the proposal. Everyone involved seems committed to working with “governing bodies, landowners, and community in order to bring business and revenue to the area while respecting the boundaries necessary for protecting boaters and nature.”
I spoke with Lanier Flight Center Director of Operations Heidi Earle about why Lake Allatoona has approved seaplane landings there and why floatplanes cannot land on Lake Lanier. She said, “That’s the question of the day.”
Heidi was gracious, informative and repeatedly said the seaplane owners want to show respect for others on the lake. They are not asking to land planes on busy weekends or on holidays. “We want to be courteous toward others” who use the lake.
We’ll keep you up to date on this process to make Lake Lanier even more accessible to visitors from other areas, as information becomes available.
Click Here for Information on Landing Seaplanes on Lake Lanier
