June 10--Tacoma last week joined a select group of cities with a special aviation asset adjacent to their downtowns.
After about five years of planning and fundraising, the Tacoma Waterfront Association and the Foss Waterway Development Authority formally opened a public seaplane float at the mouth of the near-downtown Thea Foss Waterway.
As aviation facilities go, the 54-foot-long, 16-foot-wide dock isn't much for show, but it opened Tacoma to a new form of transportation long missing from the city.
The News Tribune talked with some of those involved about how the dream became a reality, what potential the float brings to Tacoma and how float planes could become part of the maritime fabric of the city.
Q: Why is having a float plane dock important for Tacoma?
A: Washington ranks in the top handful of states for float plane ownership and usage along with Alaska, Florida and Minnesota, said Greg Corrado, vice president of the Washington Seaplane Pilots Association. The state has more than 1,000 float-plane-rated pilots.
Kenmore Air, headquartered in its namesake city on Lake Washington, is the nation's largest seaplane airline with more than two dozen planes, said Chuck Perry, Kenmore Air's chief pilot.
Q: Will the float see much commercial usage?
A: Craig O'Neill, Kenmore Air's director of flight administration, said the airline believes there is a decent demand for charter seaplane services to and from Tacoma. The museums along the Foss and near the Tacoma Dome make the area a potential tourist destination.
And charter flights to the San Juan Islands, Victoria and elsewhere make economic sense for groups headed there from Tacoma and the South Sound, he said. Regularly scheduled service? "That's a whole different kettle of fish," said O'Neill. That's much less likely.
Q: But didn't Tacoma have a float where seaplanes could board passengers?
A: Some crude facilities for seaplane mooring had once been available farther south on the Foss, but those docks were removed during the updating and reconfiguration of (the)
waterway's marinas. That left Pierce County with only a single dedicated seaplane float at American Lake, said Stan Selden, founder and former president of the waterfront association. Those wishing to visit Tacoma in their seaplanes or to charter seaplanes were forced to use improvised solutions to board those planes.
Q: There are dozens of slips and docks along the Foss. Why couldn't float planes use those?
A: Those docks are usually secured to tall pilings sunk into the bottom of the waterway. Those pilings prevent planes with their large wings from approaching the docks. The float used for the new seaplane facilities is secured to other docks keeping the edge of the dock far enough away from the pilings to allow moderately sized planes to tie up parallel to the dock.
Q: Where will float planes land and take off?
A: Planes will use Commencement Bay outside the waterway in most cases. The planes will land and take off into the wind. Depending on the wind, the plane and the weight of the load, seaplanes can take off in a few hundred feet to about 3,000 feet. Landings likewise will vary, but a typical landing might require about 1,000 feet. Pilots can judge the wind's direction by observing the plumes of steam emitted by the nearby Simpson Tacoma Kraft paper mill, said Corrado. In rare instances, when the bay waters are too rough and boat traffic is light, planes may use the waterway north of the Murray Morgan Bridge as a watery runway for takeoff.
Q: Will planes landing and taking off be directed by some sort of control tower?
A: No, but pilots will follow procedures being drawn up the seaplane pilots association and will monitor a common radio frequency to communicate with other planes in the vicinity, Corrado said. The landing pattern will take planes over the bay or the industrial Tideflats, not downtown or residential neighborhoods.
Q: Won't seaplane operations be noisy?
A: The seaplane association is developing procedures to minimize noise and to ensure that seaplanes will be considered good neighbors, Corrado said. Seaplane visits are likely to be intermittent, not like the regular operations from such popular Northwest destinations as Victoria's Inner Harbour, Vancouver's Coal Harbour or Seattle's Lake Union.
Q: Where did the idea of a public float originate?
A: The need for a public float originated with the waterfront association, a group of Pierce County business and civic officials working to promote and improve the city's waterfront, said Selden, The association took the idea to the Foss Waterway Development Authority, the municipally chartered body charged with redevelopment of the formerly industrial Thea Foss Waterway. The two groups agreed to work together to plan and find funds for such a float.
Q: What did the new float cost and where did the funding originate?
A: Tacoma's float was recycled from a personal dock and repaired by Tacoma's Marine Floats Corp. Donations paid the cost of rehabilitation and modifications. Among the donors were the Port of Tacoma, Selden's Furniture, U.S. Oil, Kenmore Air, the Haub
Foundation, the Shanaman Foundation and Carl Fisher. The waterway authority also obtained funds for planning and other needs. The total bills aren't in yet, but the dock's rehabilitation costs amount to about $15,000.
John Gillie: 253-597-8663
Copyright 2013 - The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.)
