Sightings: Water Striders
South African pilots go lake-skiing in their AT-6s.
- By Frans Dely
- Air & Space magazine, August 2010
”You can liken the scenario to skipping a stone on water, or a barefoot water skier,” says South African photographer Frans Dely. “The water compresses and becomes as solid as concrete.” This is how Scully Levin, one of South Africa’s top show pilots, makes his AT-6 Harvard walk on water. Levin first did the trick in the lead airplane of the Flying Lions aerobatic team on a lake near Johannesburg in February 2006.
Some years prior, a friend of Levin’s who was famous for tall tales was telling one around the campfire about seeing a pilot water ski an airplane on its tires. The other campers advised their friend to find a more gullible audience. But Levin pulled the storyteller aside and quietly peppered him with questions. The next day, Levin mastered the trick in his Super Cub.
Last winter Dely flew in Levin’s back seat as the Flying Lions flew a Left Hand Finger Four lineup (above). On the water, the team maintained a speed somewhere between 90 and 100 mph. The pilots were forced to apply a bit of forward stick pressure at the water’s surface, and the tires began hydroplaning when they had sunk in about four millimeters. “As with any air-to-air shoot, a detailed briefing is key to success,” says Dely. “When the pilots involved understand exactly what is expected of them, you can begin to push the envelope while keeping it safe. I often say, ‘If you can fly it, I can shoot it,’ but I’m always mindful of the fact that it is a team effort.”
Comments (8)
My son has this magazine, Air & Space, sent to me as gift.
I have been receiving the magazine for about eight years and
and I enjoy it very much. I read it almost from cover to cover, The article on the Flying Lions, water sking is interesting, would you have a tape on this?
I would interested in seeing it.
Frank Sr. EDITORS' REPLY: I'm afraid we don't.
Posted by Frank DeMaio on July 15,2010 | 01:33 PM
There's a short video of the Flying Lions water-skiing in their planes at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waF-xwyEi1w
Posted by Tom Stevens on July 16,2010 | 01:10 PM
Take That - MythBusters!
I submitted a myth about South Dakota cropduster pilots
water skiing on the Missouri River and was totally ignored.
Now they can't ignore it.
Thank You,
John Bejot
Ainsworth, Nebraska
Posted by John Bejot on July 16,2010 | 05:25 PM
forget all that blue sky...lets go skiing!
Posted by James Anderson on July 19,2010 | 01:58 PM
I've been a subscriber to Air and Space Mag for a number of years now, and some of the the articles just boggle the mind. Who in their right mind thought it would be a good idea to test out whether skipping wheels across the water actually worked? As an aspiring pilot (only a few more hours to go until my check ride), the thought of intentionally doing this is insane. Super cool that they are able to pull it off though. What amazing pics. Keep up the great work AirSpaceMag!
Any possibility of making higher res pictures available for download as wallpaper? EDITORS' REPLY: The rights to the photograph belong to the photographer, so we can't make high-res versions available for readers to download. As for the wisdom of water-skimming: A reader recently advised that this should only be done in tailwheel aircraft--never in aircraft with nosewheels. Check out the Letters section in the Sept. issue for more information. And be careful out there.
Posted by Mike on July 19,2010 | 02:32 PM
Well, as Mike said, this is insane. I actually tried this a few years back in a tail wheel experimental homebuilt Drifter XP. To put it mildly, it almost killed me. I had seen photos of airplanes doing it, but when I tried it, it didn't work. After inching the plane down very slowly, the wheels barely touched the water before I was on my back. Luckily it was a rice paddy with only a foot or two of water. With a bit more speed or a deeper body of water the outcome most probably would have been different. I'm only confessing to this to dissuade anyone from trying it.
Posted by Gary on July 21,2010 | 12:24 PM
I have seen many video's of cubs with tundras making beach landings on vary short beaches using the water as there initial touch down you tube has quite a few, this is done often in the North Countries Canada, Alaska, to get in to tight places for fishing etc. I think this is were they got the idea
Posted by Jonathan Kline on July 26,2010 | 06:01 PM
Yep, look at this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSGjJJDTquQ
Posted by John Galt on August 10,2010 | 07:50 PM