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I am very excited to perform my first international XC to the Québec Laurentians area near Mont Tremblanc QC. Will post pictures of the trip as things progress. Once I am settled at the Lake house, it will be time for planning the 12 hour flight to Oshkosh.

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Sounds like fun. Enjoy!

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Hi Michel....That trip sounds like a blast. I will be RVing to Oshkosh this year. Got my tickets in the mail this week. Will be there all week. Be great to meet up and talk Icon. Your thread on the conversion and prop upgrade has me thinking! I will be in touch. Tim

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See you in the Seaplanes area!

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Home!!!

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Michel,
How do you store your plane at home?

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I use a Mobi-Mat to get on the grass across the beach.

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I guess it’s deep enough for the plane to extend and retract the gear close to your beach. In my case, it’s shallow for 300 feet.

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Oh wow. My deep starts in 20 feet

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Here is a pic of the house:

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Looks very nice. Plus you have the depth.

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All tucked-away in her forested tunnel. The Mobi-Mats are spiked to the sand. The trailering kit REALLY came in handy for creating a 4 point tie-down system.

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Very exciting!

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Looks Great!!

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Started to explore the thousands of lakes in Québec. Pretty amazing selection. Flew to a huge reservoir today in St. Michel des Monts. Great restaurant that caters to seaplanes. Moorings, a great beach and LL100 dock with lots of rubber padding.

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Nice pics. Looks like you’ve done some homework. Enjoy!

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Arriving home after a great flight and meal

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Time to start planning the next leg to Oshkosh. Departure July 16th in the AM weather permitting. Winds have been all over the place ranging from a 8:53h flight to 13:15h…

More to follow!

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Sadly, I seem to be the ONLY Icon at Osh24. Anyone planning to come in the next week?

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Saturday before It’s a bit early. The way Oshkosh goes is people will come and go throughout the week. I typically like to show up Sunday before it starts and leave by Thursday. The locals all come in on later in the week roughly Friday, Sat, Sun and they aren’t particularly aviation oriented it’s a fascinating culture change. The real aviation people are there Monday thru Thursday.

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Hey Michel, You’ve done a lot of cross country flying in that Icon. Do you have autopilot?

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The S/N he has doesn't have / can't get the the AP. The wiring job and retrofit is just too much of a mod. He flies it like a man!

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Michel. Will u be around this evening after airshow. Tim Hahn 603-674-9020

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He flies it like a man!

I guess I’ve been spoiled with autopilot for cross country stuff. He’s got patience.

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No sir. Michel-Pilot. 160 hours in the last 19 month

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Made it back to Canada in 6 hours and 11 minutes. Matt told me to put on my big-boy pants and cross the lakes. Also had a great tailwind. Returning to TN in September.

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I’m not a fan of crossing large lakes. Given the season and your circumstances, I would have probably done the same. Good job.

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I’m not a fan of crossing large lakes. Given the season and your circumstances, I would have probably done the same. Good job.

Setting aside comments about being in a SEAPLANE, unless it's really rough (except at night that's still doable in an emergency, in a plane that at least floats), how is that materially different than crossing...anything else (Death Valley, Nebraska, the Chicago metroplex, etc.)? Lake Michigan is about 50-55 miles wide for most of its length, so at most you are 25-30 miles from the shore, if you are in the very middle of the lake. A large metro area, but for a couple airports if you can glide to them, has a wider footprint than that, and a lot more hostile-to-force-landing obstacles, from power lines to buildings, and on and on.

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I live near the Great Lakes. This topic has been brewing in my mind for a long time. If the water is cold, you will not survive, unless you go down near a boat or shoreline. Assuming you’re not wearing PFD and don’t have a raft onboard.

Yes, I’ve heard it many times, the plane doesn’t know you’re over water. With my Cirrus, I had to get to the other side of Lake Michigan in May. I took the long way around Chicago. The extra half hour was worth the piece of mind.

Rough terrain and built up areas, is a different story in my opinion.

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If the water is cold, you will not survive, unless you go down near a boat or shoreline. Assuming you’re not wearing PFD and don’t have a raft onboard.

a) why wouldn't you have a pfd flying a seaplane, over water? b) why would you need a raft...you are flying one?