Glassy Water Approach and Landing (ASES, AMES)

Because it removes the cue the flare depends on: depth perception. Flat, calm, glassy water certainly looks inviting and may give the pilot a false sense of safety. By its nature, glassy water indicates no wind, so there are no concerns about which direction to land, no crosswind, no weathervaning, and obviously no rough water. Unfortunately, both the visual and the physical characteristics of glassy water hold potential hazards for complacent pilots. Consequently, this surface condition is frequently more dangerous than it appears (FAA-H-8083-23 ch. 6).

The visual problem: the lack of surface features can make accurate depth perception very difficult, even for experienced seaplane pilots. The smooth reflecting surface can lead to confusing illusions as clouds or shore features are reproduced in stunning detail and full color, and when the water is crystal clear and glassy, the surface itself is invisible — pilots may inadvertently judge height by using the bottom of the lake as a reference rather than the water surface.

Both end inverted (FAA-H-8083-23 ch. 6):

• Flare too high — the seaplane stalls, pitches down, and very likely hits the water with the bows of the floats, flipping over
• Flare too late or not at all — the seaplane flies into the water at relatively high speed, landing on the float bows, driving them underwater and flipping the seaplane

The common factor is the bows. Everything in the glassy water technique exists to guarantee that the floats meet the water at the correct pitch attitude with a known, small descent rate — because the one thing a seaplane cannot survive is arriving nose-first.

Say the consequence out loud in the brief. This is a maneuver where the student's respect for the procedure is the primary safety device.

When adequate visual references are not available, make glassy water landings by establishing a stable descent in the landing attitude at a rate that will provide a positive, but not excessive, contact with the water. Recognize the need for this type of landing in ample time to set up the proper final approach. Always perform glassy water landings with power (FAA-H-8083-23 ch. 6).

The sequence:

1. Perform a normal approach, but prepare as though intending to land at an altitude well above the surface — where no current altimeter setting is available and there are few visual cues, this altitude might be 200 feet above the surface
2. Complete the landing checklist and extend flaps as recommended by the manufacturer
3. At approximately 200 feet above the surface, raise the nose to the attitude normally used for touchdown
4. Adjust the power to provide a constant descent rate of no more than 150 feet per minute at an airspeed approximately 10 knots above stall speed
5. Maintain this attitude, airspeed, and rate of descent until the seaplane contacts the water
6. Do not flare — let the seaplane fly onto the water in the landing attitude

Once established, the airspeed and descent rate should remain the same without further adjustment, and the pilot should closely monitor the instruments to maintain this stable glide. Power should only be changed if the airspeed or rate of descent deviate from the desired values.

The ACS requires the manufacturer's published approach airspeed or, in its absence, not more than 1.3 VSO, ±5 knots (AI.VII.J.S6). The handbook's approximately 10 knots above stall speed is the target for the final stabilized glide once the landing attitude and 150 fpm descent are established (FAA-H-8083-23 ch. 6).

Reconcile them the way you would for a student: the ACS number governs the approach; the handbook number describes the stabilized descent to touchdown, and the POH governs both if it publishes values. If your airplane's published numbers differ, the published numbers win.

The teaching point underneath: this is the one landing where the airspeed comes from the instruments, not from the sight picture — because the sight picture is the thing that has failed.

Not yet — and this is the specific error that has caused accidents. Upon touchdown, apply gentle back pressure to the elevator control to maintain the same pitch attitude; close the throttle only after the seaplane is firmly on the water (FAA-H-8083-23 ch. 6).

Three cues provide verification through three different senses — vision, hearing, and body sensation. The pilot:

• Sees a slight nose-down pitch at touchdown, and perhaps spray thrown to the sides by the floats
• Hears the sound of the water against the floats
• Feels the deceleration force

Accidents have resulted from cutting the power suddenly after the initial touchdown. To the pilot's surprise, a skip had taken place and as the throttle closed, the seaplane was 10 to 15 feet in the air and not on the water, resulting in a stall and substantial damage. Be sure all of the cues indicate that the seaplane is staying on the water before closing the throttle.

Coaching line: "Three cues. See it, hear it, feel it — then the throttle."

Then after the seaplane settles into a displacement taxi, complete the after-landing checklist and lower the water rudders, and the ACS requires slowing to idle taxi speed (AI.VII.J.S8).

Same physics as the takeoff, working against you now. A nice smooth touchdown can result in faster deceleration than expected, for the same reason that the floats seem to stick to the surface during glassy water takeoffs: there is less turbulence and fewer air bubbles between the float bottoms and the water, which effectively increases the wetted surface area of the floats and causes higher drag forces (FAA-H-8083-23 ch. 6).

Naturally, this sudden extra drag at touchdown tends to pull the nose down — but the handbook is reassuring about the fix: if the pilot is expecting it and maintains the planing attitude with appropriate back pressure, the tendency is easily controlled and presents no problem.

That sentence is the whole reason to brief it: the hazard is not the deceleration, it is the surprise. Put it in the preflight brief — the explanation phase is where you describe the end result of the learner's actions, not just the actions (AIH ch. 9).

Both work by importing a height reference from somewhere the water cannot hide (FAA-H-8083-23 ch. 6):

1. Land near the shoreline, using the features along the shore to gauge altitude — the caution attached: be certain that the water is sufficiently deep and free of obstructions by performing a careful inspection from a safe altitude
2. Make the final approach over land, crossing the shoreline at the lowest possible safe altitude, so that a reliable height reference is maintained to within a few feet of the water surface

And the modifier on the full procedure: an accurately set altimeter may allow the pilot to set up for the touchdown at an altitude somewhat closer to the surface. If the pilot can be certain that the landing configuration and 150 fpm descent will be established well above the water's surface, starting the final glide nearer the surface shortens the descent time and overall landing length.

The ACS asks you to select a proper approach and landing path considering the landing surface, visual attitude references, water depth, and collision hazards (AI.VII.J.S4) — that list is exactly the decision behind choosing among these three options.

Distance. This technique usually produces a safe, comfortable landing, but the long, shallow glide consumes considerable landing distance; be certain there is sufficient room for the glide, touchdown, and water run (FAA-H-8083-23 ch. 6).

Run the arithmetic with the student: a 150 fpm descent from 200 feet takes roughly 80 seconds, and at a typical trainer approach speed that is a glide of about 1.3 NM — well over a mile, not hundreds of feet. On a small lake, or a confined area with terrain, the standard procedure may not fit — which is precisely when the shoreline or over-land approach becomes the right answer.

Which sets up the go-around plan (AI.VII.J.R3): whenever landing conditions are not satisfactory, execute a go-around, and in confined conditions it is often best to make a gentle climbing turn back over the water to gain altitude rather than climbing out over a shoreline with rising terrain (FAA-H-8083-23 ch. 6). Brief the escape before the descent begins, because once you are 30 feet over glassy water at 150 fpm, you have very little ability to judge what you have left.

The ACS anticipates it: if a glassy water condition does not exist, the applicant must be evaluated by simulating the Task (FAA-S-ACS-25, VII.J note). So the teaching has to stand on its own without the condition.

Structure it as demonstration-performance with the weight on the explanation phase (AIH ch. 9): objectives, completion standards, the precise actions, the end result, and the safety procedures — because in a simulation the explanation is most of the lesson.

Then in the airplane, make the simulation faithful in the ways that matter:

• Fly the actual numbers — landing attitude, 150 fpm, 10 knots above stall, established at altitude — and hold them all the way down, so the student practices the discipline of not adjusting
• Have the student cover or ignore the surface texture cue and fly the profile on instruments plus attitude, since the entire point is flying a profile without a height reference
• Practice the three-cue verification before the throttle comes back, even when the touchdown was obvious
• Debrief with collaborative assessment — learner self-assessment first, then your comparison (AIH ch. 9)

And use the telling-and-doing middle step: learner tells, instructor does. Having the student call "200 feet — landing attitude, 150 fpm, power set, do not flare" while you fly it is the cheapest way to verify they own the procedure before conditions ever require it.

• Maintain the manufacturer's published approach airspeed or, in its absence, not more than 1.3 VSO, ±5 knots (S6) — note this is the symmetric ±5, unlike the confined-area Task VII.H's +10/−5
• Make smooth, timely, and correct power and control adjustments to maintain proper pitch attitude and rate of descent to touchdown (S7)
• Contact the water in a proper pitch attitude, and slow to idle taxi speed (S8)
• Maintain directional control throughout the approach and landing (S9)
• Analyze and correct common errors related to this Task (S10)
• Plus: complete the checklists, make radio calls, scan the landing area for traffic and obstructions (S3), and select a proper approach and landing path considering the landing surface, visual attitude references, water depth, and collision hazards (S4)

Note what is not here: there is no touchdown-distance tolerance on this Task. The long, shallow, unflared glide makes a touchdown box meaningless — what is graded is attitude, rate, and control.

The Seaplane Handbook prints no numbered list, so build one from the failure modes it describes (FAA-H-8083-23 ch. 6). On this Task the errors cluster around one theme — trusting a sight picture that is not there:

• Not recognizing the condition in time — recognize the need for this type of landing in ample time to set up the proper final approach
• Flaring — the whole procedure exists to prevent it: do not flare; let the seaplane fly onto the water in the landing attitude
• Judging height from the lake bottom or a reflection — when the water is crystal clear and glassy, the surface itself is invisible
• Adjusting once established — the airspeed and descent rate should remain the same without further adjustment; power should only be changed if the airspeed or rate of descent deviate from the desired values
• Descending faster than 150 fpm, or setting up too low to stabilize before contact
• Landing power-off — always perform glassy water landings with power
• Closing the throttle on the first sensation of contact — the skip accident, where the seaplane was 10 to 15 feet in the air and not on the water
• Releasing back pressure at touchdown and letting the extra drag pull the nose down, instead of applying gentle back pressure to maintain the same pitch attitude
• Not budgeting the distance — the long, shallow glide consumes considerable landing distance
• Wheels down in an amphibian, on the surface condition least likely to reveal the error

Teach the correction as a rule, not a reaction: on this landing the student's job is to set the profile and then stop flying — and the instructor's job is to name any input that was not called for.