Caravan Seaplane Goes Down Near Miami

A seaplane that departed West Palm Beach early Friday afternoon landed on its side in the water near Miami.

CBS News Miami reports seven people were rescued from the small plane after it went down in Government Cut, near the MacArthur Causeway. Footage from its helicopter showed the propeller still spinning as the blue-and-white plane lay on its side.

Everyone on the plane has been evacuated from it and no injuries were reported in the incident.

According to FlightAware, the tail number of the plane showed it took off from Palm Beach International Airport at 1:04 p.m. The page noted it was last seen at 1:37 p.m. near Miami.

CaravanNation.com

Fly the Whale is back in South Florida

N208JP at Volo Aviation

Fly the Whale is back in South Florida for the 2015/2016 season. Flying to beautiful destinations that are only accessible by boat or floatplane. 

Their Grand Caravan Amphibian (Whale Force One) is getting their passengers from Fort Lauderdale to Bimini in only 20 minutes and Eleuthera Island or Harbour Island (Bahamas) in only 1 hour 15 minutes. They also fly to Nassau, Cat Island, Marsh Harbor, Key West, Spanish Cay and many other destinations.

For more information about this company and their land and sea based charter flights, visit their site flythewhale.com

- CaravanPilot.com

Sun 'n Fun International Fly-In and Expo 2014 - Celebrating 40 years this week!

The annual Sun 'n Fun International Fly In and Expo is celebrating its 40th birthday this week April 1 - 6! Held every year at Florida's Lakeland Linder Regional Airport (LAL). It is one of the largest airshows in the world. If you plan on flying in, don't worry about the airport being full, they have never had to turn airplanes away. 

The theme for this year is "A Fair in the Air to Remember". Some of the highlights include:

• Airshow performers everyday this week
• A performance by the Blue Angels - Fri., Sat. & Sun. - April 4-6 (4pm-6pm)
• Historic and current aircraft static displays
• Take a flight in the world's first mass produced airliner the 1929 Ford Tri-motor ($75)
• Attend the 1st annual Dinner with Legends Banquet
• Visit 100s of exhibitors including, AOPA, EAA, Pilatus, Beechcraft, Soloy Aviation, Cessna, Piaggio, ForeFlight, Garmin, Flying Magazine, Quest Aircraft, SiriusXM just to name a few.
• See one the few Night Airshows in the world. Includes a fireworks show - Sat. April 5  7pm-9pm
• Attend the job fair. Recruiters from major, regional and corporate flight departments will be there.
• Fly in a B-17 Flying Fortress. 1 of only 11 still flying! ($475)
• Hot Air Balloon launch - Sat. April 5 (rides available)

General admission ticket prices are: Adults - $37, Youth (11-17) - $15, 10yrs and under - Free. Preferred seating is an additional $20. Well worth it I think. It gives you seating on the flightline, bag storage, a shade tent, access to bathrooms and free water all day. You can purchase your tickets online here.

If you're flying there and have an extra seat or two or if you need a seat, Sun 'n Fun has a page/forum to help you out. Here is the link.

Unfortunately I will not be able to make it out there this year. But I hope some of you can!