LAKEPORT >> Returning like a rushing geyser, the Clear Lake Splash-in event for seaplanes staged a party on the banks of the Skylark Shores Resort on Main Street Saturday to draw in volunteers in its wake.
These events just take so much help to produce,” said Herb Lingl, educator at the Clear Lake Flying Club. It will be a resumption of the Splash-in form 2019. “I work on the curriculum, like what (aviation principals) we’re going to teach, and I try to inspire people. Lingl is not a flight instructor as much as a catalyst, which motivates want-to-be pilots to commit to study aerodynamics of flight.
“We’re recruiting 9 to 13 year olds,” he said. “We put word out through (LCOE Superintendent) Brock Folkenberg to funnel the information to all school districts. And Matt Bullard of Lakeport Unified School District was also helpful. There is a couple of caveats though,” Lingl cautioned. “All flight cadets must be a Lake County resident and they all must be accompanied to class by one parent.”
Lingl initiated class on January 19 with a cohort of 29 in a series of four two-hour classes that will culminate with the Splash-in over the weekend of April 26. There will be free seaplane rides for all under 18 years of age. It was Steve Bateman, in charge of the Flying Club Formation, who prompted Lingl to form a flying club. “I try to persuade people to let us have planes,” he said. “I’ll use the Splash-in to try to get more youth programs for 2025.” Lingl earns his living as an aerial photographer. He has commercial, single and multi-engine land and sea pilot ratings. Some of his clients include American Express (ads) Also, numerous clients from the U.S. Geological Survey due in part since he has had his company going since 1992.
“The business model was to create license imagery and a lot of my photography is licensed online,” he said. “A client sees a picture and may want to adapt it for their own purpose. So, the loan process is all automated. Lingl has a 10 x 14 mural that is on display at the De Young Museum in Golden Gate Park. For the flying club’s first class last Sunday, he introduced the concept of the magic of flight. To get the idea across, the class made paper airplanes followed by a distance contest to test which student paper plane flew the furthest, held at his hanger in Lampson Field.
Clera Lake is one of the more popular waterways for seaplanes, Lingl noted. Also accommodating is Lake Berryessa just south as well as Lake Mendocino. Lingl also enjoys a professional association with Bob Cameron who initiated a series of various intriguing, photography books on a number of global destination points including, Above San Francisco, as well as Above Mexico City. They schedule several photo shoots throughout the year to catch the various festivals and different seasons.
Also attending the volunteer party was Tom Wasson, who owns Tom’s Aircraft Enterprises at Lampson Field where his aviation maintenance business has been for 40 years. Wasson attended Reedley College right after graduating high school. “You could get your airframe and power plant license,” he recalled. “My dad was an auto mechanic.” His father tried to persuade Wasson to stay with auto mechanics, but aircraft maintenance seemed to be a tidier trade, and he was always fascinated with flight since he was a child. “When I saw airplanes or helicopters in flight, I thought, I wanted to build one of those,” he said. Wasson was awarded a Wright Brothers Master Pilot award. The Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to a living American for significant public service of enduring value to aviation in the United States.
Alberto Rossi is also a long-time pilot, who owns Rossi Aircraft Inc. in Palo Alto. They have in past serviced Piper Club models, BeechcraftB-200 and C-152 models. He has been in business for 45 years. He arrived in the U.S. from El Salvador to attend school and graduated with and Advanced Management program, which provides management expertise as well as cross functional perspective to drive performance across industries and borders.
“My idea was to become an airline pilot for a major airline, but when I graduated, no one was hiring.,” he recalled. “So, I went out on my own. We act at Rossi Aircraft, more as inspectors; we troubleshoot problems. We do general work in turbo prop, piston aircraft and helicopters mostly for private corporations.”
One who is an ideal prospect for the Splash-in is 17-year-old Alex Fordham. He is planning to attend Pacific Union College, Napa, where he will work on Microsoft flight simulators “I intend to go into commercial aviation and benefit from that experience,” he said. You can do a side gig, such as finance, which I also plan to do.”
Lingl said the thing their upcoming event needs most, are dedicated and reliable volunteers. Yet he noted, volunteers need to get something out of volunteering, and it should be a positive experience. Positions they hope to fill are groundsmen for the launch ramps, a working group on government relations and a webmaster.
