Following the waterways that shaped our nation in a vintage 1946 Taylorcraft.
A Journey Across America's Waterways
In the fall of 2023, I embarked on an expedition unlike any other—flying a 1946 Taylorcraft seaplane across America using only waterways. With fabric-covered wings and aluminum floats, this vintage aircraft carried me from the Ohio River to California's Clear Lake, tracing the historic water routes that shaped our nation.
This wasn't just a flight across a continent, but a journey through America's heartland, a test of vintage engineering against modern challenges, and an exploration of the communities still connected by these ancient highways of water.
When early winter storms in North Dakota forced a pause, the journey transformed from a single expedition into a story of persistence, returning the following summer to complete what had been started—revealing how a continent appears when viewed from just a few hundred feet above its waterways, moving at the deliberate pace of a 75-year-old aircraft.
11 states crossed
3,800+ miles flown
29 water landings
Countless connections formed
The Route
From the Ohio River to California's Clear Lake, this journey followed America's great waterways in two segments: Fall 2023 and Summer 2024. Each dot represents a critical waypoint in the expedition, often places where local connections and expertise proved as valuable as fuel and supplies.
Key Waterways
Ohio River
Mississippi River
Missouri River
Flathead Lake
Columbia River
Critical Stops
Rising Sun, Indiana
Clinton, Iowa
Surfside Seaplane Base, Minnesota
Lund's Landing, North Dakota
Fort Benton, Montana
Polson, Montana
Clear Lake, California
The Aircraft
1946 Taylorcraft BC-12D equipped with Edo 1320 straight floats, capable only of water landings. Powered by an 85-horsepower Continental engine with a cruise speed of approximately 85 miles per hour.
The Journey
Beginning in Fall 2023 and concluding in Summer 2024, this two-part expedition navigated 11 states and multiple major river systems, following waterways that have shaped American commerce and settlement for centuries.
A Taylorcraft BC-12D on Edo 1320 floats rests peacefully at a private lake 15 miles east of Horsehead Lake, North Dakota. This unplanned overnight stop came after strong headwinds slowed progress across the plains, creating one of the journey's most serene moments as the aircraft's reflection mirrored perfectly in the calm water at sunrise.
Aerial Perspectives: America from a Seaplane
A journey by seaplane offers a unique vantage point—not so high as to lose detail, not so low as to miss context. These images capture the diverse landscapes of America as seen from the cockpit of a 1946 Taylorcraft, revealing patterns, relationships, and stories that remain invisible from the ground.
Aerial photograph of a dying flood plain forest at the Mississippi River near the junction of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. Rising water tables have suffocated the roots of these trees, creating a skeletal landscape that reveals environmental changes visible only from above—a testament to the shifting ecology of America's great river systems.
Aerial photograph of migrating white Pelicans gathered on a sandbar in the Mississippi River at the Illinois-Iowa border. From the seaplane's perspective, these magnificent birds—with wingspans reaching nine feet—create a striking contrast against the dark waters, highlighting the river's crucial role as a migratory corridor for countless species traveling the central flyway.
Aerial photograph of a BNSF freight train traveling along the upper Missouri River in Montana, with dramatic white cliffs rising from the landscape. This perspective reveals the layered history of American transportation—the river that carried Lewis and Clark's expedition now paralleled by railways that connected the continent in a later era, all visible in a single frame from the Taylorcraft's low-altitude flight path.
The Book
Part adventure narrative, part meditation on America's waterways, and part celebration of vintage aviation, The Horizon's Calls weaves together the technical challenges of water-based flight with the human stories encountered along the way.
"The river stretched out before me, its currents dark and steady, offering both a path forward and a warning. Flying low over the water, I saw tugboats pushing long barges downstream—modern-day counterparts to the rafts and paddlewheelers that once dominated these waters. The Taylorcraft hummed steadily, its floats cutting through the air as I traced the river southward..."
Join me for updates on the book's progress, exclusive photographs not included in the manuscript, and stories from the journey that didn't make it into the final pages.
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