Florida Seaplane Laws

While Florida is well known for easy ocean access, there are also some great fresh water lakes for seaplane enthusiasts to land their birds in. At Ridge Landing Residential Airpark, we are conveniently located five minutes from Crooked Lake, a notorious seaplane landing spot.
However, if you are a new Florida seaplane enthusiast, it’s important that you know the laws before investing in a float plane.

So, why a history of Seaplane laws to begin with?

It all began when one lake front property owner decided to go flying with one of his friends and land in the lake that he paid to live on. Of course, one disgruntled neighbor was not a fan of the plane landing in the lake, so they called the authorities and the pilot was ticketed. Rather than paying his fines, he decided to fight the ticket and ultimately change the laws that surrounded seaplane landing in Florida’s freshwater lakes.

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 Basic Facts Of Florida Seaplane Laws

  • In the event that a local municipality chooses to regulate a seaplane landing zone, they must state the specific health and safety concerns to justify their attempts.
  • Several municipalities have attempted to place regulations on seaplane zones, but they did not reach the requirements of legitimate health and safety concerns.
  • Landing seaplanes is allowed on a majority of Florida’s fresh bodies of water, including Crooked Lake.
  • If you have a lake in mind to land in, do your research and see if they allow the landing of seaplanes before you end up disappointed with their rightful regulations.

Flying into a lake from your Airpark Home

Now whether you invested in a property at a residential airpark and own a seaplane, or if you want to invest in lake front property and may not want seaplanes landing in your backyard – these laws apply to you. For us flight enthusiasts, it’s important to know that a majority of the fresh bodies of water in Florida allow seaplane landings – with the exception of the Everglades (Federally protected property).

Due to the consistently conflicting statues that have come up in regards to Florida’s seaplane regulation laws, very few pilots and municipalities have attempted to fight the ordinances in place.  So, if you own a seaplane and are looking for a community full of flight enthusiasts, Ridge Landing Residential Airpark is conveniently located just a few minutes from Crooked Lake – a safe seaplane landing zone.