WE ROLLED OUTof a shallow turn onto short final for Tampa Bay as its gray waters filled the windscreen. Iveered left-an adjustment for a flock of ducks who'd opted to swim over flying on this chilly January day, but unlike other times flying low over water, we had the power back. The instructor's voice came through the headsets with the third confirmation of the aircraft's configuration: Flaps down, gear up for water landing, water rudder retracted. After 9,000 hours of various landing checklists and callouts, including phrases like "gear down, gear checked down" or "down and verified," ensuring the gear was up seemed counterintuitive-but then again, so is throttling down when just above the water. It all canceled out in one glorious bit of settling into the surface. Despite a seven-knot breeze spreading small ripples across the bay, there was no ricochet off the surface. By ignoring the surrounding airframe (and that's easyto do), it's easy enough to believe the Icon A5 is a lot bigger airplane than a 1,510-pound gross Light-Sport Aircraft amphibian. It's a common reaction.
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