Smooth sailing for seaplane plans

By Bethe Croy

Staff Writer

The Twin Lakes Village Board approved a request to allow a seaplane to land on Lake Mary either Aug. 28 or 29 in connection to the finale of this summer’s Movies in the Park series.

The movie “Planes” is set for Aug. 28 and “Planes – Fire & Rescue” is set for Aug. 29, which is why they want to involve the seaplane in the celebration.

Jeremy Knoll, a Village Board trustee and the pilot for the seaplane, said he did not expect a lot of controversy with the topic.

It’s been done before on Lake Elizabeth, but Lake Mary is smaller. It’s still big enough to comfortably land the seaplane though, Knoll said.

“The pilot always takes the necessary precautions,” Twin Lakes Village Administrator Jennifer Frederick said.

Frederick said she is not worried about any safety concerns, because she is confident he will make the right calls.

The village tried a similar landing last year, but there were weather issues, Knoll said.

“I hope the weather and everything is good,” he said.

Another potential concern is that the plane is a demo from his airplane business, and there is the potential the plane could sell at the Experimental Aircraft Association Fly-in at Oshkosh in July.

In that case, he clearly would be unable to use it for Movies in the Park in August.

Knoll said he is not sure whether or not the seaplane will sell, but for now it is just a waiting game.

This is the fifth year for Movies in the Park, and Aug. 28 will be the 50th movie played since the village started the event.

“We’re trying to make it a good family friendly event for the community to enjoy,” said Frederick.

The board also hopes to get the fire department to bring out trucks for the children to see during the event to relate to “Planes – Fire & Rescue,” but they still have a lot of planning to do.

More details on the event will be reported as they become available.


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