Sands Point Seaplane Base Explained

Sands Point Seaplane Base
Faa:7N3
Type:Public
Owner:Safe Harbor Capri Marina
Operator:Safe Harbor Capri Marina
Location:Manorhaven and Port Washington, New York
Elevation-F:0
Elevation-M:0
Mapframe:yes
R1-Number:1/19
R1-Length-F:6,000
R1-Length-M:1,829
R1-Surface:Water
R2-Number:12/30
R2-Length-F:6,000
R2-Length-M:1,829
R2-Surface:Water

Sands Point Seaplane Base is a seaplane landing area in Manhasset Bay, situated two miles (3 km) northwest of downtown Port Washington in the Town of North Hempstead, in Nassau County, Long Island, New York, United States.

History

A seaplane base has existed in Port Washington since the early 20th century.[1] [2] [3] Historically, the seaplane base was known as the Port Washington Seaplane Base, the New York Seaplane Base, and the Tom's Point Seaplane Base.[4] On September 14, 1929, the cornerstone was laid for the American Aeronautical Corporation's New York Seaplane Airport – one of the earliest iterations of what would eventually become the Sands Point Seaplane Base.[5] [6] [7]

Between 1939 and 1940, Port Washington was the New York base of Pan American World Airways' transatlantic Boeing 314 flights, prior to the opening of LaGuardia Airport's Marine Air Terminal.[8] [9] [10] [11] Pan American had purchased the facility from the Port Washington-based American Aeronautical Corporation in 1934.[12] Pan Am also operated hangars along the shore of Manhasset Bay for its operations, at Tom's Point, located on Manhasset Isle in the Incorporated Village of Manorhaven.[13] [14]

After Pan Am moved its seaplane operations from Port Washington to LaGuardia Airport, Grumman became a major tenant at the seaplane base, using it as a facility for its seaplanes.[15] [16]

The current iteration of the seaplane base was activated in May 1948, around which time the original hangar and terminal area was abandoned.[17] [18]

Facilities and aircraft

The seaplane base features two water runways (1/19 and 12/30) – both of which are 6000feet long.[19] [20] Seaplanes are able to dock in Manhasset Bay, with the Port Washington Water Taxi ferrying pilots and passengers to and from the shore.

For the 12-month period ending August 12, 2022 the base had recorded 50 aircraft operations, of which 100% were classified as transient general aviation. At that time, 0 aircraft were based there. The seaplane base does not have a control tower.

Accidents and incidents

On January 21, 1939, An Imperial Airways Short S.23 Empire Flying Boat Mk II (registration G-ADUU), en-route from Port Washington to Bermuda, ditched into the Atlantic Ocean during severe weather; the aircraft had experienced catastrophic engine failures, which had been caused by the accumulation of ice on the carburetor.[21] The aircraft was damaged beyond repair and sank as a result of the crash. Of the flight's eight passengers and five crew members, there were three fatalities – two of which were passengers and one of which was a crew member.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Clavette . Suzanne . 2023-08-28 . ICON Brings the Seaplane Spirit Back to Long Island, New York . 2023-11-13 . ICON Aircraft . en-US.
  2. Book: Stoff, Joshua . LaGuardia Airport . Arcadia Publishing . 2008 . 978-0-7385-5799-1 . Images of Aviation . 31 & 32 . 2008924409.
  3. Web site: Now . The Island . 2019-09-03 . Local History Matters: Yalies train to fly over Manhasset Bay in WW1 . 2023-11-14 . The Island Now . en-US.
  4. Web site: Seaplane Base and Marina, Manhasset Bay, NY, ca. 1955 . 2023-11-13 . cdm16694.contentdm.oclc.org . en.
  5. Web site: Medal, 1929 New York Seaplane Airport National Air and Space Museum . 2023-11-14 . airandspace.si.edu . en.
  6. Duffy Meehan . Denise . June–July 1987 . How Port Washington Gave Birth to Pan Am . bot: unknown . Long Island Good Living . 22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220629003630/https://portwashingtonbid.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/How-Port-Washington-Gave-Birh-to-Pan-Am.pdf . 29 June 2022 . 6 December 2020 . The company had constructed a waterside facility in 1929-operating it as a test base for its S-55 and S-56 aircraft (available for a mere $7,373 fly-away) and as a rental hangar/ramp called the New York Seaplane Airport. Pan Am purchased the 12-acre parcel in 1933, intending to use the large hangar tor storage while continuing lease space in the smaller building private seaplane operators..
  7. Web site: Medal, 1929 New York Seaplane Airport . 2023-11-14 . . en.
  8. Web site: William John Eck: First Pan American Airlines Transatlantic Flight Scrapbook Collection: NASM.XXXX.0309 . 2023-11-13 . sova.si.edu.
  9. News: Anderson . David . March 31, 1940 . Along the Far-flung Airways; City Field Ocean Base La Guardia Seaplane Unit Speeds Clipper Today --Looks to Future . en-US . The New York Times . live . August 3, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220803235337/https://www.nytimes.com/1940/03/31/archives/along-the-farflung-airways-city-field-ocean-base-la-guardia.html . August 3, 2022 . 0362-4331.
  10. Web site: Lauria-Blum . Julia . 2022-10-11 . New York Seaplanes & Skyports . 2023-11-13 . Metropolitan Airport News . en-US.
  11. Web site: Harris-Para . Barbara . 7 October 2015 . 100 YEARS OF SUSTAINED POWER FLIGHT HISTORY . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170209161538/https://www.faa.gov/education/educators/curriculum/k12/media/K-12_One_Hundred_Years_of_Sustained_Flight.pdf . 2017-02-09 . 6 December 2020 . . 7 . 1937: First regular commercial transatlantic airline service in America – Pan American Martin & Boeing Flying boats departed & arrived at Port Washington..
  12. Web site: Hanc . John . 2020-10-02 . Soaring success: In 1939, Port Washington's place in aviation history took off . 2023-11-14 . . en.
  13. Book: Library, Vanessa Nastro and the Port Washington Public . Along Manhasset Bay . 2020-10-05 . Arcadia Publishing . 978-1-4671-0502-6 . en.
  14. Web site: Pan Am Seaplane Base, Manhasset Bay . 2023-11-13 . University of Miami.
  15. Web site: Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: New York, Nassau County . 2023-11-14 . www.airfields-freeman.com.
  16. Book: Service, United States Public Health . Annual Report of the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service of the United States . 1941 . U.S. Government Printing Office . 92 . en . Table 4: Summary of transactions at continental and insular stations for the fiscal year 1941: Port Washington Seaplane Base: Number of airplanes arriving from foreign ports: 5.
  17. Web site: AirNav: 7N3 - Sands Point Seaplane Base . 2023-11-13 . www.airnav.com.
  18. Web site: 7N3 - Sands Point Seaplane Base SkyVector . 2023-11-13 . skyvector.com.
  19. Web site: Sands Point Seaplane Base (7N3) . 2023-11-13 . New York State Department of Transportation.
  20. Web site: Sands Point Seaplane Base K7N3 Pilot info . 2023-11-13 . Metar-Taf.com . en-US.
  21. Web site: ASN Aircraft accident Short S.23 Empire Flying Boat Mk II G-ADUU Port Washington, Long Island, NY . 2023-11-14 . aviation-safety.net.

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