Seaplanes make for a unique flight experience

Peter Gross and Scott Wolff weren’t looking to get into the scenic air tour business in 2012. Their business centered on training pilots to fly seaplanes.

But they got a call from the Montana Department of Tourism and were asked if they’d fly a secret client into Whitefish Lake for a television show. Gross and Wolff own one of the few floatplane businesses in Montana.

That client was Sean Lowe, the star of ABC’s “The Bachelor” that season. After the flight, Gross, who lives in rural Columbia Falls, was approached by the Whitefish Lake Lodge to offer tours from their dock.

“And that’s how we got into the air tour business,” Gross said.

Gross has been flying since he graduated from high school. His wife Colette owns the Shops at Station 8 in Columbia Falls.

Wolff, of Missoula, has also been a pilot for 25 years and appeared on the show. Today, the two dock their float planes at Whitefish Lake Lodge and offer scenic tours of the valley, including flights that start in Whitefish and land on the Hungry Horse Reservoir, Flathead Lake with lunch at Wild Horse Island, and Seeley Lake, to name a few.

Pilot Morgan Araldi also works for Backcountry Flying Experience and will be based in Whitefish all summer long. Araldi has been a pilot for nine years, flying seaplanes in Florida.

Wolff said as long as a lake is about a mile and half long, they can land on it. They’re not permitted to fly over Glacier National Park airspace, but they offer tours that look into the Park. They also fly over the Bob Marshall Wilderness, although wilderness regulations don’t allow them to land on wilderness lakes.

Backcountry Flying Experience currently flies two Cessnas, a 206 and 180, with amphibious floats — they can land on a runway or the water. A water landing is much smoother, Wolff noted — the water gives with the aircraft. Flights last from 20 minutes to an hour, depending on what a client wants.

“It’s the uniqueness of being flown to camp, rather than driving,” Gross said.

Gross said they plan on adding a restored vintage Cessna 195 with a radial engine to their fleet soon. To learn more about Gross and Wolff’s seaplane business and book a flight, visit online at www.backcountryflyingexperience.com.