04-30-03: Boat with wings in Celina?

04-30-03: Boat with wings in Celina?

By SHELLEY GRIESHOP
The Daily Standard

    Residents near Kozy Marina along Ohio 703 in Celina got an unusual sight Tuesday night when a seaplane touched down on Grand Lake St. Marys.
     The pilot, Bob Reichel of Madison Lake, Minn., docked at the local marina to fuel his plane equipped with floats for landing and taking off on water. The men had planned to fly off the lake this morning, but storms in the forecast changed their itinerary and they headed for a local hotel instead.
    Reichel and a friend, Walt Groskurth of Eagle Lake, Minn., left Connecticut on Sunday after Reichel purchased the new plane from a dealer. He said he's owned several of the aircrafts, which are a strange sight in the Grand Lake St. Marys area.
    "We're heading home from Danbury," said Reichel. "Unfortunately, these planes have a small fuel tank and must be refueled about every two hours."
    Reichel said sometimes the frequent refueling can be a problem because the planes are prohibited from landing in many reservoirs and other bodies of water.
    Grand Lake St. Marys became a test lake about five years ago for seaplane landings, according to Ted Goodwin, manager of Kozy Marina.
    "We've had probably 10 (seaplanes) since come here. They dock here because we are a good access point," Goodwin said.
    Seaplanes are prohibited from landing in most state park lakes, Goodwin and Reichel said.
    Reichel, who's been flying for 51 years, said he once landed a seaplane at Howard Lake in Minnesota, not knowing it was a state park lake.
    "The officials there were friendly, but they did give me a warning," he said with a laugh. "Boats and planes don't mix."

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