Was wondering how many folks have recieved this training. I took it a couple years ago and found the information valuable. It was a two day gig. The Coast Guard gave us about a 2 hour presentation on Search and Rescue as well as egress at the college in Anchorage. Then over the weekend they were at the pool with a pair of simulators (aluminum tubing on floats with a plexiglass window and safety belt). They told us to show up dressed as we would if we were flying. They then walked us through the steps of what to do in the event of a water landing (lots of float planes in Alaska!). Then they turned the simulator upside down and you had to get out. It was well worth the time to go! Some of the braver souls let the Divers (it was a helicopter team of both divers and pilots that gave the course) spin the simulator several times to disorient you for an even more realistic situation. The also brought a couple of rescue suits of the type they sometimes drop to people in the water. Even in the warm pool they were difficult to try to put on. Imagine being in cold salt water with waves bashing you around!
Here in Alaska, every few years, somebody drowns in a plane--not always the pilot. I hope to get my wife to go to the next one even though she's not a pilot. I encourage anyone that flies around water a lot or flies on floats to think about taking this training. Besides being fun it's useful. Some folks charge to put this class on. The USCG one I was at was free.
