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| DHC-3T Otter coming in from the north for a landing |
Story and photos by Wayne Pridemore
Kenmore Air has flown over Lake Forest Park and Shoreline for over seventy-five years. The company's aircraft fleet is such a familiar sight that most residents pay little or no attention to them.
Today Kenmore Air is considered one of the premiere floatplane operators in the world. The company has a fleet of twenty seven seaplanes and land aircraft to take you on a scenic adventure.
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| Floatplane maintenance hangar at Kenmore |
Kenmore Air corporate headquarters is located just north of Lake Forest Park at Kenmore, Washington on the north end of Lake Washington.
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| Engine maintenance |
The airline has hubs for seaplanes at a terminal on Seattle's Lake Union and for land planes at Boeing Field-King County International Airport. From these bases the company operates scheduled and charter seaplane and landplane service throughout western Washington and southwestern British Columbia.
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| Kenmore Air's Chris Blair at the controls of the Otter |
The company started operations on March 21,1946 by three high school friends, Bob Munro, Reg Collins, and Jack Mines. The young men had one airplane and a single hanger near swampy land in Kenmore. The company originally made money by flying supplies to sometimes dangerous locations in the state.
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| Ballard Bridge from a Seattle scenic flight |
Soon Kenmore Air added three more aircraft and late in 1946 Bob Munro became sole owner. Late in the 1940s Kenmore Air became a Republic Seabee dealer for the Northwest and the company's future success was almost assured.
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| Taxiing to the dock at the end of a beautiful flight |
Kenmore will fly you there for an adventure never to be forgotten. A twenty minute scenic tour over Seattle. How about a ninety minute flight over Mount Rainier and then on to Mount Saint Helens. There are daily scheduled flights between Seattle and eight San Juan Islands destinations. You might want to fly from downtown Seattle to Victoria and return by boat.
Visit their webpage for other tour packages and prices.
"The company's aircraft fleet is such a familiar sight that most residents pay little or no attention to them."
ReplyDeleteOh, really? Speak for yourself. I could sure do without them buzzing my house all day every day! The best thing about the pandemic was that their planes were grounded!