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| Flying Above the Willamette |
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| Former Freshwater News Publisher Ryan Smith Now with Floatplane Service |
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 | | Staff photo | | Ryan Smith with his Piper Supercruiser PA-12 seaplane |
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By Peter Marsh
Ryan Smith, publisher of the Freshwater News from 1998 to 2001, is still living and working on the waterfront, but he has definitely gone up in the world! Today, he runs a floatplane service from his home and base on the Willamette River. He keeps his bright red Piper Supercruiser PA-12 seaplane on a float opposite his house in the riverfront community of Canemah just above the falls at Oregon City.
For the last five years, he has offered half-hour sightseeing flights along the river with bird's eye views of the falls and locks, Lake Oswego, and Portland’s many bridges and commercial docks all the way to Sauvie Island.
The plane has seating for one pilot and two passengers in the rear and flies at 70-80 mph powered by its 150 hp Continental engine. "It's a whole new way to see the river," said Ryan. The flights are often given as a birthday or graduation surprise, he added.
Ryan’s Float Flying
503-657-6769
Newspapers a Smith Family Tradition for 70 years
Newspapers and flying have been a Smith family tradition since Ryan's grandfather Elmo Smith founded the Ontario Observer in 1936. He became the mayor of the eastern Oregon town in 1940, and enlisted in the US Navy in 1943. He flew transport planes and commanded an air transport base in the South Pacific.
After the war, he returned to politics as he built a chain of community newspapers. (In 1997, the Freshwater News became a part of Eagle Newspapers.) Elmo Smith was elected to the Oregon senate in 1948 and was appointed to the post of governor of Oregon in 1956 on the death of the incumbent. He ran for the senate seat of the late Richard Neuberger in 1960 but lost to Neuberger's widow.
Ryan's father Denny joined the air force and flew in the Vietnam War, then piloted Boeing 707s for Pan Am for several years. In 1968, his father Elmo died of cancer at the age of 58. Denny retired from full-time flying, to run the publishing business, which today consists of two dailies, a dozen weeklies and many specialty publications that stretch into rural Idaho and Washington.
But flying (like boating) is as much a passion as an occupation, and Denny flew his own plane around the northwest to stay in touch with the far-flung newspapers.
Denny Smith also decided to enter politics and was first elected to the US House of Representatives in 1980 and served in the house until 1990. In 1994, he was the Republican nominee for governor, losing to Democrat John Kitzhaber.
Naturally, his passion for flying was picked up by Ryan, who began training on the family's Cessna 150, based in Salem. He soloed on his 16th birthday after around 12 hours of formal in-flight training.
Flying is heavily regulated, Ryan pointed out, while we sat on his dock next to the float plane. For a pilot to qualify for a new type of plane or service, he must log many hours of flying time as co-pilot and pass a rigorous exam.
Ryan developed an interest in seaplanes when he managed a seaplane base on Lake Tahoe, then did a stint at the Freshwater News, before concentrating on achieving the rank of "airline transport pilot" or ATP. This requires a lot more study, with frequent additional tests and could be considered a master's degree in flying.
It was a necessary step because by 2005, the Smiths had enough experience to open the NW branch of Sunquest Executive Air Charter, using their Cessna Citation eight-passenger jet. They fly out of Mcnary Field in Salem.
Ryan now shares flying duties with two other pilots, flying clients to locations like Colorado, California and Texas for business meetings and vacations. The Citation has a 1500-mile range and burns an average of 1,000 lbs (about 150 gallons) of aviation fuel per hour. And yes, these days, it also pays to shop around for fuel prices while planning a plane trip! Ryan fits his floatplane customers in between his busy Citation schedule, and also occasionally flies the Piper to waterways like Devil's Lake in Lincoln City for recreation. With his waterfront location, he manages to enjoy some time behind the Mastercraft ski boat he also keeps at his dock.
He loves the stretch of river above the falls and is a strong supporter of the movement to keep the locks open. The Freshwater News is the one family paper in the chain that he reads every issue, he says, and he thinks the staff are doing a great job!
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