What could be better than a beautiful summer’s day in the Lakes Region? How about a beautiful summer’s day looking over the Lakes Region from a 1,000-foot vantage point.

I recently had that thrilling opportunity when I flew in a seaplane with pilot Jacki Rogers, owner and operator of Naples Seaplane Rides on Route 302 on the Causeway.

Rogers’ interest in flying started as a girl, growing up in Standish. Back then, the Naples business was owned by Jim Build.

“Jim started the business back in the early 1950’s when he got back from the Korean war, just to share his love of flying,” said Rogers “…I actually watched Jim as a child when my family and I would come up through the [Songo] Locks. My eyes would be glued to his plane… At that time, when I was only seven or eight years old, I could only dream about what it was like to fly.”

Rogers fulfilled her dream when she got her pilot’s license about twenty years ago. “Back then I’d take anybody up just to share my joy of flying.” That joy led her to obtain her commercial rating and instructor’s rating in the mid-nineties.

Build retired in 1996, selling his seaplane business. Although Rogers was not in on that deal, five years later, when it was sold once again, she was ready. “I heard about the scenic flight business on May 7, 2000,” she said, “…so I had to go find a plane, get a business plan, find the floats, put it all together and I was operational by June 23 [of that year].”

She chose to purchase a Cessna 185 – a 300 horsepower, single engine plane that seats six.

“Jim Build has been absolutely invaluable in regards to my education of the Cessna 185,” said Rogers. “He knows everything about them. He’s a wonderful, wonderful person and…basically my mentor.”

Rogers flies under Federal Aviation Administration rules and regulations. For her business, that restricts her to a twenty-five mile radius of her airport, which is the Naples Seaplane base. She also must take off and land from the same place.

The radius may be restricted, but I soon discovered the views are not. With the eleven miles of Long Lake providing an ample runway for the Cessna, we took off to the northwest at 9:00 a.m. under clear skies. Although Rogers had been careful to tell me where to look so that I wouldn’t feel queasy, the spectacular views drew my eyes in every direction and I quickly forgot her warnings; the only time I felt sick was when I knew the flight was over.

Boats and cars became the proverbial ants as we soared over the fertile landscape. Though I have flown on larger planes many times before, this experience afforded me something completely different – a personal, symbiotic feeling that allowed me to survey and be a part of the picture at the same time. And despite my fear of heights, I never once felt afraid.

As we banked to the left and traveled over much of Sebago Lake and around to the Causeway once more, I was surprised at how much I recognized from the air. Pleasant Mountain, Sebago Lake State Park, Point Sebago, the Dingly Islands, and the Songo Locks all seemed familiar, even before Rogers pointed them out to me.

And though they were familiar, I noticed new features for each of them. Was the sandbar at the State Park really that noticeable? Pleasant Mountain that close? And, no wonder this area is known as the Lakes Region – there were so many more lakes than I had realized.

The flight was over quicker than a carnival ride and yet we had been aloft for over half an hour. Afterwards, while trying to pull my mind away from that fabulous flight, I learned more about Jacki Rogers.

Although she obviously enjoys every minute in the air, she has had moments when she’s faced dangerous situations. The most frightening experience occurred in 2000.

“[In attempting to land], there’s a point in flying where you’re committed,” Rogers said. “I was at that point when a jet ski who was traveling the same direction I was but probably three to four hundred feet away turned right in front of me and his head was right down – he didn’t hear me and he didn’t see me… I was waiting for the kerplunk. I didn’t hear it – he turned just in the knick of time. He got off the lake that day never to be seen again.”

Occasionally, Rogers has trouble with jet skiers who play chicken with her. When that happens, she simply radios Marine Safety: “I just call them and say…I need him off the lake and they’ll kick him off. They take real good care of me.”

In return, Rogers helps out by spotting fires for them in the dry season: “Many times during a storm, lightening will hit a tree and start a fire out in the middle of nowhere and will go undetected unless I call it in. Then I help direct them to the fire. It all works out nicely.”

Rogers’s seaplane business is open daily, 9:00 a.m. to sunset, from Memorial Day to Labor Day. She remains open on weekends until Columbus Day and is open for the full week of Fryeburg Fair as well.

That leaves seven months of the year for her work as an independent, temporary MRI technician, a position that allows her the flexibility to accept warm weather assignments during our cold winters. But Rogers is quick to add, “I’ve been away for a few months at a time but I always come back – I’m a true Mainer.”

Emily Caruso is glad Rogers chooses to come back. Caruso, 18, works for Rogers. She is also taking flying lessons and hopes to make her first solo flight by the end of the fall. When asked if she likes her job, Caruso said, “It’s the best. It’s not even like work.”

And Rogers obviously agrees: “It’s like a dream come true,” she said. “I can’t tell you how pleased I am to be able to be doing this and sharing this. And you know the kids – they smile so hard you couldn’t wipe the smiles off their faces they’re having so much fun. Even adults.”

I should know. It took me all day to wipe off my smile.

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