Sarah Tamar
NYC ad exec switches careers to seaplane flying
“I have always been interested in flying, but I didn’t know it was possible for me to become a pilot,” she said. “The absolute magic of those planes inspired me to dig into how I could start flying them. I think it was love at first sight. I did my first flight in a Skyhawk with my CFI friend. After a very short time, I realized it was what I wanted to do with my life.”
AOPA Pilot readers may remember Tamar as one of a pair of pilots who, during the height of the pandemic in 2020, flew a 1973 Cessna 172 across the United States, documenting the effect the shutdown had on the country from the air (“Portfolio: Moments in Time,” April 2021 AOPA Pilot). “I’m a huge fan of airplane camping—or flamping. It’s the ultimate freedom, the ability to fly all day, land somewhere beautiful, camp with your airplane, and then wake up the next day before sunrise and do it again is incredible,” she said.
Today Tamar splits her time between the Northeast in summer flying amphibious Caravans for Tailwind Air from New York City to the Hamptons and winter flying in Florida. “I love flying the amphib Cessna Caravan for work. It’s a beast of a plane and so much fun to fly,” she said. “We get to do some diverse and unique aviating in these planes, from landing on the East River in NYC, Boston Harbor, beaches in the Bahamas, upstate lakes, and so much more.”
She is a New York ambassador for the Recreational Aviation Foundation, a founder of the East Hampton EAA chapter, and is currently pursuing her CFI and MEI. Her goal is to give seaplane ratings and instruct on floats. She was recently awarded the Women in Aviation International Martha R. King Scholarship as well as the JetStream Aviation Law Scholarship from Women in Corporate Aviation.
“Seaplane flying has proven to be an ever-expanding passion. I love speaking with people at small airstrips while doing this; there’s a kind of unwritten bond between aviators, and we all speak the same language. Everyone has a great story to tell. My next and ultimate goal is to combine these two favorites and do some flamping in a seaplane on water across America.”
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