About Us
Bel-Air Seaplane Service is a woman owned, FAA-licensed Air Tour Operator providing scenic floatplane flights throughout the summer aboard our Cessna 172 on floats. Our top priority is safely sharing the unique experience of water flying and giving you a memorable perspective of your Maine vacation.
The beauty of our home in the Belgrade Lakes inspired our name, Bel-Air. Surrounded by sparkling lakes, rolling hills, and classic Maine scenery, there's no better place to experience the magic of a seaplane.
Melissa Grabiec - Founder & Chief Pilot
Melissa Grabiec founded Bel-Air Seaplane Service to share one of the best parts of both aviation: experiencing it from both the water and the air. A third-generation pilot, Melissa began her flying career in Maine more than 15 years ago as a seasonal pilot, but her connection to the water started much earlier growing up in Fort Lauderdale surrounded by boating, scuba diving and life on the water.
For her 24th birthday, Melissa’s father suggested combining her love of flying and boating with a seaplane rating, and from that moment on, she knew she wanted to build a life around water flying. That passion became Bel-Air Seaplane Service, a woman-owned business centered around adventure, connection, and the joy of seaplane flying in Maine’s Belgrade Lakes Region.
When she’s not flying floats, Melissa serves as the Lead Northeast Region Field Director for the Seaplane Pilots Association, advocating for water flying access and helping protect the future of seaplane operations. Through Bel-Air, her mission is to train and inspire as many new seaplane pilots as possible, helping replenish a depleting community of water flyers worldwide. She also brings the experience and professionalism of an airline career to her work on the water.
Doug Manter - Pilot
Doug’s earliest childhood memory was sitting on his father’s lap with his hands on the yoke of a Beech Debonair. Inspired by his father who was a Navy Test Pilot in World War II, Doug soloed on his 16th birthday and obtained his Private on his 17th birthday. Holding a CFII & MEI, he’s flown and instructed in a vast range of aircraft from various single & twin-engine pistons to turbo props. Ask him his favorite airplane, and it would be his 172 on floats!
Doug believes that float flying is the most demanding stick and rudder flying you’ll do as it will reveal the true pilot you are by using the “seat of your pants” feel. Along with revealing how rudder lazy you are!
Doug encourages you to come join him on the lake to have the most fun ever, and get bitten by the float flying bug!
Gertrude aka Gerty
Meet the star of the show, Gertrude! Without her years of faithful service as our beloved Cessna 172 on floats, none of these adventures would be possible.
Gertrude has quite the Maine story. She spent part of her career in Rangeley flying with Maine aviation legend Steve Bean at Mountain Air before continuing on with the new owners of Lakes Region Air. Eventually, she found her forever home in the Belgrade Lakes, where she's been making memories for more than 15 years.
Adding to her Maine roots, Gertrude now rides on a set of handcrafted PK Floats, proudly built in Lincoln, Maine. It's a fitting match for an airplane that's spent so much of her life flying the state's lakes and waterways.
Today, Gertrude is always ready to welcome up to three smiling passengers aboard as she and one of her favorite pilots set off to explore Maine from the water and the sky.