Ditto, if you get i trouble with a car, you can stop.

You can't do that with a plane

PLUS, with a car you have ONE dimension (Right and Left) with a plane you have 3 - Right/left, Up/Down, and Axial Roll. That's the one (Axial) that many people forget about, and the one that most often gets people in trouble. You tend to forget that once your plane is rolled at a 90 degree angle, the Elevator is no longer going to make you go UP. Combine that with the fact that there are no breaks, and you will see how fast a crash can happen, doing it over water just makes it that much more painful ("Yea, the radio is soaked, and my engine is at the bottom of the lake")

So lots of people who THINK they can do it, can't.

However, here's the good news...

You can get a good trainer, like the Sig LT 40, or the Alpha 40 etc.etc.etc. and put floats on it.

Learn at the local club, then strap on the floats, and go tackle that lake!