KATE SARSFIELD / LONDON
Four-seat aircraft set for North American approval by late 2004 will be first factory-built composite seaplane
Seawind North America (SNA) is developing a certificated version of its Seawind 300 kit land and seaplane and says the four-seat piston single will become the first-ever composite seaplane to gain approval. Transport Canada and US Federal Aviation Administration certification is due in the third quarter of next year.
SNA general manger Paul Marshall says: "When we launched the kitplane 11 years ago we always had a certificated version in the back of our minds. But it has taken a long time to raise sufficient funds and pull it off." SNA says it has sold nearly 170 Seawind 300 kits, of which 57 are flying.
Development of the factory-built version, the 300C, is split between three SNA-controlled divisions. Marshall says Quebec, Canada-based Advanced Aero is responsible for manufacture; Flight Dynamics, also based in Quebec, manages research and development; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based Seawind is responsible for the sales and marketing effort. "We have made a number of modifications to the company kit demonstrator in an effort to refine the design. The aircraft has over 1,600 flying hours and we are also building other parts for structural testing," he says.
A trailing link landing gear replaces the kit's fold-up design; the cabin headroom will be raised 50mm (2in) and the wings extended by around the same amount to house the new landing gear. The aircraft will be powered by the same Textron Lycoming 225kW (300hp) IO-540 piston engine, although Marshall says SNA is considering a diesel option. "Theilert [Aircraft Engines] is developing a 315hp diesel engine model which we are looking at very closely," he says.
Earlier this month SNA received Transport Canada's approval for its vacuum assist resin transfer moulding method of manufacturing. This, Marshall says, is a sophisticated resin infusion process used in the building of composite parts. "It is traditionally used in boat building, but we have perfected it for aircraft. By controlling the resin-to-cloth ratio we are able to produce a strong and light composite."
Both the seaplane and the landplane will be priced at around $300,000. "We plan to build up to 30 aircraft in the first full year of production [2005], increasing to around 175 aircraft a year by 2007," Marshall says. SNA's target markets are private owners, air ambulance and homeland security operators.
Source: Flight International
