We bring seaplane aviation closer to people
Douglas DC-3 Dakota was a legendary passenger aircraft, mounted on floating in the second world war. One of them Dakota seaplanes would be nearly seventy-five-year-old, damage that can not fly today. A few years ago guest video about it.
This video showing how fly the Junkers F-13 by seaplane on Lake Balaton in the twenties. Recently built a Junkers F-13 replica in Germany. It could be mounted on wheels instead of floats, may be back nostalgia seaplane flight in Europe.
101 seaplanes landed at EAA Aiventure Oshkosh last week, but Rutan SkiGull seaplane missed the festival, while I was looking forward SkiGull takeoff from the water.
AVIC AG600 giant seaplane rolled off a production line in Zhuhai last week. The Water Dragon will be used to fight forest fires and marine rescue missions. The AVIC seaplane factory has no plans to exit the international market, there would be two competitors, the Japanese ShinMaywa US-2 and the Russian Beriev Be-200 seaplanes.
I went to see the Viking Air aircraft factory in British Columbia six years ago, then it started production of the new Twin Otter Series 400. The prototype that could not be photographed shown on wheels and its amphibious floats rested himself in the factory courtyard between the old timer seaplanes.
Recently we visited largest general aviation exhibition of Europe in the city’s Lake Constance. Unfortunately we saw few seaplanes there.
Few years ago Ivo Boscarol’s team won sponsored by Google and NASA the Green Flight Challenge. Its four-seater electric airplane, the Pipistrel Taurus G4 flew 200 miles in less than 2 hours and used less than one gallon of fuel energy equivalent per passenger. Since the victory Pipistrel CEO Ivo Boscarol continues developing electric and hybrid propulsion for aircraft with Siemens and universities. This team’s latest project is the HYPSTAIR, we hope the seaplanes are going to use its results in the near future.
Today the Canadian aircraft manufacturer Viking Air Limited introduced the world’s first dedicated seaplane in the near 20 passenger category at the Singapore Airshow. In the picture you can see the Viking floats 400S will be sold a year’s time.
