Seawind 300C

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the Seawind aircraft.

For other uses, see Seawind.
Type Amphibian
Manufacturer Seawind LLC
Maiden flight 1993
Status Seawind 300C

Seawind 3000 kits - production completed
Number built From kits: about 75

Prototypes: 2

Certified Aircraft: none
Unit cost ~$350,000

The Seawinds are a family of composite, four-seat, amphibian airplanes that all feature a single tail-mounted engine.

The Seawind line consists of the kit-built Seawind 2000 and Seawind 3000 that were marketed by SNA Inc. of Kimberton, Pennsylvania, USA and the Seawind 300C that was developed by Seawind LLC, also of Kimberton, Pennsylvania. The Seawind 2000 was introduced in 1993.

The Seawind 300C was intended to be the certified production version of the kit-built Seawind 3000. The company indicated that certification flight testing would continue after the crash of the prototype on August 16, 2007, but this has not occurred as of April, 2008.[1]

Production of Seawind 2000 and 3000 kits was completed in 2004 to concentrate on certification of the 300C and the kits are no longer available[2]

Contents

[edit] Design

Seawind 3000 N46SW
Seawind 3000 N46SW
Seawind N46SW showing a "certified" placard while on display at Sun 'n Fun 2006. In fact it was a kit-built Seawind 3000 which was used as a marketing aircraft for the 300C.
Seawind N46SW showing a "certified" placard while on display at Sun 'n Fun 2006. In fact it was a kit-built Seawind 3000 which was used as a marketing aircraft for the 300C.

The Seawind is most distinctive for its engine pod, which juts forward from the leading edge of the very large vertical fin. The design is also noted for its long, low profile and sleek curves made practical by composite construction.

The Seawind is relatively quiet for the crew, primarily because the engine is above and behind the cabin and the exhaust is routed up and back. Some amphibian aircraft use a pusher propeller arrangement, which causes the exhaust to pass through the propeller plane which can increase noise. The Seawind uses a conventional tractor propeller arrangement that avoids this issue. The relatively large propeller also keeps propeller speed below 2500 rpm to further reduce noise.

The cabin is very wide for an airplane of this type and seats 4 adults. A factory option replaces the aft bucket seats with a bench to provide seating for 3 children. The wide cabin also supports a large instrument panel, allowing installation of virtually any avionics.

There are three cargo compartments: under the nose deck ahead of the canopy, behind the rear seats in the cabin, and the tailcone.

The wing uses a constant-chord NASA NLF airfoil drooped at the ends. The wingtips provide some endplate effect to increase ground effect and reduce induced drag. They also serve as wingtip floats. The wing has a reflexed (negative angle of attack) trailing edge to reduce drag at cruise.

Retractable landing gear is hinged to the side of hull and folds up into the wing for flight and water operations.

An electric/hydraulic powerpack provides hydraulic power for the flaps, landing gear and optional nose-wheel steering. The hydraulic pack and battery are located in the nose compartment.

Fuel is gravity fed from the main tanks to a standpipe to supply the engine. Optional auxiliary tanks in the wing tips have electric pumps to transfer fuel to the main tanks. Fuel can also be pumped from side to side to correct any lateral imbalance.

Steering on land is provided by differential braking. Hydraulic nose-wheel steering is available as an option. A retractable water rudder is slaved to the air rudder for water operation.

Most reviewers evaluate the Seawind as a stable platform.[citation needed] Directional stability is positive due to the large vertical fin. Like many aircraft, the Seawind exhibits mild pitch instability (phugoid) with a period of ~45 seconds[citation needed].

[edit] Development

The Seawind was originally designed in the early 1980s in Canada. Seawind kits were developed and sold by SNA Inc. of Kimberton, Pennsylvania, USA. Seawind LLC was formed to certify the Seawind design as a complete aircraft and market it as the Seawind 300C. The Seawind 300C factory is to be located in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada.

[edit] Seawind 2000

The Seawind 2000 was the first production kit prototype, powered by a 200 hp Lycoming engine. Although top and cruise speeds were respectable, SNA felt that the aircraft needed more power [3]. A 300 hp engine was installed, as well as several minor modifications, to create the Seawind 3000.

[edit] Seawind 3000

In addition to the larger engine, the Seawind 3000 had minor changes to the hull and step configuration. The Seawind 2000 canopy was hinged to allow opening from either side while the 3000 was hinged to open at the back.

The Seawind 3000 first flew in late March 1993. The first prototype crashed during testing on 3 April 1993 with test pilot Bob Mills and SNA president Dick Silva onboard. After several routine tests, they attempted to simulate an engine-out situation reducing the engine power and setting the prop pitch to high. However, due to a malfunction, the propeller went into flat (or possibly reverse) pitch. This caused excessive drag and prevented the propeller from windmilling. The crew attempted to reach the runway but, due to the high descent rate and lack of power, they landed in rough terrain short of the runway at approximately 80 mph, hitting several boulders on two sides of an embankment. The crash forces were estimated to be in excess of 15Gs. Although the aircraft suffered extensive damage, both crew suffered only muscle strains. The crash also showed the strength of the composite structure and, in particular, the vertical fin/engine pylon arrangement. Some skeptics has felt this was a potential weak point in the Seawind design[4], although the pylon is capable of 15G vertical and 20G forward loading, more than twice the certification requirement.

Another prototype was built with a non-reversible constant speed propeller and testing resumed in December 1993.

SNA estimated that it would take the average builder 2000 hours to complete a Seawind 3000 kit. A "Kwick Kit" option was also available, which provided some of the major components pre-assembled to reduce the build time to approximately 1500 hours.

A standard kit was $41,900 USD in 1994. A Kwick Kit cost an extra $9,800 USD. The cost for the basic kit had risen to $51,200 USD in 1999. SNA estimated that it would cost $40,000-65,000 USD for the necessary components not included with the kit. A fully assembled Seawind kit with instruments typically cost over $200,000 USD.

The first customer built Seawind 3000 was completed in mid 1994.

[edit] Seawind 300C

The Seawind 300C was developed from the 3000 and incorporated many changes needed to conform to the Canadian CAR 523 standards. Flight testing was commenced in Canada as the aircraft was intended to be manufactured at the plant at Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. Certification in the USA under FAR 23 was to have followed Canadian certification.

The 300C was undergoing certification testing when the prototype crashed near Winnipeg, Manitoba, on August 16, 2007 killing test pilot Glenn Ralph Holmes.[5] At the time of the accident, the company indicated it would shut down, but in October 2007 stated that test flying would continue once additional personal were hired and additional funding secured. [6] Since that time test flying has not resumed.

[edit] Remaining Seawinds

In September 2007 there were 13 Seawind 2000 and 3000 amateur-builts registered in Canada[7]and 58 in the USA.[8] Due to kits purchased some time ago being completed, this number is expected to increase over the next few years, minus any aircraft destroyed in accidents.

[edit] Specifications (300C)

Data from Seawind website[9]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1 pilot
  • Capacity: 3 adult passengers or 1 adult passenger and 3 children
  • Length: 27 ft 2 in (8.28 m)
  • Wingspan: 35 ft 0 in (10.67 m)
  • Height: 10 ft 2 in (3.10 m)
  • Wing area: 163 ft² (15.14 m²)
  • Airfoil: NLF(1)-0215(F)
  • Empty weight: 2300 lb (1043 kg)
  • Loaded weight: lb (kg)
  • Useful load: 1100 lb (499 kg)
  • Max takeoff weight: 3400 lb (1542 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1× Continental IO-550-N Flat 6, 310 hp (231 kW)
  • Propellers: 1, McCauley 3-blade Constant Speed propeller
    • Propeller diameter: 76 in (1.93 m)

  • Ground Clearance: 8.5 in (0.22 m)
  • Fuel Capacity-Main: 80 US gal (303 L)
  • Fuel Capacity-Aux: 30 US gal (114 L)
  • Cabin Length: 105 in (2.67 m)
  • Cabin Width-Front: 52 in (1.32 m)
  • Cabin Width-Rear: 54 in (1.37 m)
  • Cabin Height-Front: 43 in (1.09 m)
  • Cabin Height-Rear: 39 in (.99 m)
  • Cabin Baggage: 10 ft³ (.28 m³)
  • Aft Baggage: 30 ft³ (.85 m³)
  • Nose Deck Baggage: 3 ft³ (.08 m³) Performance
  • Cruise Fuel Burn: 12.8 US gal/h (0.81 L/min)
  • Stall speed: 63 knots (72 mph, 116 km/h) in clean configuration
  • Stall Speed: 54 knots (60 mph, 97 km/h) with flaps and wheels
  • Range: 905 nm (1040 mi, 1674 km) with main tanks
  • Range: 1270 NM (1460 mi, 2350 km) with optional auxiliary tanks
  • 75% Cruise (8,000 ft): 165 knots (190 mph, 306 km/h)
  • 65% Cruise (8,000 ft): 156 knots (180 mph, 290 km/h)
  • Best Rate Of Climb Speed: 86 knots (99 mph, 159 km/h)
  • Best Angle Of Climb Speed: 65 knots (74 mph, 119 km/h)
  • Takeoff Distance - Land: 1175 ft (358 m)
  • Takeoff Distance - Water: 1400 ft (427 m)
  • Landing Distance - Land: 1300 ft (396 m)
  • Landing Distance - Water: 1150 ft (351 m)
    Sea level standard day at gross weight of 3200 lb (1451 kg) except where noted

[edit] Specifications (3000)

All specifications are the same as the 300C except as noted below.

Data from [10]

General characteristics

  • Length: ()
  • Wingspan: ()
  • Height: ()
  • Wing area: 160 ft² (14.86 m²)
  • Powerplant: 1× Lycoming IO-540 Flat 6, 300 hp (2224 kW)
  • Propellers: 1, Hartzell 3-blade Constant Speed propeller
    • Propeller diameter: 76 in (1.93 m)

  • Fuel Capacity-Main: 74 US gal (280 L)
  • Fuel Capacity-Aux: 36 US gal (136 L) Performance

[edit] Citations

  1. ^ Seawind Homepage accessed 21 October 2007
  2. ^ Seawind SNA website accessed 22 September 2007
  3. ^ Seawind 300C - Sport Pilot
  4. ^ Seawind 300C - Sport Pilot
  5. ^ AvWeb Article August 19, 2007 Pilot Killed, Seawind Prototype Lost By Russ Niles, Contributing Editor accessed 22 September 2007
  6. ^ Seawind's Crash Report By Dick Silva accessed 21 October 2007
  7. ^ Transport Canada Civil Aircraft Register accessed 22 September 2007
  8. ^ FAA REGISTRY - Aircraft Registration Inquiry accessed 22 September 2007
  9. ^ Seawind LLC. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.
  10. ^ Flyer Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-07-17.

[edit] References

Torson, D. "Eddie" (August 1994). "Flying The Seawind 3000". Sport Pilot Magazine. 
Lert, Peter (July 1994). "Of Wind And Water". Air Progress Magazine: 36-43. 
Boog, Geoffrey (August 1999). "Sunseeker". Flyer: 28-31. 

[edit] External links

[edit] See also

Related development Seawind 2000, Seawind 3000

v • d • e
Lists relating to aviation
General
Military
Accidents/incidents
Records