Alaskans Gawk At Souped-Up Amphibian
Does this sound typical of the
average build-it-and-fly-it pilot? At a party inside a hanger at
Merrill Field (AK), Dean Rickerson told the Fairbanks Daily
News-Miner, "They're mostly friends who've been hearing about
this for years and years. A lot of people didn't think we'd finish
it."
"Including us," his wife, Margaret Ibbotson added. She's also a
pilot. Both of them say their new Super Seawind could very well be
the fastest amphibian in the air.
Rickerson should know. He built the Super Seawind.
Well, a lot of it, anyway. A little over six years ago, the parts
arrived for N6007 from the Seawind company of Kimberton (PA) which
has manufactured the build-it-yourself plane since 1991.
"It's supposed to be a
two-year project," he said. "But this is a very big, complicated
piece of equipment." After three years, he admitted, "it got too
big and complicated for this old dog." So the partially assembled
plane was shipped to a specialty shop in Washington.
"We brought a lot of (the delay) on ourselves because we
modified so much," said Ibbotson, who sanded the fiberglass
exterior and sweated every little interior details.
A Nip Here, A Turbocharger There
The modifications make the Super Seawind notably
different from the usual Seawind. Rickerson changed the shape of
the hull and position of the retractable rudder. He extended the
wings for greater lift and installed retractable sponsons.
The interior is nearly as heart-stopping as the silhouette, with
enough room for two people to sleep and reclining seats from a
Saturn sedan. The canopy features a single window-windshield
wrapped around the cabin. The yoke is Cessna gear but embellished
with baleen and gold nuggets.
The German propeller is reversible, allowing N6007 to back up in
the water. But the main difference between N6007 and a stock
Seawind is the engine. Seawind sells its planes with a
300-horsepower Lycoming. The company considers that ample for most
travel in the Lower 48, where flights average about an hour and
where, generally, getting over mountains is less of a concern than
in Alaska.
Check The Engine Out
What makes Rickerson's Seawind "super" is twin turbochargers and
other alterations that boost its power to 460 horses.
Why all the extra muscle? Check the weather in Alaska and you'll
find it's pretty unpredictable. Then there's the whole reason we
fly in the first place -- speed. Rickerson has flown the Lake
Buccaneer, but found it too slow to take advantage of brief breaks
in rotten weather. Those breaks are often the only opportunity for
days to get out of a remote site.
In early May, Rickerson took off from Arlington (WA), 35 miles
north of Seattle, and followed the Pacific coastline to Merrill
Field. Total time in the air: 8.5 hours.
Seawind's Web site cites a cruising speed of 190 mph at 8,000
feet and 75 percent power. A turbine-powered Cessna Caravan on
pontoons, often cited as the fastest single-engine production
floatplane, tops out at 175 mph. Rickerson said his plane has hit
230 mph at 8,000 feet and 75 percent throttle.
Seawind general manager Paul Marshall said that, of the 169 kits
sold, 59 have been completed and flown.
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