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News
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SeaStar has
high-tech origins
J. Douglas
Hinton
7/21/2000
WEATHERFORD, Oklahoma — “It may look something
like a Seawind, but any similarity ends right there,” says
Craig Easter, president of SeaStar Aircraft Inc. and designer
of this latest entry into the amphibian market.
Easter
goes on to point out that airframes turn out looking similar
to one another when you use a high-wing design (which is
common to most seaplanes), then put the engine on top to keep
the propeller out of the spray, and use CAD design and
wind-tunnel testing to optimize the most efficient
airflow.
The point is probably moot anyway, as Easter
claims the Seawind patent was rescinded in a legal action with
a Seawind owner. All engineering is subcontracted to Precision
Design Inc., which not only uses CAD techniques but CFD
(computational fluid dynamics), which is best explained as a
sort of digital wind tunnel. Then throw in FEA (finite element
analysis) and we’re talking high-tech here. When the airplane
is ready to fly, there should be few, if any,
surprises.
Hailing from Texas, Easter brings some
germane credentials to the company. He has owned some 50
airplanes, nine of which he built himself.
The SeaStar
will begin life as a carbon-graphite and stainless-steel
cabin-class kit plane, but JAA and FAA certification will be
pursued later. The first prototype should fly in August, and
full-scale kit production is due to commence in
November.
Five models of the SeaStar will be offered.
Two of them, the Adventure and the High Fly, will be powered
by a 350-horsepower Lycoming TSIO 540 engine using an MT
four-blade reversible propeller. The High Fly will be
pressurized by means of a turbocharger to provide a
10,000-foot cabin at 23,000 feet. Cruise speeds are projected
to be 201 mph and 213 mph at 10,000 and 20,000 feet
respectively. A fuel capacity of 125 gallons (wing contained)
should provide a no-reserve range of 1,399 state miles at 75%
power.
Next up are the SeaStar Hunter and Hunter XP.
Shifting gears, we move to turbine power utilizing the
675-horsepower Walter-LOM M601D engine, which can be mated to
an Avia Hamilton three-blade prop or an MT five-blade whirly
stick.
The main difference between the two airplanes
is the pressurization capability of the XP. All models are
two-, four- or six-place. Range (no reserve), using auxiliary
tanks in the fuselage and totaling 200 gallons, is 1,385
statute miles. Flight plan the cruise speed at 10,000 feet as
264 mph, or 277 mph at 20,000 feet. Rate of climb: 1,800 feet
per minute.
The fifth model is foreseen for military or
law-enforcement applications, either unpressurized or pumped
up, using the 771-horsepower Walter M601F engine, which is
FAA-certified on the LET L420 19-passenger commuter. Gross
takeoff weight and useful load will increase by 600 pounds
each to 4,600 and 2,200 pounds, respectively. That equates to
sending six troops, dressed to kill, 864 statute miles with
VFR reserves in three hours.
Easter foresees an
excellent market for drug-enforcement riverine operations, or
even naval tasking from a carrier where a FLIR-equipped
SeaStar Hunter XP with optional hard points could get certain
surveillance jobs done at far less cost than Navy iron. And
the hull is robust enough to handle two-foot waves, which is
very respectable as seaplanes go. Price for the XP is
estimated at $590,000 plus avionics.
Although the basic
SeaStar kit costs $90,000 (less engine, prop, instruments,
paint, avionics and upholstery), and the pressurized version
runs $99,000, SeaStar is accepting deposits of just $500 for
production positions until test flights verify the numbers.
And your money is safe, Easter promises. It’s escrowed in an
interest-bearing account, and you can have it all back should
you have a change of heart.
Build time is estimated at
3,000 hours, but for $5,000 you can take advantage of the
two-week builder-assist program at the factory, where
dormitory housing will be provided. SeaStar promises you’ll go
home with your wings and fuselage closed and with all main
bulkheads installed.
So be watching for this beauty.
Maybe some of Weatherford, Oklahoma — home to astronaut Tom
Stafford — has rubbed off on Craig Easter.
He seems to
have the Right Stuff.
For more information, contact:
SeaStar Aircraft Inc., POBox 2031, Thomas Stafford Airport,
Weatherford, OK 73096; toll-free phone: 877-6-SeaStar;
phone/fax: 580-772-2140; E-mail: info@seastarplane.com; Web:
SeastarPlane.com.
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