Dornier Seawings has commenced series production of the Seastar amphibious aircraft, more than 30 years after its maiden flight in 1984. ...
Dornier Seawings has commenced series production of the Seastar amphibious aircraft, more than 30 years after its maiden flight in 1984.
Engineered to operate on both land and water, the Seastar combines cutting-edge technology with Dornier’s 100 years of flying-boat experience.
Originally developed by Claudius Dornier, using design principles of his father, aviation pioneer Claude Dornier, the advanced amphibious aircraft is equipped with exceptional features, such as the sponsons, tandem propellers and the Dornier boat hull.
The parasol wing with a span of 58.20 ft is designed as a single continuous aerofoil structure with a fail-safe three-spar design. The all-composite, corrosion-free fuselage supplied by Canadian Diamond Aircraft Ind. is 41.67 ft long.
The two tandem Pratt & Whitney turboprop PT6A turboprop engines are mounted in a single nacelle over the wings in a push-pull configuration. The configuration improves safety and flying by eliminating the possibility of asymmetric thrust in the event of an engine failure.
The rate of climb with two engines is 1300 ft/min and with single engine is 520 ft/min.
The P&W engines, rated 650 hp each are mated with a 5-blade MT Propellers enabling to achieve a maximum cruising speed of 180 KTAS — 40 KTAS faster than its nearest competitor.
The landing gear and fuel tanks are located in the sponsons on both sides of the fuselage that guarantees excellent water-handling and a low center of gravity. The sponsons also act as working and docking platforms when on water.
The unique all-composite boat hull can perform in rough seas and has demonstrated a sea state of 2 ft.
The interior of the Seastar can be tailored to many different operations: VIP, commercial, government or corporate missions. It features a light and spacious cabin that can be equipped with various configurations, including 12-seater commuter, 9-seater corporate and 7-seater VIP.
The cockpit is equipped with Honeywell’s Primus Epic 2.0 all-glass avionic suite and four 10-inch LCD displays with advanced vision, communication, navigation, surveillance and air traffic management systems. It can also be operated by a single-pilot.
The aircraft has a MTOW of 10141 lb (4.6 tonne) and has a maximum range of 900 nm (1667 km). The flight endurance is 7.5 hours and maximum operating altitude is 15000 ft.
Dornier Seawings is scheduled to receive the amended Type Certificate according to CS23 (FAR 23) by the European Aviation Safety Agency in the second quarter of 2018 and will deliver the first aircraft to customers later that year.
Engineered to operate on both land and water, the Seastar combines cutting-edge technology with Dornier’s 100 years of flying-boat experience.
Originally developed by Claudius Dornier, using design principles of his father, aviation pioneer Claude Dornier, the advanced amphibious aircraft is equipped with exceptional features, such as the sponsons, tandem propellers and the Dornier boat hull.
The parasol wing with a span of 58.20 ft is designed as a single continuous aerofoil structure with a fail-safe three-spar design. The all-composite, corrosion-free fuselage supplied by Canadian Diamond Aircraft Ind. is 41.67 ft long.
The two tandem Pratt & Whitney turboprop PT6A turboprop engines are mounted in a single nacelle over the wings in a push-pull configuration. The configuration improves safety and flying by eliminating the possibility of asymmetric thrust in the event of an engine failure.
The rate of climb with two engines is 1300 ft/min and with single engine is 520 ft/min.
The P&W engines, rated 650 hp each are mated with a 5-blade MT Propellers enabling to achieve a maximum cruising speed of 180 KTAS — 40 KTAS faster than its nearest competitor.
The landing gear and fuel tanks are located in the sponsons on both sides of the fuselage that guarantees excellent water-handling and a low center of gravity. The sponsons also act as working and docking platforms when on water.
The unique all-composite boat hull can perform in rough seas and has demonstrated a sea state of 2 ft.
The interior of the Seastar can be tailored to many different operations: VIP, commercial, government or corporate missions. It features a light and spacious cabin that can be equipped with various configurations, including 12-seater commuter, 9-seater corporate and 7-seater VIP.
The cockpit is equipped with Honeywell’s Primus Epic 2.0 all-glass avionic suite and four 10-inch LCD displays with advanced vision, communication, navigation, surveillance and air traffic management systems. It can also be operated by a single-pilot.
The aircraft has a MTOW of 10141 lb (4.6 tonne) and has a maximum range of 900 nm (1667 km). The flight endurance is 7.5 hours and maximum operating altitude is 15000 ft.
Dornier Seawings is scheduled to receive the amended Type Certificate according to CS23 (FAR 23) by the European Aviation Safety Agency in the second quarter of 2018 and will deliver the first aircraft to customers later that year.
Dornier Seawings GmbH is a joint venture between the Wuxi Industrial Development Group (WXIDG), the Wuxi Communications Industry Group Co., Ltd., and the German Dornier family.
The joint venture is headquartered in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China and the engineering core of the joint venture company is in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany.
Production lines are currently set up in Germany (Oberpfaffenhofen) and planned in China (Wuxi), and first deliveries to customers are expected by 2018.
Diamond Aircraft has begun manufacture of the airframe, including fuselage, wings and flight controls, and will deliver the first fuselage to Dornier Seawings’ final assembly line by June 2016.
The corrosion-resistant tricycle landing gear is supplied by Sumitomo Precision Products Canada.
