Dornier Seastar
| Dornier Seastar | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | twin-engine amphibious aircraft |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: |
Dornier Seawings GmbH |
| First flight: |
17th August 1984 |
| Number of pieces: |
3 |
The Dornier Seastar (also Claudius Dornier Seastar ) is a twin-engine amphibious aircraft produced by the German manufacturer Dornier Seawings GmbH.
development
In the early 1980s, Claudius Dornier Jr. a multi-purpose amphibious aircraft that can be used from grass runways as well as from water, snow and ice surfaces without special equipment. The first flight of the test model VT-01 (also known as PT-01) took place in August 1984. In order to save time and money during flight tests, this machine was equipped with the metal wings of the Do 28 . Claudius Dornier was the eldest son of Claude Dornier and, even after retiring as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Dornier-Werke at the end of 1981, he felt strongly committed to his father's legacy - building seaplanes. First, the project was developed within the Dornier works on his behalf. In 1985 - after the takeover of the Dornier works by Daimler-Benz - he founded his own company, Claudius Dornier Seastar GmbH & Co KG, which continued the project.
The type certification was issued in October 1990 by the Federal Aviation Office and in June 1991 by the US DoT (FAA) . At this point there were two firm buy orders, five options and 72 orders. However, the Federal Ministry of Economics stopped the necessary funding so that the program was put on hold in Germany by Conrado Dornier, son of Claudius Dornier, who had taken it over to his company Dornier Composite Aircraft GmbH & Co KG in 1986 after the death of his father. In order to secure the technological basis that had been created, Conrado Dornier founded Dornier Seastar GmbH & Co. KG in 1991 , which was merged into Dornier Seawings AG in 2001. With the aim of realizing the Seastar program, the only remaining Seastar will be kept airworthy to this day. In the meantime, this pre-production aircraft has received a one-off license, which also enables IFR flight operations . Occasionally it can be visited on sightseeing flights. At the end of 2008 it became known that the newly founded Dornier Seaplane GmbH , based in Miami, is planning to manufacture a modernized version. Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu in the Canadian province of Québec was announced as the production location in May 2010 , the final assembly will take place in Oberpfaffenhofen and later the aircraft will also be produced in China.
In 2013, two Chinese state-owned companies from Wuxi and the Dornier family merged to form a joint venture under the name Dornier Seawings GmbH. The first flight was supposed to take place in 2019 and the first deliveries were planned two years later. On March 28, 2020, the first flight of the D-IDSW with the serial number 1003 took place at Oberpfaffenhofen airfield.
Technical specifications
Proven principles of the earlier Dornier flying boats and modern technology are combined in the Seastar:
- The fuselage consists largely of fiber-reinforced plastic . In order to obtain a cell that is very resistant to corrosion from seawater , it is largely made of glass fiber and carbon fiber reinforced epoxy resin . On the hull, which is pulled up one step, there are two lateral stabilization stubs, which are also called “sponson” and guarantee good seaworthiness. The bottom of the hull is designed like a boat.
- The Seastar is a semi-self-supporting screen high-wing , whose structure is braced. The two Pratt & Whitney engines are set up in tandem with a push and pull propeller each . This unusual arrangement ensures reliable flight behavior in all weather conditions and even if an engine fails, as there is no asymmetrical thrust in single-engine flight.
- The cantilever tail unit corresponds to the standard design and includes a very high set tailplane in cross-configuration.
- The retractable landing gear is located in the boat hull and in two fin stubs to which the aforementioned sponsons are attached. The single-tyred nose wheel is located in the bow of the fuselage, the single-tyred main landing gear legs in the stubs.
Possible uses
During development, Dornier, in line with tradition, placed great emphasis on the versatility of the pattern. The possible uses of a land plane are combined with those of a sea plane at the cost level of a conventional land plane. The manufacturer mentions the following possible uses:
- Passenger transport
- tourism
- Business travel and private flights
- Surveillance flights ( environmental protection , coastal protection , sovereign tasks)
- Shuttle traffic between ports, airports, ships, islands and coastal locations
- Search and Rescue Flights (SAR)
- Ambulance flights
- Civil protection / emergency operations
- Research missions / postal services
- Media assignments (film, television)
- Maritime surveillance in customs and border protection
- Inserts for supplying oil drilling platforms
- Crew transport, supply of coastal and island regions
- Freight transport
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 2 |
| Passengers | 0-12 |
| length | 12.70 m |
| span | 17.74 m |
| height | 4.73 m |
| Wing area | 30.60 m² |
| Wing extension | 10.3 |
| payload | 1300 kg |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 5100 kg |
drive
- Number: 2
- Type: propeller turbine engine
- Model: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 A-135A
- Take-off power: 2 × 650 hp
- Travel power: 2 × 500 hp
power
- Max. Cruising speed: 335 km / h
- Cruising speed for single-engine flight: 282 km / h
- Climbing rate: 1300 ft / min
- Climb rate in single engine flight: 510 ft / min
- Max. Range: 1667 km / 900 nm
Production list
| serial number | designation | Mark | First flight | Whereabouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1001 | CD 2-01 | D-ICDS | 1987 | No longer airworthy prototype, parked in Oberpfaffenhofen |
| 1002 | DC2 | D-ISEA | 1989 | Airworthy demonstration aircraft from Dornier Seawings GmbH with IFR single-unit certification |
| 1003 | CD2 | D-IDSW | 2020 |
In addition, a no longer existing proof-of-concept prototype CD 1 was built, which was used in the initial testing to verify the strength of the GRP fuselage structure.
See also
literature
- Wilfried Copenhagen : The great aircraft type book. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-613-01686-9 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Dornier Seastar Aircaft - Made for Runway and Water Operations. Retrieved April 26, 2017 (English).
- ↑ Press release from Dornier Seaplane AG ( Memento of the original from May 14, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ This is Dornier's new flying boat , accessed on February 20, 2016
- ^ Friedrichshafen / Oberpfaffenhausen: Amphibious aircraft for China's market: Dornier founds a joint venture. Retrieved April 20, 2017 .
- ↑ Dornier Seastar is scheduled to fly next year , accessed November 16, 2018
- ^ New Generation of Dornier Seastar completed First Flight. In: Latest News. Dornier Seawings GmbH, March 28, 2020, accessed on March 28, 2020 (English): “The prototype SN1003, a New Generation of the Dornier Seastar amphibious aircraft successfully performed its first flight today at Oberpfaffenhofen EDMO airport, Germany. The flight was performed by Dornier Seawings test pilot crew and took 31 minutes. "
- ↑ Flight International, April 7, 2020 (English), p. 19.
