Seaplanes are making a comeback. Dornier’s back (kinda), making new stuff. This thing could be sweet, if a little ugly. Twin turboprop seaplane.
RT: https://poa.st/objects/176dda0a-2fb6-4cfb-89b5-fe8efe0e72d2
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Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks (washedoutgundampilot@poa.st)'s status on Saturday, 11-Mar-2023 00:27:42 JST Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks -
Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks (washedoutgundampilot@poa.st)'s status on Saturday, 11-Mar-2023 04:50:48 JST Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks @Elfie @Slappedin88 Danger, for one, improved post-war infrastructure throughout the USA made it less needful to land wherever and troll on into port. Lots of aircraft made in that boom also gave us tons of capable DC3’s to work with, jumpstarted the industry into the jet age, and before you know it there’s just not much reason for a super expensive, slow, insanely loud thing that’s hard to land in rough seas.
If they can get them quieter, more reliable, fuel efficient then they can really help the SEA market as it grows, because they have enough coastline and it’s better to have an infinite ocean runway instead of an unkempt strip in the hills. Even the US mil wants a seaplane for their glowniggardry
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:cornbread_going_goblin_mode: Elfie :nafo: (elfie@bae.st)'s status on Saturday, 11-Mar-2023 04:50:49 JST :cornbread_going_goblin_mode: Elfie :nafo: @WashedOutGundamPilot @Slappedin88
I think you explained why sea planes are no longer a thing... But I forgot :0000:
In any case, it's kinda silly that they aren't a mayor part of aviation considering how most of the planet is water (plus they look EXTREMELY chonky awesome)
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Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks (washedoutgundampilot@poa.st)'s status on Saturday, 11-Mar-2023 04:52:00 JST Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks @SuperSnekFriend @Slappedin88 Supposedly simple enough, a little tricky to get the hang of judging your distance since you lack the same cues you rely on for land use (unless you land on dirt/grass a lot). The really tough part is landing into rough seas, you’re trying to time the waves and set it down right.
Can’t remember the right way though. I think you wanna land into a trough?
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❄️:padoru: SantaSnekFriend :padoru:❄️ (supersnekfriend@poa.st)'s status on Saturday, 11-Mar-2023 04:52:01 JST ❄️:padoru: SantaSnekFriend :padoru:❄️ @WashedOutGundamPilot @Slappedin88 How hard is landing a seaplane compared to landing on the tarmac? :02_think: -
Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks (washedoutgundampilot@poa.st)'s status on Saturday, 11-Mar-2023 05:13:20 JST Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks @teknomunk @Elfie @Slappedin88 Like I said, “glowniggardry in the pacific”
They halted it for now, but that’s the cheapest way to do it
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teknomunk (teknomunk@apogee.polaris-1.work)'s status on Saturday, 11-Mar-2023 05:13:21 JST teknomunk @WashedOutGundamPilot @Elfie @Slappedin88
> C-130 with boat strapped to bottom
Ugh! So hidious! Can't look directly at it!
But seriously, why? I hope that is just a CG mockup. -
:spinnenrad: Festivegoat :spinnenrad: (eiregoat@nicecrew.digital)'s status on Saturday, 11-Mar-2023 05:15:15 JST :spinnenrad: Festivegoat :spinnenrad: Back in the day airports were few and far between, whereas protected stretches of water were common and most destinations were already built beside one.
It was easier to build the plane to take advantage of natural airports than to convince every city to build one. That changed in the 50s and now there isn't as much of an argument for them, which is a shame because they're awesome.Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks likes this. -
Kallian (kallian@varishangout.net)'s status on Saturday, 11-Mar-2023 05:23:34 JST Kallian @WashedOutGundamPilot @Slappedin88 Seaplanes are fucking neat. Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks likes this. -
Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks (washedoutgundampilot@poa.st)'s status on Saturday, 11-Mar-2023 05:24:15 JST Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks @Kallian @Slappedin88 Everyone likes seaplanes so much I’ll just provide a bunch for you guys whenever I see something.
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Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks (washedoutgundampilot@poa.st)'s status on Saturday, 11-Mar-2023 10:45:07 JST Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks @GabeLakmann @Slappedin88 You can add floats to a lot, but they’re very bad for performance. Tiny little wheels for land use, too.
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GabeLakmann (gabelakmann@nicecrew.digital)'s status on Saturday, 11-Mar-2023 10:45:08 JST GabeLakmann I like the planes on floats you see around the lakes in Canada/Alaska/Idaho/Montana/Etc. -
Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks (washedoutgundampilot@poa.st)'s status on Saturday, 11-Mar-2023 11:16:13 JST Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks @GabeLakmann @Slappedin88 Nobody really has midsize stuff with floats, only weirdo operators in bay area tour companies and canadian wilds will waste their time with float equipped twotters & beavers. Most of the time you see them they’re on fun planes, and the guys I’ve spoken to tned to admit they aren’t worth it unless you live, park by the coast every day. Most stuff with them will be something like a cub, sometimes a more capable cessna like a 182, maybe a 206, but there just ain’t much money out there for them besides tourism or backcountry delivery
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GabeLakmann (gabelakmann@nicecrew.digital)'s status on Saturday, 11-Mar-2023 11:16:14 JST GabeLakmann I always wondered how much drag the floats add and those little tiny built in wheels on the floats seem like they'd be fragile.
Some type of piper cub style plane with floats might be kinda cool though. I think they usually use bigger planes for sea planes or floats instead of small bush planes though, don't they? -
Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks (washedoutgundampilot@poa.st)'s status on Saturday, 11-Mar-2023 11:19:07 JST Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks @GabeLakmann @Slappedin88 Actually, no, come to think about it there’s a seaplane operator running 208’s over in new york, taking people from the river down to DC. So….sub 19 passenger? Likely like, 10-12 seats, if I had to guess? If they’re around in a year I’ll probably throw in an app for the hell of it
https://www.wipaire.com/wipline-floats/wipline-13000-floats/
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Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks (washedoutgundampilot@poa.st)'s status on Saturday, 11-Mar-2023 11:21:38 JST Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks @GabeLakmann @Slappedin88 They’re cool, but it’s like any other cool job - 1,000 guys willing to do it for free for every open seat. Getting into seaplane stuff is tough too, nobody wants to drop the money on such a tenuous career track, so most of the time it’s about who you know. There’s often an operator around bay cities from what I see, you just don’t get a lot of business, you end up flying 3 times on a good day, with a whole lot of sitting around on the ground….unpaid
I like how these guys have some good hero shots of the twotter though. It’s a cool ride
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GabeLakmann (gabelakmann@nicecrew.digital)'s status on Saturday, 11-Mar-2023 11:21:39 JST GabeLakmann That's pretty much all I've seen them used for. You see the pictures where they're dropping off hunters or fly fishermen or whatever in a 8 passenger or smaller plane. -
GabeLakmann (gabelakmann@nicecrew.digital)'s status on Saturday, 11-Mar-2023 12:12:50 JST GabeLakmann That is pretty cool. The one seaplane I think of when I hear the term is a single engine radial one. I'll try and find a picture but you'll probably tell me what it is before I can find it haha. -
Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks (washedoutgundampilot@poa.st)'s status on Saturday, 11-Mar-2023 12:12:50 JST Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks @GabeLakmann @Slappedin88 DHC 2 beaver, most likely. They have a lovely, quaint cockpit, but they haven’t been made in like, 70 years? They may be coming back, I think the type certs were sold to Viking when they bought out dehavilland, so I wouldn’t rule it out.
But radials suck ass. They burn insane levels of oil, like 6-8 gallons a flight for an old twin wasp, if IIRC
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Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks (washedoutgundampilot@poa.st)'s status on Saturday, 11-Mar-2023 12:15:10 JST Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks @GabeLakmann @Slappedin88 No, they get paid, the only time I hear free work is for lifelight guys doing ‘volunteer’ work because they’re dying to fly helos again. Even then I doubt it’s a thing, outside the msot rural, cash strapped places.
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GabeLakmann (gabelakmann@nicecrew.digital)'s status on Saturday, 11-Mar-2023 12:15:11 JST GabeLakmann Do they really fly people for free just to do it?
It seems cool but you'd think they'd want to get paid still. -
Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks (washedoutgundampilot@poa.st)'s status on Saturday, 11-Mar-2023 14:03:57 JST Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks @GabeLakmann @Slappedin88 Pretty much everything in ‘emergency medicine’ is this way. People are drawn to the “hell yeah I work on the RIG and see SHIT and touch BLOOD” nonsense that goes with being an EMT, so there’s a good deal of more rural operators that just staff their night shifts with losers willing to work for free, whether they tell themselves it’s for the resume, the experience, or the fun.
The end result is the same, you’re dealing with life and death istuations for twelve bucks an hour
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GabeLakmann (gabelakmann@nicecrew.digital)'s status on Saturday, 11-Mar-2023 14:03:58 JST GabeLakmann That makes sense. You get to help people and also get to fly something cool for free instead of paying to fly it. -
GabeLakmann (gabelakmann@nicecrew.digital)'s status on Saturday, 11-Mar-2023 14:06:52 JST GabeLakmann Radials were on their way out in WW2 but that design is probably from around that time I'd think and I'd also assume they just used them because they were cheaper or something. You'd probably get more room for passengers but then they have some compact boxer engines that make good power now.
I still like seeing those older designs with some modern updates to make them safer and easier to fly. -
Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks (washedoutgundampilot@poa.st)'s status on Saturday, 11-Mar-2023 14:06:52 JST Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks @GabeLakmann @Slappedin88 There just wasn’t anything with the power needed for real use, still isnt’ if you talk pistons. Radials had their time, but they went out of style when they started burning the equivalent of like, 30+ man hours of labor per hour to operate - simply too inefficient.
THey’re trusty enough, from what I hear, though you’re going on a hunt for niche parts sometimes. The REALLY cool thing is to do stuff like this: a turboprop conversion for the ol’ DC3.
Talk about a dream plane, man. Okay, maybe not too dreamy, depending on its FIKI preparedness. Dream planes should be all-weather….I don’t have much confidence in old school boots
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