The Seaflight Shearwater is a light amphibian aircraft, designed in the 1990s. A single example was built by Seaflight (NZ) and was for a time owned by Shearwater Aviation, who promoted the design.

History

The Shearwater Seaflight was designed by Bill Townson during the 1990s to fulfill a requirement for a four-seat amphibian. A series of 1/5th scale models were used to develop the design over a three-year period, with construction of a full-size machine beginning in 1997. As ZK-SFA, the Shearwater was registered to Seaflight (NZ) Ltd of

Warkworth, New Zealand Warkworth (Māori: ''Mahurangi'') is a town on the Northland Peninsula in the upper North Island of New Zealand. It is in the northern part of the Auckland Region. It is located on State Highway 1, north of Auckland and south of Whangārei, an ...

and first flew in November 2001. A second model, the Shearwater 201, was designed by Stephen Hoyle and Richard Roake. This was to be a next-generation 4 seat amphibian without the typical "boat hull" design amphibians use in an effort to reduce aerodynamic drag. The aircraft subsequently changed hands and was re-registered several times, also appearing as ZK-TNZ owned by Shearwater Industries of

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, then ZK-SFA again by Seaflight (NZ) and eventually to Shearwater Aircraft Ltd., based in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. Shearwater Aircraft ceased trading in 2016, while the aircraft remains in private hands.

Design

The Shearwater is an amphibious light aeroplane of mainly fibreglass construction. Seating for four is provided in an enclosed cabin, above and behind which is mounted a pusher powerplant. To accommodate the propeller, the rear fuselage is cut down with an indented vee shaped upper profile, which blends smoothly into a

V-tail The V-tail or ''Vee-tail'' (sometimes called a butterfly tail or Rudlicki's V-tailGudmundsson S. (2013). "General Aviation Aircraft Design: Applied Methods and Procedures" (Reprint). Butterworth-Heinemann. p. 489. , 9780123973290) of an aircraft ...

. The planing hull is stabilised in the water by wingtip floats, while a wheeled undercarriage is hinged on either side of the hull and retracts upward and backwards into the wing root attachment fairings. A nosewheel retracts forwards. The straight, mid-mounted wings attach to the hull behind the cabin and underneath the engine, and are removable for land transport. Downturned wingtips are faired into the stabilising floats on the Shearwater Seaflight along with the typical "boat hull" most amphibians use. The Shearwater was originally powered by a PZL-developed variant of a 210 hp Franklin type.

Shearwater 201

The ''Shearwater 201'' was proposed by Shearwater Aircraft as a next-generation kit, to become a certified aircraft at a later date. Differences between the 201 and the original model, or any amphibian, include the proposed use of a "hydroski" (a hydrofoil used to takeoff and land the aircraft in water) instead of a boat hull design. Engine options were to be either the

Mistral G-300 The Mistral G-300 is a Swiss aircraft engine designed and produced by Mistral Engines of Geneva for use in light aircraft.Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', pages 260-261. Flying Pages Europe SARL, ...

Wankel Wankel may refer to: * Wankel engine, a type of internal combustion engine using an eccentric rotary design instead of reciprocating pistons * Wankel AG, a German company that produces Wankel engines for ultralight aircraft and racing cars People ...

type, mounted in

pusher configuration In an aircraft with a pusher configuration (as opposed to a tractor configuration), the propeller(s) are mounted behind their respective engine(s). Since a pusher propeller is mounted behind the engine, the drive shaft is in compression in nor ...

, or a

Price Induction Price Induction is a French company which develops and manufactures the DGEN turbofan engines intended for light airplanes (4/6 seats) known as Personal Light Jets (PLJs). The company is based in Anglet and employs over fifty people. Three subsid ...

Jet DGEN 390 jet engine. The kit was intended to have a construction time of 1000 man hours.

Specifications

:''Note: Engine and performance data may relate to the Shearwater 201.''

References

{{reflist Aircraft manufactured in New Zealand Amphibious aircraft Aircraft first flown in 2001 2000s New Zealand aircraft Low-wing aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft V-tail aircraft