The Sea-Bow International Sea-Bow is a Canadian

powered parachute A powered parachute, often abbreviated PPC, and also called a motorized parachute or paraplane, is a type of aircraft that consists of a parafoil with a motor and wheels. The FAA defines a powered parachute as ''a powered aircraft a flexible or ...

, designed by Gerald Racicot and produced by Sea-Bow International, formerly called ''Valmecot Inc'', of Valcourt, Quebec.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page D-13. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 85. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster OK, 2003. ISSN 1368-485XDowney, Julia: ''2000 Trike and 'Chute Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 17, Number 2, February 2000, page 53. Kitplanes Acquisition Company. ISSN 0891-1851 The aircraft was introduced in 2000 and production ended when the company went out of business in 2015.

Design and development

The aircraft was designed to comply with the Canadian Basic Ultra-Light Aeroplane rules. It features a

parachute A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, w ...

-style

high-wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing conf ...

, single-place accommodation, with a second seat optional,

tricycle landing gear Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Tricycle ...

and a single

Rotax 503 The Rotax 503 is a , inline 2-cylinder, two-stroke aircraft engine, built by BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG of Austria for use in ultralight aircraft.Raisner, William: ''LEAF catlog'', pages 6-105. Leading Edge Airfoils, 1995. As of 2011 the Rot ...

engine 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 n ...

. The

Rotax 582 The Rotax 582 is a two-stroke, two-cylinder, rotary intake valve, oil-in-fuel or oil injection pump, liquid-cooled, gear reduction-drive aircraft engine manufactured by BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG. It is for use in non-certified aircraft operating ...

engine is a factory option. Before it went out of production the

Rotax 618 The Rotax 618 is a two-stroke, two-cylinder, liquid cooled, gear reduction-drive engine that was formerly manufactured by BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG. It was designed for use on ultralight aircraft.Raisner, William: ''LEAF catalog'', pages 6-105. ...

engine was also an option. The Sea-Bow is built from a combination of bolted 6061-T6 aluminium and

4130 steel 41xx steel is a family of SAE steel grades, as specified by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Alloying elements include chromium and molybdenum, and as a result these materials are often informally referred to as chromoly steel (common var ...

tubing. In flight steering is accomplished via dual control sticks that actuate the canopy brakes, creating roll and yaw. The aircraft is turned right by pulling the right stick and left by pulling the left stick. On the ground the aircraft has lever-controlled nosewheel steering. The throttle control is located on the right stick. A number of canopies are available, including the El-Condor I, II and III eleven and thirteen cell models. The Sea-Bow's most obvious unique feature is the fitting of four highly angled, saucer-shaped

polyurethane Polyurethane (; often abbreviated PUR and PU) refers to a class of polymers composed of organic units joined by carbamate (urethane) links. In contrast to other common polymers such as polyethylene and polystyrene, polyurethane is produced from ...

wheels outboard of, and in addition to, the main wheels. These "spyros" provide stability on the ground and in flight and the company claims "the shape and the precise location and positioning of these wheels enable the Sea-Bow to safely land and take-off on different types of terrain and conditions such as grass, sand, gravel, asphalt, snow or ice". The aircraft can even be safely water-landed as the spyros provide adequate flotation. They also provide enough ground stability that crosswinds will not blow the vehicle over, but instead allow it to turn into the wind.

Specifications (Sea-Bow with El-Condor II wing)

References

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External links

Official website archives
on Archive.org
Photo of the Sea-Bow showing the Spyros fittedPhoto of the Sea-Bow with designer Gerry Racicot
1990s Canadian ultralight aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft Powered parachutes