Alaskans Gawk At Souped-Up Amphibian

Does this sound typical of the average build-it-and-fly-it pilot? At a party inside a hanger at Merrill Field (AK), Dean Rickerson told the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, "They're mostly friends who've been hearing about this for years and years. A lot of people didn't think we'd finish it."

"Including us," his wife, Margaret Ibbotson added. She's also a pilot. Both of them say their new Super Seawind could very well be the fastest amphibian in the air.

Rickerson should know. He built the Super Seawind. Well, a lot of it, anyway. A little over six years ago, the parts arrived for N6007 from the Seawind company of Kimberton (PA) which has manufactured the build-it-yourself plane since 1991.

"It's supposed to be a two-year project," he said. "But this is a very big, complicated piece of equipment." After three years, he admitted, "it got too big and complicated for this old dog." So the partially assembled plane was shipped to a specialty shop in Washington.

"We brought a lot of (the delay) on ourselves because we modified so much," said Ibbotson, who sanded the fiberglass exterior and sweated every little interior details.

A Nip Here, A Turbocharger There

The modifications make the Super Seawind notably different from the usual Seawind. Rickerson changed the shape of the hull and position of the retractable rudder. He extended the wings for greater lift and installed retractable sponsons.

The interior is nearly as heart-stopping as the silhouette, with enough room for two people to sleep and reclining seats from a Saturn sedan. The canopy features a single window-windshield wrapped around the cabin. The yoke is Cessna gear but embellished with baleen and gold nuggets.

The German propeller is reversible, allowing N6007 to back up in the water. But the main difference between N6007 and a stock Seawind is the engine. Seawind sells its planes with a 300-horsepower Lycoming. The company considers that ample for most travel in the Lower 48, where flights average about an hour and where, generally, getting over mountains is less of a concern than in Alaska.

Check The Engine Out

What makes Rickerson's Seawind "super" is twin turbochargers and other alterations that boost its power to 460 horses.

Why all the extra muscle? Check the weather in Alaska and you'll find it's pretty unpredictable. Then there's the whole reason we fly in the first place -- speed. Rickerson has flown the Lake Buccaneer, but found it too slow to take advantage of brief breaks in rotten weather. Those breaks are often the only opportunity for days to get out of a remote site.

In early May, Rickerson took off from Arlington (WA), 35 miles north of Seattle, and followed the Pacific coastline to Merrill Field. Total time in the air: 8.5 hours.

Seawind's Web site cites a cruising speed of 190 mph at 8,000 feet and 75 percent power. A turbine-powered Cessna Caravan on pontoons, often cited as the fastest single-engine production floatplane, tops out at 175 mph. Rickerson said his plane has hit 230 mph at 8,000 feet and 75 percent throttle.

Seawind general manager Paul Marshall said that, of the 169 kits sold, 59 have been completed and flown.

FMI: www.seawind.net/flyingseawind.htm