tube but with reduced surface area (drag) for quicker takeoffs. main tubes give the flotation of a single 16-in. The rigid inflatable hull (fiberglass bottom with polyethylene foam between the hull and deck) is made to Seair's specs by Patten Inflatables. Since bar movements produce the opposite effect from a control stick, an experienced fixed-wing pilot has some unlearning to do first. A control bar replaces the conventional three-axis control stick/rudder arrangement of a fixed-wing design. The Seair uses a 33-ft.-span hang glider-style weight-shift wing for climbs and turns. Essentially, you assemble the wing and attach it to the frame that remains fixed inside the boat–about a 20-minute operation. It didn't take long to get the craft ready for business. The boat/plane was packed aboard a single-PWC trailer, the wing rolled up in a 19-ft.-long, 12-in.-dia. I met the Seair folks at the boat launching site of a small public lake. So I trundled off to Orlando, Fla., leaving behind a damp and frigid New York.
Getting a firsthand look (and ride) in the Seair seemed a better way to spend a morning than staring blankly at my computer screen and exercising my mouse aimlessly on its pad in an effort to look busy. A conventional float plane never would have been able to handle that kind of water and wind situation. "At one point I had my hand on the seatbelt release button and was ready to ditch because I thought we were going over," recalls Pace. The boat had never before been subjected to such rough conditions in its 500 hours of testing. According to Seair pilot Stan Pace, it wasn't easy.
#Hang glider boat tv#
Millions of viewers already have witnessed the Seair in a dramatic rescue action sequence filmed for the "Baywatch" TV series. But your land tank can't survey five lakes in 30 minutes like you can do from the air. If you're into remote lakes and ponds for fishing and the joy of quiet, peaceful solitude, you might be able to claw your way through the wilderness to one in your 4-by. Seair takes you where no other watercraft has gone before–up to altitudes of 10,000 ft. Then, whenever the urge strikes, bolt on the wing to convert the action from tow to go. Like most inflatables, the Seair can be used as a conventional tender for your yacht or cruiser. Taken in the context and accepting the limitations of an utralight, a flying inflatable boat offers some interesting and viable possibilities. A harebrained change of pace for thrill-seeking members of the motorized bar stool crowd? Hardly. One new design, however, comes close–the Seair 2000 flying inflatable boat. Powered hang gliders come in all kinds of configurations with the possible exception of a flying bathtub. Bolt together a frame and attach wheels, engine, fuel tank, seat and wing and you're ready to soar with the pigeons. One step removed from the free-flight hang glider is the powered hang glider, a low-rung member in the growing family of ultralights. Hang gliding is the closest I could have come to the essence of pure flight–being one with the wind and an integral part of the flying machine itself.
#Hang glider boat plus#
Well, flying an Ultralight is an affordable alternative that is 10 times the fun at 1/10th the cost of any other form of aviation! An Ultralight Course is less than half the cost of a Private Pilot License! And after spending well over $10,000 for your Private Pilot License, you would have nothing to fly once you are done! But for less than $10,000 you can complete all your Ultralight training, plus have enough left over to purchase a used Ultralight! The training takes only 25 hours to complete, so in as little as one week’s time, you can obtain your Ultralight Pilot’s Permit!Ī Licensed Private Pilot who is current can be qualified to fly an ultralight with additional training in weight shift 2-axis control and equipment setup/maintenance.Too bad. Have you ever dreamed of owning a small plane, but found that the cost of lessons and ownership is outrageous?
0 kommentar(er)
