A while back, in 2015 if I recall correctly, I was reading some articles and ads about a new twin engine amphibious utility plane, but I've since forgotten the name and manufacturer and have been unable to find anything online about it at all. No pictures, no articles, no videos.
So now I'm at a complete loss, unless anyone here knows anything about it. I'll try to describe it to the best of my ability, so please bear with me.
It was a light utility aircraft originally designed in Russia, and a US manufacturer had (then) recently acquired the rights to produce it. It was a twin piston engine, high wing, twin boom, twin rudder design with fixed tricycle landing gear. The engines were mounted in a standard "pull" configuration on the wings outboard of the fuselage, and the twin tail booms extended aft from the rear of the left and right engine housings to the respective vertical stabilizers, and a single horizontal stabilizer bridged the gap between the verts. The fuselage had a shape similar to a helicopter, with a large, broad windscreen and a rather blunt-looking nose cone. The cabin was sizable for a light aircraft, and could be configured for at least six passengers, for cargo, or for other roles such as air ambulance. The aft of the fuselage terminated in a large hatch, and the horizontal stabilizer was elevated to allow for quick and easy access to the cabin.
The landing gear featured hardpoints for attachment of pontoons or skis, which could be rotated outboard on a longitudinal axis and raised such that the wheels extended below them, and the aircraft could be landed on tarmac. I remember watching a demonstration video in which the aircraft landed on a lake, then taxied to a shallow beach, raised its pontoons, and continued to taxi onto land.
As I recall, the major selling points were the versatility in bush flying roles, STOL capabilities, high payload capacity and inherent stability.
Overall, the aircraft had a look similar to the Cessna Skymaster, but was much smaller overall with "shoulder" mounted engines instead of the Cessna's centralized push/pull configuration.
Is there anyone who knows anything about this plane, or who knows how and where I might find information about it? I apologize that I can't even give a manufacturer name to narrow it down.
Thanks,
Kody
So now I'm at a complete loss, unless anyone here knows anything about it. I'll try to describe it to the best of my ability, so please bear with me.
It was a light utility aircraft originally designed in Russia, and a US manufacturer had (then) recently acquired the rights to produce it. It was a twin piston engine, high wing, twin boom, twin rudder design with fixed tricycle landing gear. The engines were mounted in a standard "pull" configuration on the wings outboard of the fuselage, and the twin tail booms extended aft from the rear of the left and right engine housings to the respective vertical stabilizers, and a single horizontal stabilizer bridged the gap between the verts. The fuselage had a shape similar to a helicopter, with a large, broad windscreen and a rather blunt-looking nose cone. The cabin was sizable for a light aircraft, and could be configured for at least six passengers, for cargo, or for other roles such as air ambulance. The aft of the fuselage terminated in a large hatch, and the horizontal stabilizer was elevated to allow for quick and easy access to the cabin.
The landing gear featured hardpoints for attachment of pontoons or skis, which could be rotated outboard on a longitudinal axis and raised such that the wheels extended below them, and the aircraft could be landed on tarmac. I remember watching a demonstration video in which the aircraft landed on a lake, then taxied to a shallow beach, raised its pontoons, and continued to taxi onto land.
As I recall, the major selling points were the versatility in bush flying roles, STOL capabilities, high payload capacity and inherent stability.
Overall, the aircraft had a look similar to the Cessna Skymaster, but was much smaller overall with "shoulder" mounted engines instead of the Cessna's centralized push/pull configuration.
Is there anyone who knows anything about this plane, or who knows how and where I might find information about it? I apologize that I can't even give a manufacturer name to narrow it down.
Thanks,
Kody
