April - June 2003

  • June 22, 2003: Photos of ISPA Member Dean Rickerson's N6007 Seawind can be seen on his page in the "Letters" section. There is a link to the page below (May 26th).

    There are changes in the wind. The decision to provide the Seawind as a certificated airplane will have some big impacts on the kit builder community. The June issue of the SNA newsletter contains the following statement that sticks with this reader. "Many of the Seawind builders are in their so-called golden years." No kidding! If you weren't in your golden years when you bought your kit, you just might be by the time you fly it. There are still several of us actively working toward finishing our kits. Of the 170 or so kits that were sold, 58 have been competed. If you happen to have one lying around, we are hoping you will complete it and join those who are flying.

    The newsletter also announces that the new certified Seawind 300C will make its first appearance at AirVenture 2003. That's only about six weeks away. Exciting times. Fly safe.

  • June 8, 2003: With the announcement that SNA, Inc., (manufacturer of the Seawind kit) is in the process of certifying the Seawind, they have decided to stop publishing their printed newsletter following the July issue. The SNA newsletter will be missed. Since about 1991, it has been a monthly mailbox highlight for most of us. SNA has said they will be adding news and information updates to their website. Thank you is extended to Dick, Millie, Tony, Paul, and others who have worked so hard to provide the monthly Seawind news.

    The kit plane industry is full of fascinating statistics. Not many of the original kit buyers actually finish their kits. Most kits end up for sale and can usually be had at some tremendous savings. Some come onto the market after years of building and flying, and are offered at prices that don't usually come close to the amount invested. For these kinds of purchases, the labor usually comes free. At any rate, another beautiful completed Seawind has been added to our for sale page. Seawinds are currently available in almost all stages of completion. Regardless of the state of completion, the quality of workmanship in a Seawind can be determined by inspection. If any of you have been contemplating ownership, now is a pretty good time to browse through the "Seawinds For Sale" page. Fly safe.

  • May 26, 2003: ISPA Member Dean Rickerson's N6007 stunning Seawind has features that many of us missed by looking at the first pictures posted here during the last few weeks. A page has been added to the site including several photos of N6007. It is located on the "Dean Rickerson" page in the "Letters" pages. The photos have been placed on the page in a size that is viewable, rather than as thumbnails that have to be clicked and enlarged. As a result, the page takes several seconds to load, but in the long run, this seems to save time and navigation hassle over enlarging photos and then going back. Thank you for your patience.

    Also don't miss the newly added photo of N6007 on the "Home" page.

    John Ricciotti sent the following email about the upcoming EAA fly in in Arlington Washington. A link is included below the email. Thank you John:

----- Original Message -----

From: John Ricciotti

Sent: Friday, May 23, 2003 11:03 PM

Subject: Arlington , WA EAA show

Hi Brent,

Just a quick note that maybe an addition of the Arlington WA show from July 9-13 on the schedule page. Dean Rickerson said that he might bring his Seawind there. What a machine.


Your fellow builder,

John Ricciotti

The link to the information about the Arlington show is: http://www.nweaa.org/

Thank you all for your participation and support. Fly Safe.

  • May 17, 2003: One of our ISPA members has informed me that Seawind N521GR is now for sale on the Wings of Hope site. Above the for sale ad found on the site, are links to some excellent photos. As many of you know, this beautiful Seawind was built by Glenn Reece with the capable and excellent help of ISPA member Graham Woodd. The impeccable workmanship is obvious in the photos. For those of you who would like to take a look, there is a link below today's news.

    Retraction: Some of you may notice that there was an editorial article on the "Editor's Desk" page last week that has since been removed. Posting it was a mistake on my part. My apologies go out to those of you behind the scenes at SNA. Whether you got a chance to read the editorial or not doesn't matter, the following still applies. I would like to emphasize to all of you how helpful and responsive ISPA members Millie Bodnar and Paul Marshall are, and have always been (also SNA employees). As anyone who has purchased and built a Seawind knows, they are a delight to work with. Last summer while I was actively engaged in building my Seawind, I had the delightful opportunity to talk with them almost daily. Their help was, and is essential. Thank you Millie and Paul, and all of you behind the scenes at SNA for your capable and pro-active assistance.

    Thank you also to our ISPA members and friends for your participation and contributions to our great organization. Enjoy the site and fly safe.
    Wings of Hope
    http://www.wings-of-hope.org/seawind2.html

  • May 16, 2003: Many of you will be interested in the following email just received. The pictures referred to will soon be posted on a page dedicated to Dean's Seawind.

----- Original Message -----

From: Margaret Ibbotson

To: ISPA

Sent: Friday, May 16, 2003 6:18 PM

Subject: Seawind N6007

Greetings,

Dean asked me to send you some pictures of our Seawind (attached) and asked me to pass on the following information:

- we have been able to cruise at 220 mph at 8,000 ft using 60-65% power

- we have flown at 220 mph at sea level in a steep dive with the gear out and everything held together! (but NOT fun!)

Best regards,

Margaret Ibbotson

  • May 11, 2003: Both Graham Woodd and Dean Rickerson are members of the ISPA. According to SNA, Inc., Dean's stunning N6007, is the 58th Seawind to fly. Rated at 450 horsepower, this is probably the most powerful piston powered Seawind yet. Dean's N6007 Seawind was completed with the help of Graham Woodd at his builder assistance center in Snohomish Washington. As can be seen from these photos submitted by Graham, the impeccable workmanship is striking. Congratulations Dean. Keep us posted. Thank you Graham and Dean. Thank you all for your participation and support. Above all, fly safe.

  • April 20, 2003: One of the newest members of ISPA is Kirk Creelman. In his following brief but informative email, Kirk has taken the time to answer a few of the trivia questions posted on the "Creelman Page."

----- Original Message -----

From: Kirk Creelman

To: editor@seawindpilots.com

Sent: Tuesday, April 08, 2003 12:00 PM

Subject: Membership

Hi,

I developed and worked on the original 4 Seawind prototypes. I have about 50 flight hours on the third prototype C-GFNL. I can help fill in your "Creelman Page" a little more accurately.


All the best,

Kirk Creelman

Trivia Answers:

- Only the first prototype was Aluminum and wood. All the rest were composite.

- First prototype never flew, 135hp Franklin engine was not enough.

- Second Prototype only flew for 15 seconds, and then crashed (Test pilot’s name withheld).

- Third prototype FNL was built by me and first flew in August 23, 1982. It was retired after 95 hours in the spring of 1986.

- First test Pilot was Murray Morgan of NRC Ottawa.

- Not "all" of the original drawings were on Drywall board.

  • April 19, 2003: Thanks to ISPA members John Ricciotti, Ed Lynch, & others, we have several photos & accompanying information from Sun-n-Fun 2003. Just one of many Seawind highlights of the show was George Osborne's N184WL, which won honors for "Best Amphibian Composite Aircraft." These photos & info can be found on the "SunnFun03" page (there is a link at the left). Additional photos of N184WL (courtesy of John Ricciotti) can be viewed from a link on that page. Don't miss them.

    Also, don't miss the pictures of Ed Lynch's kit progress on Ed's page in the letters section of the site. There are some excellent pictures of the installation of Navigation and Glide-slope antennas in the wing.

    For those of you who may not be familiar, the SeaStar aircraft is a close cousin to the Seawind. In response to a posting in our Memebers Only chat group, "The Hangar," we received the following email from D. Gooding at SeaStar Aircraft Inc.

----- Original Message -----

From: Seastarsouth@aol.com

To: editor@seawindpilots.com

Sent: Friday, April 18, 2003 9:08 AM

Subject: SeaStar comments posted on your site

Dear Editor:

We were informed by one of your members (who has purchased a SeaStar) that [there is an erroneous posting on your site] about our product. We would like to correct the statement.

We do have a flying aircraft, in fact it has 233 hours on it and has done over 40 customer demos. It flew into Sun n Fun, did 3 customer demos, and flew out of Sun n Fun.

We are happy to say we had a good show, although attendance was down, selling three aircraft. We will agree that the SeaStar is quite large, cumbersome seems to be a sarcastic word used [inappropriately]. The SeaStar was designed for 800 horsepower and for a capacity of 5000 pounds gross in the water. To accomplish this, the aircraft has to be of a certain size.

Our new model, the LakeStar, introduced at $89,500 is quite a bit smaller, and like the Seawind it is a 2+2 aircraft having a bit more useful load at 900 pounds.

If Mr. Saccio or any other of your members would like a test flight in the SeaStar or the LakeStar, please let us know. We would be happy to accommodate.

We are happy to see our closest competitor going into the certified market. We wish Seawind well. Thank you for posting this letter.

Sincerely,

D. Gooding

SeaStar Aircraft Inc.

Thank you John Ricciotti, Ed Lynch, Tom Saccio, & others for providing photos and information from Sun-n-Fun 2003. Fly Safe.

  • April 5, 2003: Because of work schedule, the ISPA site editor was unable to attend Sun-n-Fun this year. If any of you have photos or notes about the event that you are willing to share, please email them to the editor, or send them to: Brent A. Carlson, 3941 Airport Rd. #493, Ogden, UT 84405. A "Sun-n-Fun 2003" page will be set up on the site. With the new Seawind display and the introduction of the plans for the certified Seawind, there should be some interesting news coming out of the event.

    Those of you interested in the Seawind certification effort will want to request the new brochure from SNA Inc. The brochure offers a special introductory no risk price of $289,700 for a new certified Seawind 300C, with deliveries starting in the spring of 2004.

    Here on the site, some slight changes have been made to the "Creelman Page" (formerly "A Test for You"). More will be coming to this page in the future weeks. Sub-pages that include most of the Creelman newsletters from the 1980s will be posted there.

    The site is getting larger everyday. Don't forget to look at the "Site Map" from time to time to see what is being added, or remember to use it if you get lost on the site. Fly safe.