|
|
If you have any Seabee News
to report, please contact
|
|
|
|
2004 Dec 03
|
December
News...
|
 Twin
Bee #23 For Sale on eBay - STOL UC-1 Twin
Bee N65NE (s/n 23) is currently listed for sale at eBay auctions!
Go
to eBay!
Built in 1986, N65NE was the second to last Twin Bee
made. According to the eBay Auction description, she is in perfect
condition with a fresh annual of April 2004. TT 940 hours. The
eBay auction ends on 5 December. The Twin Bee auction has a
"Buy it Now" price of $ 175,000.
N65NE was previously owned by Mr. Hardy F. LeBel who
sadly was killed in an airplane midair collision on 16 November 2003.
|
 Seabee
Article on Web - October 2004 issue of the South African
aviation magazine "SA
Flyer" had a flight test article on Seabee ZS-ORX (s/n 261).
The article was written by Editor John Miller, and visitors to this
website will already know John's fantastic photos from this flight
test...
You can now read Mr. Miller's excellent Seabee
flight test report on the SA Flyer website. You can also buy
prints of his incredible aviation photos - including a photo of Seabee
ZS-ORX.
|
|
|
|
2004 Oct 11
|
October
News...
|
 Simuflight
On Web - Since the death of Seabee modifications guru
Joe McHugh ("Simuflight") last year, Seabee owners have been
without a primary source of modification kits, engine conversions and
parts.
Earlier this year his son, Scott A. Henderson announced that the company
McHugh Aviation Inc. had been formed by the family in honor of their
father. The company run by Scott A. Henderson (son), Penny Larson
(daughter) and Kris Goldman (daughter) will continue to do business
under the wellknown name Simuflight.
Now Simuflight is on the Web with a new web site.
Simuflight is also sponsoring interactive forums on the Internet where
Seabee users can exchange ideas and knowledge. Please visit:
http://www.simuflight.net/
Simuflight will be moving to Fallon NV. where they
are building a new facility for manufacturing the popular Seabee
conversions, warehousing their enormous parts inventory, restoring
Seabees, maintaining Seabees and developing new Seabee kits and STCs.
|
 Hankwitz
On Web - In 1949 the Hankwitz' Seabee NC6256K (s/n 463)
was featured in the
23 minute movie titled "Blue Horizons", shot by then amateur movie
maker Walter F. Chappelle Jr. The fabulous movie was filmed in
color and
showed the Seabee in aerial flying shots over Milwaukee landmarks and in
numerous water landing
shots on Lake Okauchee.
Now you can see the "Blue Horizons" movie
on the web site of Carl and Elise "Liz" Hankwitz! Please
visit:
http://homepage.mac.com/chankwitz/Menu6.html
The film also features a breathtaking Seabee water
take off scene where the Seabee takes off just behind one of the speed
boats....as shown in the still above...
|
|
|
|
2004 Sep 27
|
September
News...
|
 N335G
- Last August Mr. Doug Little came across this lonely 'Bee
sitting out in the woods near Fox River, South Elgin, Illinois. It
seems that N335G (s/n 808) has been sitting
there for some time... On US
Register N335G is still owned by Capt. Richard E. Kane Jr; Wayne,
Illinois. However, according to locals, Capt. Kane died some years
ago. Information is that the new owner does not intend to sell, and it is unknown what
his plans are for N335G. Let's hope that she will be restored soon...
|
 Sweden
- An 'Experimental' Building Permit has
been issued to Mr. Sten Karlsson by EAA Chapter 222 for the restoration
and rebuild of Seabee s/n 592 in Sweden. S/n 592 was stored at the Fiskflyg
AB base,
Porjus, for several years, after being purchased from Germany for spares
in the 1970s. The Seabee was operated as D-ELPO in Germany from 1961
to 1971, when she was damaged in a water landing accident. When the
restoration is finished, s/n 592 will be registered SE-AXF. Mr. Sten
Karlsson is also the owner of beautiful SE-AXY.
|
 N6256K
- Sadly, on 04 June 2004 Seabee N6256K (s/n 463) was landed gear down on
water, when the pilot inadvertently lowered the landing gear instead of
the flaps for a landing on Newman Lake, WA. The aircraft settled
into the water with the gear extended and flipped over upside
down. Fortunately the pilot escaped with minor injuries. The
Seabee was very quickly salvaged and had the engine running again
the next day.
In September 2004 (Bill of Sale 10 September 2004), s/n 463 was sold to a new
owner; Mr. Byron Miller of Silverton, Oregon. The damage on the aircraft after the
accident seemed moderate and it was planned to fly the Seabee from
Washington to her new
base in Oregon for restoration. A ferry permit was secured, but
the FAA would not let her fly without a functioning airspeed indicator.
During an engine run made by the mechanics before the planned
ferry flight, the engine mounts collapsed
and the engine tipped down and cut a hole in the fuselage. Fortunately this happened
before any ferry flight was attempted... The Seabee was later dismantled
and transported by road to Oregon, where she arrived on Saturday 11
September. Byron hopes to have her put back together by
spring next year. N6256K was featured in the unique amateur movie 'Blue
Horizons' of 1949, when owned by the Hankwitz
Family in Milwaukee.
|
 Commodore
SPB - One of the most famous seaplane bases in
California is the 'Commodore' SPB on Stinson Beach, Mills Valley,
Sausalito on Richardson Bay. It seems that seaplanes have been
operated from this base since 1945. The base has its unofficial name from when
company 'Commodore Air Service' operated from there. Commodore operated
several seaplane types, including Republic Seabees, Luscombes, Grumman
Widgeons, a Piaggio P.136L-1 Royal Gull, a Grumman Duck, Cessnas and
many more. Commodore Air Service was owned by Mr. Robert
Law. Later operation 'Commodore Helicopter' operated helicopters
from this base in the early 1970s. Today 'San
Francisco Seaplane Tours Inc.' continues the tradition by operating
a DHC-2 Beaver and a Cessna 180 seaplane from this historic seaplane
base.
Aviation historian, author and photographer William
T. Larkins has now started a Yahoo! Group for the research of the
Commodore SPB history. If you have an interest in the history of
this unique seaplane base, please join the Commodore
SPB Yahoo! Group!
|
|
|
|
2004 Aug 24
|
Odds and Ends...
|
 South
Africa - Mr. Mark Becker sent this fantastic Seabee air-to-air
shot, taken by Mr. John Miller, editor of SA
Flyer Magazine. This proves that the South African Seabee ZS-ORX (s/n 261),
"Shaya Manzi", now is flying after an engine
change earlier this year! The photo was taken on 19 August just
outside beautiful Cape Town where she is based. They also made
some water landings near Pearly Beach. Visit Downloads
for more of Mr. John Miller's fantastic Seabee photos!
|
 In
Museum - Last May Mr. Derek Linder visited The New England
Air Museum in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, and spotted Seabee N6705K (s/n
988) which is displayed there. The Seabee was donated to the museum
in 1989 by the widow of Mr. Romeo A. Lalli. The museum also has a
collection of models of designer Percival H. Spencer's amphibian
aircraft, including S-12 Air Car, S-13 and S-14 Air Car Jr. The
Spencer S-13 twin engined amphibian designed in 1957 was never built.
|
 V8
Seabee - The Robinson's sent this photo CF-ILM (s/n 881)
taken on 8th August to show the impressive performance of the Robinson
V8 Seabee engine conversion. With four people aboard the V8
Seabee climbs off the glassy water like a homesick angel! Four V8
Seabee conversions are now flying, while three more V8 Seabees are under
work in USA, and another three in Canada. The Robinson's are
currently also developing V8 conversions for conventional aircraft like
the Murphy Super Rebel, expected to be flying soon.
|
 England
- Mr. Roger Syratt visited a hangar at Nottingham Tollerton
Airfield on 18 July and spotted the sole UK
Seabee G-SEAB (s/n 413).
The Seabee is under wrapping and seems to have been stored there for a
long time. A note on the Seabee, however, suggests that she is
under restoration. G-SEAB was cancelled from UK register on 24
January 2002 and is currently registered on US Register as N6210K.
Owner listed is Southern Aircraft Consultancy Inc., Cornwall, UK.
|
|
|
|
2004 Aug 03
|
SE-IIO (s/n 120)
is Flying!
|
 
|
Mr. Björn Ek, co-owner of Seabee SE-IIO in Sweden,
has sent a few more photos of the beautiful and freshly restored
Seabee, proving that she has been flying since July.
|
|
|
|
2004 Jul 20
|
Another Swedish
Seabee...!
|
 Seabee
s/n 270 is under restoration and repainting in Sweden.
Owner of Seabee s/n 270,
Mr. David Pajus, reports from Sweden that the restoration and repainting
of his Seabee should be finished by August! The Seabee is
currently being repainted at the Aircraft Mechanics School's hangar at
Malmslätt AFB [ESCF], just west of Linköping. Wings and
empennage are painted silver, while bottom fuselage will be white.
The rest of the fuselage will be polished aluminum. She already
looks great!
Officially s/n 270 is still registered LN-IKK
(Norway), but will be registered SE-AXR in Sweden very soon. The
Seabee was originally imported to Sweden as
SE-AXR in 1947. SE-AXR was operated by a number of bushplane
operators in Sweden, including well-known Eskiltunaflyg and
Lapplandsflyg, until 1966. Then she was sold to Norway as LN-IKK and was
operated by private owners until July 2003, when sold to Mr. David
Pajus, Linköping, Sweden. At that time LN-IKK was the last Seabee
in Norway.
It seems that aviation enthusiasts in Sweden
genuinely appreciate the unique Seabees, because now Sweden really is
'Seabee-heaven' in Europe! Currently there are 12 Seabees on
Swedish CAR, of which at least five are believed to be flying: SE-AXB,
SE-AXX, SE-AXY, SE-BXB and SE-ERT. SE-AXR and SE-IIO are very
close to being finished from restoration, as the news reports here
show. And finally three more are reported to be at some stage
of restoration or rebuild; SE-AXG, SE-AXM and SE-KRR. It is
also possible that N6055K is still based in Sweden!? Two Seabees are
believed to be destroyed but still on register; SE-BXC and SE-CHF.
Any corrections will be highly appreciated...
|
|
|
|
2004 Jun 04
|
Swedish
Seabee Restoration
|
 The
restoration of Swedish Seabee SE-IIO (s/n 120) is almost finished.
Mr. Björn Ek has sent a few photos from the
restoration of the Swedish Seabee SE-IIO (s/n 120).
Björn is a co-owner of SE-IIO together with Mr. Åke Jansson, both from
Vallentuna just north of Stockholm.
SE-IIO has been under restoration for several
years. Since Björn took over a share in the Seabee from previous
co-owner Mr. Bo Larsson, he has been doing the majority of the
restoration at his private airfield in Vallentuna. Björn is now
putting the final touches on SE-IIO and he hopes that SE-IIO will be
flying again very soon! For more photos, please go to Swedish
Seabees web page.
 S/n 120 (ex N87558, N14R) was imported to Sweden in
1981. C of A expired in 1993, and it is now more than ten years since
SE-IIO last made a flight.
Co-owner Åke Jansson is famous in Sweden for owning one of the very few
privately owned DC-3 aircraft in the World. Björn and Åke are
both members of a group of aviation enthusiasts operating several
historic aircraft out of Vallentuna, including the DC-3, the Seabee and
a Piper Cub. Please visit the Vallentuna
Aviatörförening web site for more information!
|
|
|
|
2004 May 26
|
New Engine on
ZS-ORX
|
 ZS-ORX
in South Africa has a new GO-480 engine installed and running.
Since the engine crank case cracked on her Lycoming
GO-480 last December, the South African Seabee ZS-ORX (s/n 261)
has been grounded, awaiting a replacement engine. Our mad mate Mark Becker is
happy to report that the new zero timed replacement Lycoming GSO-480 engine
(340 hp) now has
been installed.
The first engine run was made on 21 May, and here are
Mark's own words:
"After the oil pressure was tested turning the
engine without plugs and bleeding the air out of the line to the gauge,
Koos gave the OK. At first the engine would not start. I
felt as if we were going down the same old road again... It was
soon realised that the prop was 'kicking back' on itself and something
was really wrong with the timing.
On checking the magnetos, it was found that they
were wired back to front... Once corrected, the engine
consistently sprang to life within half a turn of the prop. On the
whole it runs much smoother, appears to be quieter, start easier and
there are no oil leaks. As always I really have to thank Koos for
his sterling efforts in rebuilding a super engine..."
Mark also sent a short video of the engine run!
Mark will get back with more news when the first ground runs have been
made.
|
|
|
|
2004 Apr 26
|
Twin Bees s/n 016
and s/n 020
|
 Command
Aircraft Inc. of Bunnell, Florida, has acquired two UC-1 Twin Bee
amphibians; N950CB (s/n 016) and C-FLCL (s/n 020).
N950CB was acquired from an estate sale in New
Hampshire and was this April disassembled and moved to Florida.
N950CB is currently for sale! Please go to Classified
section for more details! N950CB will need assembly, a new annual
and replacement of fuel bladder, tires, brakes etc. as it has not flown
since 1991.
Last listed owner of N950CB was Mr. Thomas
F. Twomey; Chocorva, New Hampshire. Last listed owner of C-FLCL
was Mr. Johann
Olaf Baumgartner; Salt Spring Island, British
Columbia, Canada.
|
|
|
|
2004 Mar 21
|
Robinson News
|
"Our Seabee is still going strong . We
currently have 892 hours on the original conversion. There are
three Seabees flying with converted engines, and another five under
construction as we speak. I have not done any more work on our
project airplane. My current focus is on developing a retractable
wing float system for the Seabee. The design is complete ,
and we are currently sourcing someone to manufacture them. I will
be updating web site over the
next several weeks and hope to keep people more up-to-date on our
progress. We also produce a shorter version of the reduction unit
for use in conventional aircraft. The first unit is installed in
the Murphy Super Rebel and the owner is working on finishing off the aircraft."
More details on Republic Seabee engine conversion can
be found here.
|
|
|
|
2004 Mar 14
|
Seabee N6488K on
eBay
|
 Republic Seabee N6488K (s/n 750) is currently on auction
at eBay!
According to information on the auction, N6488K is in
immaculate condition after a recent complete restoration. The
airframe has a total of 300 hours, while the Franklin engine has 111
hours SMOH. Modifications include wing extensions,
extended spray rails and Whelen wing tip strobes. N6488K was owned
by Mr. George S. Coy a few years ago, before acquired by Mr. Tom Cuni
and Mr. John O'Conner of Vintage Air Service, Portland, Maine, for
possible commercial use.
The "Buy It Now"
price is $ 70,000. The auction ends on 21 March 2004, at 17:25
PST. Please visit the Seabee auction for photos and more
details. You might even consider bidding... N6488K is also
offered for sale at the Plane
Exchange web-site. This perfect looking Seabee deserves better than
standing out in the cold snow!
|
|
|
|
2004 Feb 06
|
Twin Bee RP-C2743
Flying!
|
 It
is with great joy Mr. Elpie Paras reports that his beautiful STOL UC-1
Twin Bee, RP-C2743 (s/n 015), successfully made her first test flight in
The Philippines on 03 February 2004!
The test pilot was Capt. Leo D. Yosalina, who is one of very
few amphibian rated CAA test pilots in The Philippines. Thanks to
the excellent workd done on rigging by the local aircraft mechanics
Terry Aliwanag and Nerio Giangan, Capt.
Yosalina reported no problems. Congratulations Elpie!
The test flight was made from Cagayan de Oro Airport
- Lumbia, CDO. Cagayan de Oro City has a population of more than 430 K,
and is located along the central coast of Northern Mindanao.
The city serves as the center of the Philippines'
administrative Region X, which includes the provinces of Camiguin,
Bukidnon, Misamis Oriental and Misamis Occidental.
RP-C2730 is ex N9506U, and was purchased by Elpie on
a government auction in 2000. More
photos. For more information on the Twin Bee amphibians,
please visit the Twin
Bee web-site.
|
|
|
|
2004 Jan 30
|
Visiting South
Africa...
|
 Early
December 2003 the webmaster of this web-site, Steinar Saevdal, had the
opportunity to travel to beautiful Cape Town, South Africa. During the stay
in Cape Town he had the great pleasure of meeting Mr. Mark Becker and
see the only Republic Seabee amphibian in Africa, ZS-ORX!
ZS-ORX (s/n 261 ex N6081K) was imported to South Africa from USA in
2000.
After a two year restoration, which included the installation of a
Simuflight GO-480 engine conversion, ZS-ORX was flying late 2002. Just before the restoration was finished she appeared in a
TV commercial film made for TESA film in Germany. The commercial was
filmed in Cape Town area with ZS-ORX playing an important part.
Not ready to fly, ZS-ORX was brought to the filming location by truck.
By December 2003 ZS-ORX had just over 20 hours of flight time in
Africa. This December the Seabee has also been used as background
fo a commercial fashion shoot. Unfortunately, the Seabee suffered
engine problems on 7 December 2003, and had to be taken back to hangar
by trailer. Engine is currently under repair and ZS-ORX is
expected to be back in the air soon.
For more details and photos on Steinar Saevdal's
visit to South Africa, please visit Seabee Stories
pages.
|
|
|
|
2004 Jan 29
|
Seabee N6488K on
eBay
|
Republic Seabee N6488K (s/n 750) is currently on auction
at eBay!
According to information on the auction, N6488K is in
immaculate condition after a recent complete restoration. The
airframe has a total of 300 hours, while the Franklin engine has 111
hours SMOH. Modifications include wing extensions,
extended spray rails and Whelen wing tip strobes. N6488K was owned
by Mr. George S. Coy a few years ago, before acquired by Mr. Tom Cuni
and Mr. John O'Conner of Vintage Air Service, Portland, Maine, for
possible commercial use.
The "Buy It Now"
price is $ 96,000. The auction ends on 31 January 2004, at 18:32
PST. Please visit the Seabee auction for photos and more
details. You might even consider bidding... N6488K is also
offered for sale at the Plane
Exchange web-site. This perfect looking Seabee deserves better than
standing out in the cold snow!
|
|
|
|
2004 Jan 07
|
New Book
|
 A
wonderful new aviation history book has been published in Sweden.
The book titled "Porjus - den flygande byn" tells the story of the bushpilots and bushplanes flying around the Porjus-area
in Northern Sweden since the 1920ies. The book has many fantastic
Seabee photos!
Already in 1920, the company Vattenfallet started
'the World's first scheduled air service' between the small towns Porjus
and Suorva in Northern Sweden, for the freight of people, post, medicine
and for ambulances.
With the end of WWII, a large number of surplus
military airplanes became available, and a new generation of eager
pilots emerged to start their commercial careers. Some of
them aimed their attention at the remote areas of Sweden, and found hard
but rewarding challenges starting bushflying operations for serving the
transportation needs of the people north of the Arctic Circle. One
of the most popular aiplanes of those days was the Republic Seabee
amphibian!
The book tells the story of the everyday bushplane
and helicopter heroes, from from the boosting 1940ies until
today. The book has more than 100 fantastic photos of bushplanes
and bushplane heros, including several fantastic Seabee photos!
The book [ISBN 91-631-4694-0] can be ordered from; Porjus Arkivkommitté;
Industrivägen 12, SE-982 60 Porjus, Sweden. Telephone: 0973-776 00 / 777 13
The book costs SEK 260,- plus postage. Please
contact Porjus Arkivkommité for more details on shipping costs and
payment.
|
|
