Splash and Dash Searey Seaplane Delights
                           May 1 10:22
Guest User - Request Membership Layout | Log In | Help | Videos | Site | Emails 
Search:  

 Photos
View		 All Photos | Add Photos | Emoticons | Album View | Mark Unread
Search Photos:     

  
Was Blackwater Now Academi
Previous 		SeaReys Approaching Lake Agnes
Next
 Photo Info
Posted By: Nickens, Dan
Date Posted: May 16, 2020
Description: A gauntlet laid down and slapped against the SeaRey's nose deck requires a response: "Backcountry Pilots" questioning the SeaRey's creds? Oh, yeah, it's on!
Date Taken: May 11, 2019
Place Taken: Puzzle Lake, FL
Owner: Nickens, Dan
File Name:    - Photo HTML
Full size     - <img src="/show.php?splash=7To1TAQ1fh">
Medium    - <img src="/show.php?splash=7To1TAQ1fm">
Thumbnail - <img src="/show.php?splash=7To1TAQ1fs">
Category: Searey Point Of View
Favorite option: If you want this item to be marked as a favorite, click on the black heart. Off-Roading See Planes    Make Cover Photo     
Clear Cover Photo      

Click on photo to view the original size.
Viewers 

  

Read what others had to say:

Nickens, Dan - May 12,2019   Viewers  | Reply
    True, the Husky sets the standard for backcountry performance and Kevin sat it down lightly on the soft sand. Light and Short. Check.

    
  
Nickens, Dan - May 12,2019   Viewers  | Reply
    The proof is in the mudding: two different types of tracks. Deep and rutted for SeaRey, light and flat for Husky.

    
  
Nickens, Dan - May 12,2019   Viewers  | Reply
    But both safely made the grade. Two of a Kinda. (Truth is, though, I'm still traumatized by landing that close to water with the gear down!)

    
  
Nickens, Dan - May 12,2019   Viewers  | Reply
    Kevin gets to relish his king-of-backcountry plane.

    
  
Nickens, Dan - May 12,2019   Viewers  | Reply
    Without a worry, he taxied over the mud next to the river and lined up for a very short departure.

     Attachments:  

Husky Departure
Husky Departure

    
  
Nickens, Dan - May 12,2019   Viewers  | Reply
    He was off the sand in less than a third the distance of my old 'Rey. (Harumph. He was shoveling feed to 180 horses while I was only whipping 100 on a hot, humid Florida day.)

     Attachments:  

SeaRey Departure Video
SeaRey Departure Video

    
  
Bill West - May 13,2019   Viewers  | Reply
    It took some great flying skills to get your Searey in and out of that short piece of sand Dan. I think I will stick to the river.
Beautiful area to play. Great food just downstream at the Jolly Gator. 		    
  
Nickens, Dan - May 12,2019   Viewers  | Reply
    The craving for a big dog Husky was a bit mitigated, however, by all that SeaRey friendly water. (And Kevin has lined up a set of floats for his Husky so he can join in the good, clean liquid fun too.)

    
  
Nickens, Dan - May 12,2019   Viewers  | Reply
    Back before Kevin became a Husky driver, he did service as a SeaRey guy. Here's one of his videos showing what a SeaRey can do in deeper water.      Attachments:  

Kevin Outback in a 'Rey
Kevin Outback in a 'Rey

    
  
Don Maxwell - May 13,2019   Viewers  | Reply
    Wow, those photos force a really interesting set of comparisons, Dan--between two airplanes that are optimized for radically different purposes. The Husky, Citabria, Decathlon, SuperCub, et cetera group are ordinarily considered to be small airplanes. But every one I've flown has seemed big and heavy and stodgy compared to a Searey. Comparing them is not easy--not like comparing, say, Fords and Chevys, which have the same purpose. Any airplane of the Husky group feels massive and containing and practical; a Searey feels light and open and almost silly-frivolous.

It occurs to me that the RVs I've flown are a lot like Seareys when considered in that way. They're VERY different from Seareys, but like Seareys they're not heavy-duty practical machines. 		    
  
Robert Richardson IV - May 18,2019   Viewers  | Reply
    A couple of observations:
1) Excellent demonstration of a SeaRey soft-field takeoff. Looking at the second photo, then the
T/O video, I figure your wheels were embedded about 1”. I also noted in the video that the soft
sand did not grab the mains causing the nose to dip as you powered up.

2) Not surprised that the Husky big tires did better than the smaller SeaRey wheels. Soft wheel
performance is based on a factor of wt across wheel area. I learned this from flying C-130s and C-5
Galaxies which where designed to operate out of dirt strips. That is why the C-5 has 18 wheels. Its
foot print is less than a F15. From acft design book
“The aircraft's rolling resistance, μ, is determined by the type of runway surface and by the type,
number, inflation pressure and arrangement of the tires. A thin, high-pressure tire operated over a
soft dirt runway will have so much rolling resistance that the aircraft may be unable to move. A
large, low pressure tire can operate over a softer runway surface but will have more aerodynamic
drag if not retracted, or will take up more room if retracted. Values of μ for different runway
surfaces are provided in the detailed takeo analysis in Chapter 17. ...

3) My airfield has a wide variety of “all terrain” capable small acft from Husky, Citabria, Decathlon,
SuperCub, to AirCam. All are taildraggers which makes them all soft field capable by basic design.
We all love below 1000’ flying and regularly take our acft into non-standard airfields or landing
areas. Don is right the SeaRey feels more nimble, but the others have better load capacity and
appear more rugged. But none of them can land on water and land, save the SeaRey. 		     Attachments:  

Acft wt design article
Acft wt design article

    
  
Don Maxwell - May 19,2019   Viewers  | Reply
    Has anyone tried letting air out of the tires when a Searey gets stuck in soft sand? I haven't--though I've been in that fix a good many times--mainly because I didn't have an air pump handy and didn't want to run onto firm ground with the tires at 5 psi, or so.

My feeling is that really soft tires probably wouldn't help much, if at all, in soft sand. But that's based only on the fact that the 1 inch thick water shoes that I always carry in the airplane will keep fully-inflated tires from rolling when I use the shoes as chocks. An inch of almost anything in front of the tires will stop the airplane dead unless it's already rolling faster than about 20 or 30 mph, and going for full throttle will just put the nose on the ground.

But that's only a feeling, not actual experience. 		    
  
Nickens, Dan - May 16,2020   Viewers  | Reply
    A year later, Kevin has a new demo dog. It may be a new world, but out on the river plain, it's just about the same.

    
  
Nickens, Dan - May 16,2020   Viewers  | Reply
    I almost didn't go after seeing the buzzards haunting my yard art.

    
  
Nickens, Dan - May 16,2020   Viewers  | Reply
    Fortunately the buzzards didn't bother the SeaRey. It still looks just fine out on the river plain.

     Attachments:  

Plain Departure
Plain Departure

    
  
Don Maxwell - May 16,2020   Viewers  | Reply
    Nice three-pointer, Dan. What I want to know is, how did you talk the cameraperson into trusting that you really would come back to the boonies and pick them up?     
  
Nickens, Dan - May 16,2020   Viewers  | Reply
    Ha! You must have remembered from Jon’s experience that I’m an untrustworthy
wingman when it comes to photography, Don. In this case, however, Kevin the
cameraman was not worried since he had his Husky to get himself out of the Boonies. 		    
  
Ken Leonard - May 17,2020   Viewers  | Reply
    The Husky certainly is a great performer Dan. I understand the big motor versions (180 hp) Cruise about 50% faster Than a
Searey. Which is a nice option despite the “no rush, I am having fun” intent of both planes. I suspect the Husky retains its
value better than the Searey but is about twice the initial investment. With amphibs added, maybe 3 times the investment
and there goes the speed advantage. So, you just enjoy what you choose. 		    
  
Ken Leonard - May 21,2020   Viewers  | Reply
    The Husky certainly is a great performer Dan. I understand the big motor versions (180 hp) Cruise about 50% faster Than a
Searey. Which is a nice option despite the “no rush, I am having fun” intent of both planes. I suspect the Husky retains its
value better than the Searey but is about twice the initial investment. With amphibs added, maybe 3 times the investment
and there goes the speed advantage. So, you just enjoy what you choose. 		    


       - About Searey.us -
     - Contact Searey.us - 		- Privacy Statement -
- Terms of service - 		Copyright © 2024 Searey.us & Brevard Web Pro, Inc. - Copyrights may also be reserved
by posters and used by license on this site. See Terms of Service for more information.
    - Please visit our NEW Chapter Place Website at: chapterplace.com or Free Chapter Management Website at: ourchapter.org. Good for all chapters, groups or families.