Bob
Peterman and the "Spruce Goose" Museum are making great progress with
their Seabee!
 
 
Thanks to Jeremy Brown, Bob
Peterman has found his original gas cap! Thanks Jeremy. Good progress
is being made on the "Spruce Bee". When it is completed the Seabee
above will be located next to the Spruce Goose. Yup, the real thing!
What an honor and these guys are doing a fantastic job. Great work! You
can see the museum website at http://www.sprucegoose.org/.
Thanks Bob and keep us updated.
Steve for the IRSOC
December
2006: Update! The "Spruce Bee" is done! At least Bob Peterman
says he doesn't need any more parts. That's a good thing.
Don
Anderson makes page 32 of Flying Magazine!
May 2006- ...if you haven't already seen it, a painting of our
SeaBee, N681CB made page 32 of the June 2006 ussue of Flying magazine.
The
painting (shown above) was done by a close friend of John's (Kosir),
Felix Mocilnikar (don't try to pronounce it), who is a very
accomplished artist, living in the Dallas area. He is also a
Technician (still a mechanic to me) for American Airlines. The
location was the shore of beatiful Lake Erie, here in Willoughby, OH.
That's John and his squeeze, at the time, in the pic.
The
other pics were taken last Fall, a few miles East of here. The looney
in the Decathlon took the CB pics (Capt. Chris Megan, American
Airlines).
Thought
you might want to post this on the web site.
Hope
life has been treating you both well. Things are good at this end.
Our
best to you.
Click on images for larger view
==============================
Bill Shaver and Uncle
Wally are going to be
"at it again" on May 17th, 2008!
(As he
would say, "Y'all come!")
Bluegrass
Music included!
Republic SeaBee Makes Hard Landing In Southern California
(SoCal)
Loses Propeller Mid-Flight Over San Diego County
The propeller from a
vintage Republic RC-3 SeaBee
amphibian
fell off about half an hour after it took off from a public
airfield 10 miles east of San Diego, California Friday, according to
FAA
spokesman Ian Gregor. The plane was en route to Lake Mead, NV, and
made a hard landing in a rural area. Neither of the two men on board
was injured, he added, although
the passenger was taken to a hospital for a precautionary
evaluation.
Gregor reported that
just
after 11:30 am, the pilot cut power at
an unknown altitude and glided to the ground in a field near
Julian, 60 miles northeast of San Diego. "It's pretty unusual for that
to happen," he said to the
Associated Press. The airplane suffered substantial damage in the
forced landing.
An FAA investigator was
on
site to determine why the propeller
fell off. The San Diego County Sheriff's Department had not received
any
calls regarding injuries or damage from the falling propeller, said
emergency services dispatch supervisor Shannon Powers.
One of the few
amphibious
light aircraft to be produced in any
sort of numbers, the Republic Seabee was built by the same company
responsible for the legendary P-47 Thunderbolt fighter. The Seabee
(file photo of type, above right) was conceived
during the latter stages of the war when Republic began looking
beyond its massive wartime contracts to a foundation for sustained
peacetime production. The original concept was one quite popular
during the 1940s -- to provide a four-seat, light aircraft costing
little more to purchase and operate than a family car. More than
1,000 Seabees were built in just one year of production.
Seabee production began
in mid
1946, but lasted only until
October 1947, when Republic opted to concentrate on its more
lucrative military business, in spite of healthy Seabee sales.
(Reprinted from Aero-News.net 2-8-2007)
Bill Shaver's Crowd
Splashing-In again!
May 19, 2007
(Click on FLyers above for full size
image)
Steve
Lantz' Seabee makes the cover of CONTACT!
February 2006 - Steve Lantz and his
famous "Tahoe Special" have made the cover of CONTACT! Magazine. One of
the contributor's to the magazine, Mr. Anthony J. Liberator, has
been following the "Special" through the IRSOC website and the editor
decided to put it on the cover. Way to go (again) Steve! If anyone is
interested in CONTACT!
magazine - Experimental
Aircraft and Powerplant Newsforum for Designers and Builders,
you can check them out here.
(Photo by Ian - I think)
Ben Coleman Update!
February
16, 2004-The "Jungle Bee" has moved indoors to begin the
extensive restoration project, rivet by rivet....
If you will
notice in the photo, N87515 has
sidled up to another project in the hangar....a P40 Warhawk....(she
thinks
it will make her fly faster.....)
The other photo is of the parts
donors.....both the aircraft and the operator !
Will keep
you advised with a wish list of bits and pieces.
Regards,
Ben R.
Coleman
President
Coleman
Aeromarine, Inc. and
Melody L.
Coleman
Supreme
Ruler
Coleman
Aeromarine, Inc.
(Ed. note: See the previous article about the "Jungle Bee" here.)
(Click on image for full size view)
Aircar Found!
February 20, 2004 - Received the following
e-mail from
Gary Lamb from Sterling , Alaska. It would be interesting to see how
many
of these Spencer Aircars there are in existance. E-mail Gary if you
would like to talk 'Aircar'!
"Are
you keeping track of Spencer Air Car owners as well as those who own a
Seabee? If so, I own an Air Car S-12-E originally built in the
late 70's and registered as N10TS. It has flown to every state in
the U.S., except Hawaii. It is undergoing a total rebuild and is
being outfitted with a Chevy V-8 ZZ4 engine and
3-blade, constant speed Ivoprop. Its new numbers will be
N388AK and, with luck, should be ready to fly this summer,
2004.
Attached is a picture of the fuselage as of fall, 2003 as well as a
slightly
older picture of the engine."
Gary
Lamb
GLAMB@borough.kenai.ak.us
Sterling, AK 99672
 
Fatal plane crash investigated
Editors Note: It is with
great sadness that I include this on the Seabee News page. I think
every Seabee owner knows who Joe McHugh was (Mr. Simuflight). He will
truly be missed by the IRSOC and its membership. As you may know by
now, Joe was in the passengers' seat NOT the pilots' seat as mentioned
below. We are awaiting the NTSB report for further factual information.
2003-06-18
by Nora Doyle
Reporter for King County Journal
Federal investigators were in Yelm Tuesday at
the scene of a single-engine airplane crash that killed Joe McHugh, 71,
of Kent.
Douglas Gentzkow, 61, of Redmond was in
serious condition
Tuesday evening at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Their plane crashed Monday into the bottom of
a 300-foot
embankment along the Nisqually River Canal outside of Yelm shortly
after
taking off from the Western Airpark. Gentzkow was rescued from the
plane
by members of the Thurston County Sheriff's Office dive team and local
firefighters.
McHugh appeared to be the plane's pilot,
according to the sheriff's office.
John Mayerl, 54, of Yelm, apparently witnessed
the crash and tried to climb down the embankment to help but suffered a
heart attack on the way. He collapsed before he reached the wreckage
and was found dead by rescue personnel, according to the sheriff's
office.
Members of the Federal Aviation Administration
are collecting information related to the crash and will turn it over
to investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board.
McHugh was a retired Delta Air Lines pilot,
according to a neighbor. He lived in a house on Crest Airpark off
Covington-Sawyer Road in Kent. Most of the homes in the neighborhood,
including McHugh's, have airplane hangars housing private airplanes and
access to the small airport's runway.
McHugh was a longtime resident of the
neighborhood, said the neighbor, who asked not to be identified. McHugh
is survived by three children and two brothers, according to the
neighbor.
Mayerl's family members told KOMO 4 News that
he was an avid outdoorsman who wouldn't think twice about helping
someone else.
``He was just trying to basically do what
anybody else would want to do -- to help somebody,'' said Jon Mayerl,
John's son.
The father and son heard the plane go down
just a
short distance from their homes in a canal at the bottom of a steep
embankment.
``He heard the plane crash and went up on the
canal and saw the plane in a ditch and we both went running,'' Jon
Mayerl said. ``And unfortunately he never came back.''
``We saw him collapse and roll down the hill
and we tried to help him,'' rescuer Ken Rosdahl told KOMO 4 News, ``but
it was so steep down there and so brushy that it was all we could do to
keep from rolling into the canal.''
Nora Doyle can be reached at nora.doyle@kingcountyjournal.com
or 253-872-6726.
Ben
Coleman and Melody resurrect
Seabee from an unlikely place
Original 'Seabee Club
International' Newsletters Found!
February 10, 2003-Club
member Don Anderson was fortunate enough to have
acquired what appears to be a complete set of 'Seabee
Club International' newsletters. Many of you probably
remember the late George Mojonnier and Capt. Richard Sanders, both
former editors of the newsletter and the founders of the original
'Seabee Club'. There is literally a lifetime's worth of information in
them and you can be sure they will make their way
to the pages of this website. Most of the mailings were to Mr. Henry
Maxwell. They are dated from 1974 through 1993. We thank him
or his family for the donation to the IRSOC. And a special thank
you to Don Anderson for allowing the IRSOC to copy them and make them
available to the membership via the internet. (Don picked up
the shipping! Thanks Don!)
A CD-ROM is available now! Check it out here! The CD-ROM is
loaded with
the exact copies as they appeared years ago.
Update! Some of the Newsletters are
done! Check here to see a list of
completed Newsletters. They have been completely re-typed and
re-formatted to Adobe PDF format (to save download time). Others will
be added as they become available.
UC-1 Twin? Learn about it here!
Jan 28-IRSOC member Hardy LeBel has written an article for the
January/February 2003 issue of Water Flying magazine on the rare UC-1
Twin Seabee. Very interesting reading and chock full of pictures. Check
it out on the Articles web page. Thanks, Hardy!
Great article!
Ancient Photos Unearthed by
John Hooper!
Jan 27-Former IRSOC webmaster John Hooper, sent in these old photos of
Seabees of yester-year. Sent to him by Jeff Wesche, son of Bill Wesche
of Republic Aviation, these are original Republic Aviation Corporation
promotional shots. Bill is flying one of the Seabees pictured below! He
was a test pilot for Republic and you can read more about him on the Honorarium
page.
Old pictures are always great! If there are enough, perhaps we
ought to dedicate a page just for the old pictures. Send us
your old photos.
Thanks John Hooper and Jeff Wesche!
(Click on image to see full size)
New Seabee Floats to be
made available soon!
Jan 7-New composite one piece
float/strut combo will soon be available for the SeeBee. This is a
carbon/kevlar, high quality professionally produced part that is a
direct replacement for the original float. Currently completing
the STC process and available for purchase in March of 2003.
For more information please contact:
Arnold Holmes
iflyhomebuilts@msn.com
386-756-2041
John Cuny Gets a New Engine!
John Cuny writes:
Nov 22- Just
wanted to let everyone injoy the engine launch. Time in planning 15
years; Restoration time 3 years and now the 340 hp is mounted to the
Seabee. Maybe she will be back in Texas in 2003. Should be able to lift
almost anything now. Let me know who wants to be put on the ride list.
I'm first!
John
John,
Great looking engine! You got a monster Bee there! -Steve
MEMBER HELPING MEMBER
It
appears that IRSOC members are at their best when helping Seabee Owners
solve mechanical problems. It is a fact, that a large percentage of the
remaining Bees are being restored, modified or under repair, thus
creating a lot of questions. There is no greater or reliable source of
answers than IRSOC members and they have demonstrated
that time and time again!
SEE THE NEW QUESTIONS & ANSWERS PAGES
SEABEES VISIT CANADIAN BUSHPLANE MUSEUM
Local
newspaper pictures three club members L-Jim Poel, C-Bill Bardin, R-Rich
Brumm, with their three Seabes, parked on the museum ramp. This was
just one feature of a very enjoyable tour that included Sault Ste Marie
and the bridge: west along Lake Superior to Duluth, Minn: thence to the
Dells of Wisconsin
While
there they met with Memeber Don
Macor. They then headed back to Mackinac Island. A planned surprise
trip to Saginaw had to be aborted as Rich Brumm had to deliver some
parts to Bill Woodburn back in Canada. All agreed it was a most
enjoyable tour!
LIKES WEBSITE AND HELPFUL
MEMBERS!
This in
from airline pilot, Brenton de la Harpe of Cape town South Africa. "I
am dispatching my mechanic-friend and partner,Trevor Payne, forthwith
to Magnolia Springs, Alabama to check out Todd Underwoods Seabee.
Henry Ruzakowski has, kindly offered to fly his Widgen over there so
that I might get a second opinion from him. I must say that I never
thought the "Seabee Family" would be so kind and generous with their
time and effort in offering their assistance, so unselfishly. I thought
those days were long gone. This has been a humbling experience, to say
the least. My special thanks to you for your role in this and kind
regards to you and all the owner members."
"THIS
TYPE OF RESPONSE MAKES IT ALL WORTH WHILE!" John for
IRSOC"
POEL-BRUMM-KELLER Visit John Hooper! Surprise ensues
What a
pleasure it was for your editor to meet with Jim, Rich and George at
SRQ. Fresh from their wonderful visit to SUN 'N FUN at Lakeland, Fl.
George Keller, retired AA pilot instructor and
Jim Poel, Capt. for AA along with Rich Brumm, Franklin engine
specialist, all contributed to a memorable occasion.
Jim Poel John Hooper Rich
Brumm George Keller
VISIONS OF LONG ISLAND
This is a
beautiful aerial video of colorful and picturesque Long Island,
professionally narrated and accompanied by beautiful background music.
The photography is absolutely exquisite and L.I. provides a fertile
subject full of historical residences, beaches, farms, vineyards,
lighthouses etc. One catches sight of a Seabee, flown by member Rich
Brumm, taking off and landing on the beautiful waters of the sound.
This is a real treat and may be purchased by calling 1 (800)
847-7793. I heartily recommend it. John
BOB ACKERSON: SEABEE HISTORIAN WRITES...
"After a long
career as an automotive historian, I've reinvented myself and returned
to my first love-aviation and a plane that captured my imagination when
I was a young boy-the Seabee. In addition to currently working on a
history of aviation In the Adirondack Mountains, I'm also gathering
research material for a book on the history of the Seabee. I would
welcome hearing from Seabee owners about their experiences with their
Seabees." Bob Ackerson 15 East Street, Schenevus, NY 12155 TEL: (607)
638-9344 Email rackerson@stny.rr.com
MORE SEABEES FOUND ON LAKE ONTARIO!
JIM POEL WRITES
Hi John, we just got back from a week
roaming in Canada. This trip was just a Cessna on floats and our
Seabee. Next month we do the same thing around Lake Superior with three
Seabees and the float plane. Last week we started our trip at Barry's
Bay Ontario. The Lodge owner and Seaplane base operator commented that
the was another Seabee in town. I immediately inquired and found out
that it was none other than Andy Chapeski. We called and went to visit.
It was a nice chat and he even helped me with some field approvals and
STC's. I am attaching a pix of our Bees on the
South shore of Lake Ontario in June where we went to Sunday Brunch.
Take care, Jim
NEW LANDING GEAR
DEVELOPED FOR SEABEE!
HON. MEMBER DONN BOOTH
sends this picture of an RC-3 Seabee being
readied for shipment
at the
Rebublic Factory
on Long Isl and.
Looks like a P-47 in the background but Donn says it's a Grumman "Duck"
The pix was taken in 1946. Hard to believe that it has been over 55
years
ago. Our Seabees
are getting old, fellows, treat them gently.
ANCIENT DOCUMENT UNCOVERED BY JUDGE SAM MONARCH...
...a new member
from Hardinsburg, Kentucky, writes about their new Seabee,
S/N# 18! WOW! That is really a low production number,
so low, in fact, that Percival Spencer, Seabee Designer, certified that
he personally test flew Seabee #18 at the factory on Long Island, New York on July 31,
1946 as N87468. The former owner was Claude Marshall of Ann Arbor,
Michigan. According to Sam, this will be a major restoration and
upgrade. He indicates, he and his brother bought the plane from a Mr.
Claude Marshall
and it has been hangared since 1963. It looks as though the Monarchs
(new members) have a job ahead of them. Many of the IRSOC members
will probably be hearing from them for suggestions and help in general.
As in the past, I am sure they will get the advice they seek.
For
enjoyable and informative Seabee reading we suggest clicking on the
Articles link. You'll be glad you did! Highly recommended!
RE: THE DOWNER SEABEES
Jason
K. Downer was a Saginaw, Michigan business man, distributor for
Trailmobile and other related semi-truck parts and services. I knew Jay
as a flight student, a Seabee customer and good friend. In fact, at one
time we planned to build and operate an airport, in Saginaw, as
partners. The last time I saw
Jay was in 1951. He called and indicated he had just purchased a new
Cessna 310 twin. As he wasn't rated on multi-engine, as yet, he asked
me to fly over to Meigs field in Chicago on business with him. About
that time. he purchased the Bellanca Aircraft factory and what he
called the Seabee "replacement parts program" from the Republic
Airplane Company. Jay left Saginaw shortly after that. He moved to St.
Paul to operate Bellanca and I never heard from him
again. Imagine my surprize, when member, John Haffner, called my
attention to the fact that many Seabees could be found listed as Downer
RC-3s by the FAA (about 37). I never knew that he also must have
purchased the unsold Factory Bees or manufactured them at the Bellanca
plant. Well we both were busy, at the time!
Jay died, just recently, March 14,2001 at age 93. PIX was taken at the
1946 Cleveland Air Races*
J.
Langschwager; Jay Downer; J Hooper.
SEABEE ON STILTS?!
Donn
Booth sends us pix of two Seabees. One on stilts, parked in front of a
bowling alley, somewhere in New England, the other hanging from the
ceiling of H. T. Chittums Mercantile Store in Key West Fl. We know
there are many Seabees in museums around the world but.....
REALLY! IS THIS THE WAY TO TREAT
OLD FRIENDS?
HENRY
RUZAKOWSKI WRITES: John, Thought
you'd like to know about this. The Seabee that you showed on the stilts
in New England somewhere, the gentleman that had put it there came by
Miami years ago as I was finishing up my Seabee, he saw the paint
scheme I had put on mine at the time and copied it for his.
Also, the Seabee in Key West, Fl, is at H.T. Chittum's
Mercantile Store, a clothing store. I built up that Seabee for him in
my backyard down in Islamorada (Upper Keys) back in 1989 I believe. I
did the painting, delivery and with the help of a cherry picker, we
hoisted it up to the ceiling
and hung it. The doors and the building were designed around the
physical size of the Seabee to house it and suspend it from the
ceiling. The fit was so tight at the top that
we actually had to have the Seabee in a slight banking turn
to fit between the beams, it actually looks better that way. I keep
forgetting to send him the Bill of Sale on the aircraft, as I am still
the registered owner. Wonder if I could get
it back? LOL. And his place is on Duval Street.
One other point, I built yet another Seabee for a clothing
store in Orlando, Fl about 2 years ago. I can't remember the name of
the shopping mall, it was a new one and we had to bring it in before
they closed the extra large doors for delivery of such things as a
Seabee. You'll be happy to know that the Seabee that was needed at the
store, "A Place Called Mango", was a wrecked one. I had to build up a
damaged Seabee. Sounds simple, not really, you ever try and put
together damaged and broken parts, they don't fit to well. Took a hell
of a lot longer to assemble the Seabee in my hangar for a trial fit and
disassemble, load, truck it, unload it, pull it through the entire mall
(there were a lot of stares), and assemble it again. The fun part was
to hoist it into a position to make it look as if it had crashed into
the store. It was quite a site when finished. You could reach up and
touch the hull bottom as the nose of the Seabee was on the ground. If
you ever get out to Orlando the mall is right off the Florida Turnpike
at Highway 50 (Colonial Drive), go about 1 mile south and there it is.
Keep
in touch. Henry Ruzakowski email AMPHIBS1@aol.com
BRUCE HINDS'S MONTHLY NEWS
LETTER DECLARED A HIT!
There may not be a Seabee owner's
e-mail box that is safe from the information delivered by Mr. Hinds! To
receive an excellent Seabee news letter which is full of notices of Bee
activity, experiences, pictures, and parts exchange: send your
email
address to brucehinds@earthlink.net You'll
be glad you did!
is back in action!
January 12, 2004 - After the
death of his father, Joe McHugh, Scott Henderson is going to continue
the Simuflight tradition! Below is an e-mail I received from Scott
with all the particulars. The IRSOC will be listing the information
permanently on the Services page
and also when Scott has his website up and running we will list it on
the links page.
Thanks Scott, for continuing in your fathers footsteps. I am sure
Simuflight will be in capable hands! Good luck!
Steve-IRSOC
"It
has been a while since
Simuflight has been able to operate because of my fathers (Joe McHugh)
death and all the estate issues but we expect to be back in operation
beginning in February. Simuflight will be merging with KenAir Aviation
Co. of Sonoma Ca. (Ken Thompson) and will building a new facility
(Fallon
NV.) where we will offer a complete Seabee maintenance and restoration
base. Simuflight has a huge inventory of Seabee parts along with
all the kits that my father developed through the years. My father
salvaged every Seabee part he ever came across through the years and
if you can't find it in our inventory then it most likely doesn't exist
any longer. We also have a number of critical parts that my
father
invested in having remanfactured before the originals were lost
forever.
We will also be completing a number of STC's that my father had started
but never finished so keep in touch as we finish this work and make the
kits available. We are pushing to fill all outstanding orders during
the first two weeks of February before we pack to move to Fallon so we
are encouraging all Seabee owners that need parts and kits to make sure
we have orders so we can ship them before we move.
We are also scheduling restoration and maintenance work beginning
October 1, 2004. My sisters and I are decided to continuing our fathers
legacy by continuing his work and supporting the Seabee community.
All inquiries should be forwarded to the enclosed contact information.
Your assistance in getting the word out is greatly appreciated.
Scott Henderson"
Finite Technologies
Incorporated
3763 Image Drive, Anchorage, Alaska 99504
Phone: 907.337.2860, Fax: 907.333.4482
scott@finite-tech.com
UPDATE!
January 17, 2006
Scott Henderson wrote:
"I thought I would drop you a note to let you know that Simuflight has
competed our new facility and finally moved. We are now located in
Fallon, Nevada. The new facility is approx 6000 square feet with attached
machining and sheet metal fabrication. The shop will be dedicated to
Seabee restoration and maintenance. We began shipping parts the first
of this week and will be accepting aircraft starting Feb 1, 2006.
We have also added a traveling A&P/AI to our staff (Tim Sutter)
that has many years of Seabee experience both flying and working on
them. Tim will be traveling to the Seabee's that can't reach us in
Fallon for everything fro maintenance to restorations work.
For all those that have not had a source of parts for the last couple
of years we should be able to provide most common parts.
We are also completing two new STC kits for the Seabee:
Landing light kit - puts a landing light in both wings. This kit has
been around for a while but we have finally completed the STC for this
kit.
Electric elevator and rudder trim - a complete replacement for the
current trim system. This new system replaces all the existing hardware
with two servo motors for the elevator and adds a rudder trim with a
single servo motor. This project has taken nearly two years to complete
the certification work alone but it is an excellent replacement for the
existing trim system and in some cases the only certified solution
where parts are no longer available.
We expect the FAA to sign off on both of these STC's withing the next
30-45 days.
For the first time in many years there is a company dedicated to the
restoration and maintenance of Republic Seabee.
Questions can be directed to me at this time, Ken is up to his eyeballs
in getting the shop settle down so that he can meet the needs of the
aircraft currently scheduled.
Thanks for your time."
|
Italian Seaplane Club
Requests Seabee Information
 
 
(Ed note:This is truly a global Seabee Club! The e-mail below was received a while back from an Italian Flying Club/Museum and it is impressive! Perhaps you all have some input into their questions about Seabees!!-See below)
"Dear friends,
we operate the largest seaplane facility in Europe and the oldest seaplane flying school in the world, founded in 1930 (www.aeroclubcomo.com).
We are slowly carrying on the project of having, in addition to our modern seaplanes, the fleat of seaplanes we had in the 1950s, in flying conditions. In other words we would like to complete the restoration or the acquisition of :
- a Caproni CA 100 (done - see pictureof I-ABOU)
- a Macchi MB 308 (we have done 60% of the work - the picture shows I-CARE as it was in the 1950s)
- a Republic Sea Bee (to be aquired - see the picture of our I-SIBI in the 1950s)
So, we would like to buy a Sea Bee.
We own Lake amphibians since 1973 and mantain several of them, belonging to European owners. Personally, I have logged ~2000 hours on Lakes and I have written a book on how to fly them (in Italian).
But we dont't know much about Sea Bees. That's why I am asking your advice.
The idea, by the point of view of a collector, would be to have a Sea Bee in its very original configuration (Franklin engine, original panel and instruments, etc.).
But our organization has the promotion of water flying as its primary task. We take every year thousands of people to view Lake Como from above and we sponsor a program to make about 1000 children fly on our seaplanes every Christmas, to tell you about just a couple of our activities.
In other words, we prefer to sacrifice the purity of a perfect orignal aircraft in favour of having an aircraft reliable and easy to operate, also to give to the public the opportunity to fly on a historic seaplane.
That's why we think that we should buy a Sea Bee in very good conditions with a Lycoming engine, as the GO-480-G1B6 (295 HP look good; 340 look too many for the aircraft).
What I would like to know is if Sea Bees as the best offered in your very nice site are aircraft that can be operated safely and reliably, despite the age. If spare parts can be found easily. If ADs, SBs etc, do not pose excessive problems. If an engine as the GO 480 work well. Which modifications and STCs applied on most aircraft of the type are really needed (for instance the wing extention installed on many Sea Bees seems to be usefull in our situation, as we operate regularly on waves and wakes in our very busy waters).
I will be grateful if you can help us in getting familiar with this type of aircraft and give us some suggestions on how to choose one.
Thank you. Regards.
Cesare Baj
President
Aero Club Como
Como, Italy"
==============================================================
New Seabee Project Started by
Jeremy and Tania Brown
Update!
August 2006-
Steve,
Thanks for your help.
Here is some pictures
of our Seabee 612. Things are going well with the project.
We have done everything to it. Overhauled all Main/Tail Landing gear
and all Hydraulic Cylinders. There was all new control cables with the paint
job that is close to the original style. We are quite excided to get it
together. Now down to the interior and final installation of the dash panel.
It will be nice to send you more photos of C-FGPY when it is in the air.
Cheers, Jeremy
AFTER
(Ed note: Looks great Jeremy and Tania!)
==================================
BEFORE
January 2004- An e-mail recieved by
the club shows a major restoration started by Jeremy and Tania Brown
(S/N 612). Below is the e-mail. Keep us posted JEremy!! Good Luck.
"We are in the middle of
our project of rebuilding our SeaBee
from the ground up. I have completed all of the components and we are
just
waiting for the paint to be finished. We are putting our SeaBee back to
its
original color. It will be a green metallic bottom with the strips to
match and
the main color to be silver metallic. I have attached some shot so you
can post
them on your site. The main paint should be completed mid December.
Thanks, Jeremy & Tania"
Ben
and Melody are at it
again!
(no-no, not that...this!)
December
14, 2004 - The IRSOC received the following e-mail from Melody and
Ben Coleman...
"...going to pick up a Seabee, S/N 581,
in
Maryland, that has been sitting in the woods for 15 years. Local
kids
started using it for target practice. The trip is being dubbed
"Operation Seabee Target Extraction". Will provide a visual
memo after Christmas.....
Happy Holidays to all....we will be in D.C. (with a 24 foot
enclosed trailer).
Love, Ben and Mel"
Then...December 15th e-mail...
"Here is a
composite page of pics.....pretty sad. If we collect all the
orphaned Seabees in the land, will we get to go to Seabee heaven?"
Notice
the bullet holes.
(Ed
Note:Way to go Ben and Melody!!! I'll send a little note to St. Peter!)
Fly-In at Killarney, Ontario!
March
10, 2004-Brian Robinson writes:
Hi Jim,
The V-8 Seabee group is planning a get-together at Killarney
Mountain Lodge on 25 June to 27 June. The details are outlined below.
Please post a notice on the Seabee club web site inviting all Seabees
to join us.
There is excellent water access, as well as an airstrip close to the
Lodge.
If people need further information, they can contact me at (705) 340-2408.
Date:
25 June to 27 June 2004
Coordinates: See Killarney
Mountain Lodge Web Site (Airport Info)
Group name: Seabee
Contact person: Bonnie Sharp
Telephone Number: 1 (800) 461-1117
Procedure: Participants to call Bonnie directly and
reserve their own room. Register under the group name of Seabee.
Participants to send me an e-mail, or phone me, so I know how many
people will be attending.
Jim, I need to call Bonnie on March 22 to confirm how many
rooms they will hold for us.
Regards, Brian
Glen Curtiss Museum Fly
(Splash)-in
Hammondsport, NY- The Glen Curtiss museum
is having it's fourth annual Seaplane Homecoming. This is the event
where Jim Poel flew the Curtiss "A-1 Triad" and the "America".
For more information call the museum at (607) 569-2160 or Jim Poel at (386) 405-6447.
You can see the brochure here or visit the museum website at http://www.glennhcurtissmuseum.org/
or go to www.seaplanehomecoming.org for the latest information.
Steve Lantz's "Lake Tahoe
Special" is taking shape done!
Takes Grand Champion Seaplane at Airventure 2005!
Update: June 2005 -
Steve's "Lake Tahoe Special" is finally completed! See below!
May 28, 2004
- Here is shot of the "Lake Tahoe Special". An amateur biult aircraft
based on the RC-3 Seabee fuselage, being constructed by Steve Lantz and
Paul Shepherd of Carson City NV. The engine is the Robinson Conversion
LS-6 Corvette with 405 HP swinging a four bladed, reversable, scimitar
MT propeller. It features the corvette airconditioning and heater
system .The Robinson conversion is a beautifully engineered system and
has been easy to install. It can be installed under the original engine
cowl. The aircraft features gull wing doors, 110 gallons of fuel,
and extended wing tips. I will send more pics as progress proceeds.
UPDATE!
July 1, 2004- Progress is good but it doesn't look
like the aircraft will be ready for Oshkosh. Im hoping for the Clear
Lake splash in. The MT propeller is now hung and in the process of
being rigged. The reverse system as it comes from MT was designed
originally for Airship Ind. Blimps and would only go from forward
thrust to full reverse position. Brian Robinson designed a system that
allows for intermediate reverse positions and works very similar to the
orignal Seabee system.
 
(Click on image to see full size)
Tuesday,
July 12, 2005- (A date that will live in infamy!) - Steve
Lantz writes, "On Tuesday, June 12
the FAA certified the aircraft as Experimental Amateur Built. So far I
have flown 23 of the required 40 hours (more by now I am sure!) and I
can say it is everything I had hoped it would be. Brian Robinsons
conversion is a wonderful thing. I have been operating off Lake
Tahoe at density altitudes of over 7900 ft on the water and we are
airborne in 20 seconds. Yesterday at the South Lake Tahoe Airport with
a density altitude of 9050 ft we were off the runway in under 500 ft.
It is a fantastic flying machine.
Fuel burn in cruise with the Corvette running at 3300 RPM is
about 9 gallons per hour. This aircraft carries 115 gallons with
two 20 gallon wing tanks and the main tank. The Corvette air
conditioning system works great, pumping 45F air into the cockpit.
Paul Shepherd and I have put over 4200
hours into the construction. I should have the 40 hours local flying
completed prior to the Arlington fly in so I am planning on being
there. After that Paul and I will be going to Oshkosh in late July. "
Steve continues later...
"...I agree with you that
we are all lucky to be Seabee owners. I think I personally I owe
my luck to two people, the first is Brian Robinson for
having the courage to engineer and then invest personally in the V8
conversion, and secondly to my friend (for over 40 years) and
hangar neighbor Paul Shepherd for spending countless hours working out
the details of the Construction and
restoration for this aircraft. I think that I am also fortunate to have
been associated with an FAA inspector that knows the FARs and realized
that this was a true amateur built aircraft. I think we would all agree
that this conversion makes the Seabee a state of the art amphibian, not
only safer but more versatile and easier to maintain."
July 3, 2005 - "I now have 43 hours on the aircraft. The engine has been
completely trouble free. I am getting off Lake Tahoe in 18 seconds and
made a short field takeoff at Tahoe airport and was airborne in under
400 feet of roll at a density altitude of 9050 ft. Pretty incredible. A lot of people have ask about the paint job. We all know
that the Seabee was not in the Navy and was not in Vietnam, but I was
so what the hell, that qualifies for a Navy paint job. I was a pilot in Patrol Squadron 48 during the Vietnam
conflict and spent a lot of time operating out of NAF Cam Ranh Bay
flying P-3 aircraft. I believe VP-48 was the last Navy squadron to
transition from the P5 Marlin to the P-3. I have dedicated my plane to
good old VP-48, long since decommissioned."
August 4, 2005 - "Im proud to say that the Lake Tahoe Special was
awarded the Grand Champion Seaplane trophy at Oshkosh."
(Ed
note: We at the IRSOC are very proud of Steve and all his
helpers. (Too numerous to mention I am sure) It is a wonderful feeling
knowing that Seabees will undoubtedly live forever! If you are
interested in the LS-6 V8 engine Steve used, see Brian Robertson's update here!)
Hardy
LeBel dies in plane crash
Long-time
Seabee Club member, Hardy Label died in an aircraft accident on
November 16, 2003. More details are forthcoming. All we know at this
point is what Mr. Wallace has sent us below. Our sincere condolences
go out to Hardy's family. (Hardy was the author of the Twin-bee article
here.)
"Dear
Seabee Guys,
Just wanted to let you know, in case you have not heard, that
our friend Hardy LeBel, died on November 16, 2003, as a result of an
aircraft accident at Westerly, Rhode Island. Hardy was a
member
of our Exporers Club Chapter in Boston, Mass, where he has given talks
regarding his love of aviation and aviation history. He was a
great guy, enthusiast in life and he will be sadly missed. You
should
know that Hardy lived and died doing what he loved. If you would
like further information (as you know, sometimes we can learn from
these
sad events) I would be able to direct you to the accident
info. You should also know that he was not flying the Twinbee at
the time. Sorry to pass on this news-
Regrettfully, Bob Wallace"
Update!
"Hello
Steve,
Thank you for the message back
regarding Hardy. I will try to forward two files for your info
regarding Hardy.
One is from Block Island News where Hardy spent a lot of time
flying. The other is the FAA Preliminary Accident report. I
normally live in New England myself but have been working these last
two years in France (not many Seabees here) but only heard this news
and tracked it down from here. I thought you guys would like to
know of
this. I have a Cessna 170A myself but sure love those Seabees
and think your website is great-very informative...
Kind regards from Bob Wallace"
Below are the articles sent by Mr. Wallace. I think you will find them
fascinating reading...(Steve, for the IRSOC)
South
County Independent article
FAA preliminary accident
report
Yet
another "Golf course" Bee!
June 18, 2003-Mr. Charlie Oliver,
from Jolly
Old England, was vacationing in Florida when he happened across this
Seabee
at a miniature golf he writes:
"On holiday in Florida (from the UK) last
year with my son, I became quite fascinated by a strange looking
aircraft adorning a miniature golf course in Orlando. I took a number
of photographs and following my return to the UK, discovered it was a
Republic Seabee. This aircraft type is now lodged firmly in my
affections and maybe
one day I will see one flying for real. This particular example sits
on the top of the Congo River crazy golf course in International Drive,
but I only wish it were in my workshop being restored! I attach some of
the photographs that I took.
With kind regards
Charlie Oliver"
Mr. Oliver is VERY interested in
Seabees and would very much like to at least 'sit in one'! If anyone
can help him out his e-mail is charles.oliver@baesystems.com.
I think if he ever returns to the States, I don't think that will be a
problem! Thank you Carlie!
(If
anyone knows the serial number or history of this Seabee, would you
please let us know.)
5
Seabee's seen
at Sun 'n Fun 2003!
April 9,
2003-Sun 'n Fun
2003 is now history. There were four Seabees on the field when all was
said and done. Jim Poel, Richie Brumm (in the School Bus), Henry Ruzakow
ski, Bill
Bardin and Steve Mestler
were all in
Seabee's L to R: Jim Poel, Richie Brumm, Henry Ruz., Steve Mestler
(Jan Bem parked on the beach)
attendance. Brian Robinson was supposed
to be there but was stuck in the weather in Canada. Dorothy
Stringer and John Murphy were also present but had a 'hull'
of a problem and had to leave their Seabee at Winter Haven.
Although the overall attendance was considerably lower than in
the past, the fun was still ever-present. After a quick repair of
Steve's left wing float
strut, all the Seabee-ers went full throttle toward all the events the
Fly-in
had to offer.
The first splash-in was at Oak Harbor on the 3rd. Jim, Richie and Henry
flew out to partake (Steve went shopping).
On the 4th, a splash-in at
Lake Parker was attended by all four Seabees. That was quite
a sight! Jim took Mike Volk of SPA fame for a ride in his trusty
steed and we may just have another Seabee convert in the works.
Lake Parker was a very busy place indeed with everything
from a PBY to a flying rubber raft! The night of the 4th was spent at
the Seabirds Dinner and awards ceremony with food fit for a king and
the outstanding company was better than that.
The 5th was highlighted with a flyin at Lake Easy. Good
food with good company at a GREAT resort.
With only 25 minutes to make it back to LAL before the
airshow started (LAL closed), all four Seabee's started up, ahem, all
three seabee' s started up. Where's Henry? His starter crapped out and
if I didn't see this for
myself I would have never believed it. Henry started a ISGO-480 by
hand!! With Jim's help, he got it running and we made it back to
LAL right at the whistle! (of course Steve was last to land). Right as
we made the turn off the runway, the tower said, "Lakeland AIrport is
now closed!" Whew!
Lake Easy, comin' in!
Richie's "School Bus" and Henry's Bee
 
L to R: Richie, Karen, Steve, Henry, Shelby,
Richie and Karen Brumm
Scott, Lovada
and Jim Poel at Lake Easy
Mike Volk, of SPA fame, was in
attendance and what is that I see? He's wearing an official IRSOC
Seabee hat! Alright Mike! He is quite a nice guy and a
definite asset to us Seaplane Pilots. Thank him next time you see him.
 
Jim Poel with Mike Volk. Great hat, Mike!
Jan Bem at Sun 'n Fun
Richie Brumm flew a yellow Seabee
they nick named the 'School Bus'. He had one of his famous Franklin
engines installed in it and it worked flawlessly!
It was the first time at Sun 'n Fun for
this author, and he plans to go again and again and again...they don't
call it Sun 'n Fun for nothing! By the way, Jim Poel won 'Best
All Metal Amphibian"! Congratualations, Jim.
Flying
Boat Video Available
 March 22, 2003-Evidently,
Discovery Channel had a special on Flying Boats last month and they are
now offering the video online
here. The video is 5 hours and 12 minutes long and
I hear it has shots of our cherished Seabees in it! Thanks
to Bruce Hinds for the e-mail with the information.
Price is $34.99. Check it out!
"Running out of fuel is due to
excess
air in the gas
tank!"
(or Tips from Guy Cazort)
MARCH 19, 2003-But seriously don't believe
your dip stick untill you have first drained all of the water that
leaked into the
floatation compartment that sits directly under the fuel tank. That
water will displace your fuel bladder and register as gas. (See July 1985 Newsletter
for dipstick measurements)
The best bet is to know your fuel consumption and don't get close to
empty and be aware of that fuel indication problem. I had another reply
of someone who had a similar experience with incorrect fuel indications
due to water under the fuel bladder. Also if your fuel is high it will
probably have enough pressure to keep water from displacing it. I think
that the problem only occurs when your fuel is low. Unfortunately that
is the worst
time for it to happen.
When
I first bought my Seabee someone told me to check the aileron control
cables where they make the turn from the fuselage to the wings. Sure
enough they were frayed around the pulley. I had all new stainless
steel cables made and installed them along with the other things listed
in that article. Some one else suggested that I remove the valve covers
and check to make sure that the valves were oiling. My engine had low
hrs since overhauls
and I figured that I didn't need to check this. Boy was I wrong about
that. the guy who rebuilt the engine installed B9f pushrods
in with B8f rockers and three didn't match and the oil passages didn't
align. also carbon can get clogged in the hydraulic lifters
and slow or stop oil flow. I soon wore out a valve guide. I have
a JPI EGT CHT gauge so I saw the problem soon after the valve
guide wore out.
Go
through the article "Cazort buys a bee" and
check all the things that were wrong with
mine to see if you need work on yours.
As John Hooper would say: God bless,
Guy
Cazort
AOPA Has FAA Medical Form
online!
February 28- Check here for the
AOPA Medical "TurboMedical" survey. You have to be
a member to take it, but who isn't? You can save your information (on
the AOPA website) or delete it.
Seabee Lands in Golf
Course!
Jan 28-Donn
Booth sent this in for our inspection. It appears
that a miniature golf course uses this Seabee as a hook.
Wild paint job! He says there is an electric motor driving the
propeller and spray bars along the sides for effect. (It would
be interesting to see what the serial number is.) If anyone knows
anything about this machine, e-mail us and we'll include it here. As
tempting as it might be, please do not paint your Seabee this way!
New V8 Powered
Seabee Website
Jan 8-Brian Robinson has got a
website that explains all about the Chevy V8 conversion. From the looks
of it, there is nothing lacking on the website! It looks great! Click here to go there now. Good luck
Brian. This may keep our Seabee's flying forever!
JIM POEL FLIES THE SEABEE
FOR THE SPA
All of you
would be Seabee pilots, better click on the INDEX for "Flying The Bee" written by Jim Poel for "WATER
FLYING" published by the Seaplane Pilots Assn. In it Jim reveals the
Seabee in all its vagaries. This article will give you a good feeling
about the Bee and you will be a better, safer Seabee pilot for having
read it. Congratulations Jim on this great article. If you fly a
Seabee, it is a must for you.
STEVE MESTLER WRITES TWO
SEABEE ARTICLES IN "CAROLINA SKIES"
Writing about his love affair with the Seabee "Marty
B", Steve Mestler's articles make interesting reading for Seabee
Owners. His humorous account of trying to take off with the hull full
of water is excellent reading along with providing a few caveats for
all of us. You will find his stories under "Marty
B" (Articles) in the index. We know you will enjoy them.
JIM POEL ON SPECULATOR, NY 2001 FLY-IN
Hi
John:
"Just got home from rainy Speculator. Thursday was the only day that it
was nice! We had five Seabees again this
year.I
may have another pix or two for you, later. The Bees that participated
belong
to Ed Tello, Bill Bardin, Brian Robinson, Rich Brumm and myself. There
were
many other Bee enthusiasts and admirers so our ships got at lot of
attention. Yours truly was the only entrant in the contests and failed
to win this year. No
trophies for Seabees this year. (wait till next year) We took several
pix of the five Seabees
flying in formation. Will send some if they
turn out."
Jim.
Man Seen having FUN at
SUN & FUN APRIL 2001
Several members of the Seabee Owners Club enjoyed themselves
at the EAA "Sun N Fun" 2001 fly-in at Lakeland, Florida. Pix shows
Richie Brumm and George Keller relaxing at this
years Lakeland Florida fly-in. Richie indicated there were five other
Seabees there, at various times. Many seaplane
owners showed interest in Rich's Franklin engine installation. After
the fly-in Rich and Brian Robinson flew to Key West for a little more
fun in the sun.
SEABEE FLY-IN HERE?
THINK ABOUT IT!
Bruce Erwin writes....
I live on Lake Barkley, Kentucky. There
has been a Seabee landing and doing
touch
and go's out in front of the Lakehouse and makes
one think of what a beautiful place this would be
for a Seabee Fly-in. Twin lakes, Barkley and Kentucky are 60 and 80
miles long respectively and there are many protected
harbors,airstrips, ample lodging and restaurants. For details
write the Cadiz, Ky. Chamber Of Commerce or contact BRUCE ERWIN lakeman@dynasty.net
SOME ARE RECOMMENDING ALASKA!
Tim Sutter writes...
Beautiful
Lake Louise is the perfect place for a "Seabee Alaskan Vacation." Just
a short hop from Anchorage you can be fishing for TROPHY lake trout in
a hurry! The LODGE, open year around, offers restaurant and cocktail
lounge, rustic cabins, bed and breakfast summer specials. Plus Fuel,
Boat & Motors, Canoes, Swimming Beach and many other amenities. For
Reservations call Toll Free 1-877-878-3311
Tim says: "The lodge is a very nice place and has a
nice sandy beach and you can taxi out of the water if desired". He
indicates he has a good beach and a place to park three or four
Seabees, out of
the water. Any Seabee owner is welcome to camp at his place. He has
space for several dry tent locations.
Tel Tim: (907) 223-4230
Deborah Wallace writes...
We had a wonderful
exerience this summer, delivered a Seabee to Anchorage, we took 6 days.
I think I will be writing an article on the Seabee as the ultimate
camper. We had just one week to prepare for this trip. Quite a
challenge. Stopped and saw Don Kyte in Juneau, and he said
that flying thru Glacier Bay then up over the Grand Pacific Glacier was
the most beautiful flight he had ever
taken. We had lovely weather and so went for it! Incredible. A trip of
a lifetime! Have the Washington State Seaplane Pilots Assoc. Splash In
this week end here atLake Cushman, I'll be cooking Salmon. And then
we'll head to Clearlake CA at the end of the month for the West Coast
Splash In, always one of my favorites, I'll visit my sister. I am quite
impressed with how much the website has grown! Still need more time to
see it all! You're doing a great job! Watch your mail box for the
latest. Take care, Deborah
SOME ACCUSED OF BUILDING THEIR OWN HOME-MADE "SEABEE"
AMPHIBIAN!
Patterned
after the Seabee,
by the designer of the Seabee, this "Spencer Air Car" is a big,
comfortable, four-place amphibian of proven design. (38 are licensed
and flying).
Complete set of blueprints available for
$300.00.
Please contact
Mr. Robert Kerans of Spencer Aircraft
Box 327
Kansas, IL 61933
For Details of Aircar or
Seminar Tel (217) 948-550
Spencer Aircar
BELIEVE IT OR NOT!
It turns
out that the post office
of New Caledonia decided
to
commemorate the
opening of the New-Caledonian Airlines in 1947. The airlines purchased
five Republic Seabees for domestic routes, resulting in the issuance of
a stamp for each. Also the country of Bhutan issued a SEABEE stamp. It
turns out that Bhutan is a small country in the Himalayas, bordering
China with elevations of 4K to 14K feet. No one seems to know this came
about. Let us hear from you, if you do!
SEABEE
OWNERS MUST READ THIS
Subject: Jay Downer
Date: Wednesday, May 27, 1998 9:42 PM
Dear John:
Came across
your home-page tonite and am extremely happy I found it. My name is
Jack Thomas from Bay City, MI and back in the late 40's and early 50's,
John C. Anderson and myself owned SeaBee licence number N6333K. We knew
Jay Downer quite well because of our interest in SeaBees. An
interesting thing that you may not know about Jay
after he purchased Bellanca and all of the parts and rights to Republic
SeaBees. He was trying to improve the performance of the SeaBee and he
actually stuck pieces of yarn to all of the surfaces of the airplane
and had it towed as a glider and photographed it from another plane to
study the airflow. One of the things I remenber was that he thought the
SeaBee performed better with the landing gear down because of the
turbulent air that the prop received with the gear up. We always flew
ours with the gear down after that. We also had quick disconnects on
the hydraulic lines so that we could remove the gear easily for fishing
trips into Canada. We flew out of James Clements Airport in Bay City
and it is located right on the Saginaw River,
so
it was easy to take off and land in the river to remove the gear. I had
an embarrasing experience with the plane shortly after we bought it. I
had been practicing water landings and
takeoffs and was back on my way to the airport. Since I had been
flying a Beech Bonanza a lot previously, I checked the landing gear
light and it was green and never thought about the light being
red when the gear was down. When it sank the last few feet I
knew what happened but it was too late. I landed on a shale runway
and it was like being inside of a kettle drum. It was smooth though.
Slid about 100 feet and it laid over on one float when it stopped. No
real damage tho. Had an A-frame truck come out and lift it so I could
get the gear down. Only damage other than my pride was a broken tail
wheel cable.
John, I hope this e-mail was of
interest. Drop me a line.
Jack Thomas jethomas@concentric.net Bay
City, Michigan
ONE OF THE BEST OF
THE BEE STORIES, THANKS
J. HOOPER
HERBERT S.
NORRIS
FINDS HIS SEABEE!
Bremerton,
Washington- Herb sent us this pix of his beloved old Seabee flying
machine N6295K. Long since retired from piloting, Herb says he was of
the generation that was controlled by red & green lights from the
tower. Nuff said? Our records indicate this Bee is presently owned by
Dr. Ben Blackett of Tacoma, Washington.
Alabama Seaplane Splash-In
Friday, March 26 to
Sunday, March 28, 2004
Centre,
AL. Arrive Friday afternoon at the Centre Airport (C22) or on Weiss Lake at
the Alabama Belle Hotel. Rooms are available at the Alabama Belle and
Centre Motel. Transportation is available from the Centre Motel. Food
will be served throughout the event at the Alabama Belle, and
activities at the hotel will include pontoon boat rides, fishing,
hiking, and social gatherings.
Contact Harley McGatha for details and to register, comanche@tds.net.
|
HANGAR NEWS
Vol. I ...No. 1
"All the Seabee News that's fit to
print"
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