SEAFIRE, SEAFIRE 2, AVIATION, THURSTON, TEAL, AIRPLANE, AMPHIBIAN, SEAPLANE

A Frank Odell Web Page

FLYING THE SEAFIRE IN THE FAR NORTHWEST
The NEW Seafire
By Dave Woodcock

[Seafire,front]

The plane with modifications made over the last two years. Note the new wing floats. This picture was taken at our summer home on Blakely Island in the Washington San Juan Islands.

[Seafire, back]

This view shows the other modification made during the last two years. Note the improved shape of the rear engine cowl.

[RickAndDave]

Myself and Rick Highfill, my copilot in his Antimosquito Uniform. Behind us is beautiful Walker Lake.

[Artic Char]

By the way, the fish we catch are not all shrimps like those in the Sport Aviation article - check out this nice arctic char. Dave

A new SEAFIRE article in Sport Aviation magazine

An Experimental Aircraft Association publication

The Story
In June of 1999 I took the plane on a tour of Alaska (See July 2000 issue of Sport Aviation for the article). The goals were to see the Gold Rush area 100 years after grandfather went up there, and to fly north of the Arctic Circle and catch a fish on a fly I tied. We used the aircraft to its full capability: VFR, IFR, land and sea. We flew through eastern British Columbia to the Yukon, north to Fairbanks and then north of the Arctic Circle, returning through SE Alaska and down the British Columbia coast. For the millennium I decided to follow my grandfather's trail out to Kotzebue, AK. where he mined for gold in the 1920's and 1930's. He passed away in Nome from a stomach ailment in 1934. We left Everett, WA June 23, arriving a day and 1/2 later in Fairbanks after 12.2 hrs of flying. From there we flew to Selby Lake for a 2 day stay (right at the Arctic Circle) and then on to Kotzebue (about 200 mi from Russia). We enjoyed spectacular fishing for arctic char about 100 miles north of Kotzebue. Weather coming home...let's say I glad Dave Thurston designed a solid flying airplane for all conditions. We arrived home July 7. This really was an awesome trip!

The Story

In June of 1999 I took the plane on a tour of Alaska (See July 2000 issue of Sport Aviation for the article). The goals were to see the Gold Rush area 100 years after grandfather went up there, and to fly north of the Arctic Circle and catch a fish on a fly I tied.

We used the aircraft to its full capability: VFR, IFR, land and sea. We flew through eastern British Columbia to the Yukon, north to Fairbanks and then north of the Arctic Circle, returning through SE Alaska and down the British Columbia coast.

For the millennium I decided to follow my grandfather's trail out to Kotzebue, AK. where he mined for gold in the 1920's and 1930's. He passed away in Nome from a stomach ailment in 1934. We left Everett, WA June 23, arriving a day and 1/2 later in Fairbanks after 12.2 hrs of flying. From there we flew to Selby Lake for a 2 day stay (right at the Arctic Circle) and then on to Kotzebue (about 200 mi from Russia). We enjoyed spectacular fishing for arctic char about 100 miles north of Kotzebue. Weather coming home...let's say I glad Dave Thurston designed a solid flying airplane for all conditions. We arrived home July 7.

This really was an awesome trip!

SEAFIRE AMPHIBIAN - N399DW With modifications installed
Engine: Continental IO-520, balanced and blueprinted by Ultimate Engines Mena Arkansas GAMI injectors Custom 3 blade McCauley prop
Aircraft features: Microaerodynamics Vortex Generators Huntington Lift Reserve Indicator Phoenix Fire Suppression System Engine pre-oiler / engine preheat Dual com radios, transponder, VOR/ILS, dual GPS STEC auto pilot 406 MHz Emergency Locator Beacon Full stereo intercom with AM/FM/CD Bilge pumps fore and aft compartments Land/Water gear warning system
Awards: 1998 Grand Champion Custombuilt -Plans - Arlington EAA Fly-in 1998 Reserve Grand Champion Seaplane - Airventure 98 Oshkosh Aircraft performance tested: 1998 Wenatchee Washington Mountain Flying Seminar 1997 Peoples Choice Award - Powell River, B.C., Canada Fly-in
N399DW Performance Specs: Stall Vso 56K Approach speed 1.3Vso 73K Glassy water approach 70K (Flaps extended, 15" mp) Maximum rate of climb 1200 ft/min (sea level, 3000lbs - 88% of gross) Cruise speed - 65% power (1,500 ft) 130K Fuel burn: 14 gph @50 deg. rich of peak 12 gph @ 50 deg lean of peak Cruise speed - 75% power (1,500 ft) - 140K
Flying The Amphibian Airplane

Communications Panel - Thurston Aircraft
...Mr. Thurston - Bio	...Colonial Skimmer	...Teal
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Latest Improvement: 07/12/02 08/29/03 10/31/03 01/16/04 11/11/04 03/22/08
Web Page Created By Frank C. Odell, September 15, 2002
Merritt Island, Florida, USA

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