9 passenger turboprop STOL only needs 100 meters for takeoff roll

[midnight rambler]

The Pacific Aerospace P-750 XSTOL can utilize unimproved airstrips -

http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/middle/7/3/0/1903037.jpg

http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/middle/2/6/9/1593962.jpg

[midnight rambler]

Some have called it an ugly bird, however considering its capabilities it's anything but ugly.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lro1gFK7img

[osoab]

How short of a take off if it had floats?

[palani]

The takeoff roll will be much greater with a load.

[midnight rambler]

The takeoff roll will be much greater with a load.

Max. take-off weight (7,500#) takeoff roll is rated at 220 meters.

Time to FL120 starting when brakes released - 12 minutes.

http://www.aerospace.co.nz/aircraft/p-750-xstol/specifications

[palani]

Spartan cockpit. I don't suppose they want airbags to interfere with the impact.

I knew a guy once who bought a plane that had been involved in a crash. He was able to get it back together again but to hear him tell about picking the pilots brains out of the alternator was enlightening.

[midnight rambler]

How short of a take off if it had floats?

I don't think it was designed to ever have floats. It sits too low for one thing.

[VX1]

That landing one minute into the vid would be a hell of a mess in about anything else. Seemed to have an invisible chute attached.

This short thing wasn't designed for floats either, but they made it work. I considered building this, but after talking to the company, decided to build a seaplane a bit less "experimental".
390639073908


Here's a badass turboprop seaplane, 750hp Quest Kodiak:
3909

My current build:

[Neuro]

That landing one minute into the vid would a hell of a mess in about anything else. Seemed to have an invisible chute attached.

This short thing wasn't designed for floats either, but they made it work. I considered building this, but after talking to the company, decided to build a seaplane a bit less "experimental".
390639073908


Here's a badass turboprop seaplane, 750hp Quest Kodiak:
3909

My current build:
You build planes? How many did you make?

[midnight rambler]

The Quest Kodiak turboprop IS a badass STOL aircraft, filling the void of no more DHC-2 Beaver production (although it's very likely there will be 100 y.o. DHC-2 Beavers flying in another 40 years or so) -

http://questaircraft.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/ampibious2.jpg

[VX1]

You build planes? How many did you make?
Oh no, just this first one for myself. Just one of those life-long dream kind of things while waiting for armageddon. I'm very handy, and the Searey is relatively easy to build. Celebrating its first flight 20th anniversary Nov. 11th.
3911
This is freedom.

[Neuro]

Oh no, just this first one for myself. Just one of those life-long dream kind of things while waiting for armageddon. I'm very handy, and the Searey is relatively easy to build. Celebrating its first flight 20th anniversary Nov. 11th.
3911
This is freedom.
I just found the price list on google, I figured it was a bit more than 50k for the kit and the simplest engine offer? If you had the option would you get this one again? How many can fly at the same time?

[VX1]

I just found the price list on google, I figured it was a bit more than 50k for the kit and the simplest engine offer? If you had the option would you get this one again? How many can fly at the same time?

The kit is $45k with all the right options, then you tackle the engine and avionics much later in the build, which are about another $25k a piece (though plenty of options to shave down that number). Before starting this build, I re-evaluated the entire homebuilt market (at least anything that could be an amphib, like I want), and still didn’t see anything yet that could compete. I’m also glad I waited so long, because the latest LSX version is such an improvement in every way over the kit years back, plus technology has moved along to where it’s cheap and easy to have live weather, traffic, autopilot, navigation, etc. built in.

It’s a two seater. Not a lot of amateur-built kits available with more seats. The company is working on four seater concept. Plane prices start going exponential when you begin adding more seats. The four seat Seawind amphibian is in the $350k ballpark. Many four seat planes won’t even hold four normal sized people at once, much less any luggage, so to fly four people, you still might need a five or six seat plane. As a pilot, weight and balance becomes so much more critical on each flight with more seats, and the flights are so much more expensive. I’ll be able to sip just 4-5 gallons an hour in this plane at 90kts, and that’s mogas (auto fuel), rather than $6.50/gal avgas.

I also needed something that will get on and off my small-ish lake quickly and relatively quietly, without pissing off too many neighbors, so I couldn’t have anything larger.

I thought they did a real professional job on this demonstration video… I visited the factory and took the same demo flight before I bought. My wife went up too. Before, she was more "going along for the ride" on the idea, but when she landed, first thing outta her mouth: "Where do we sign-up?".


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DzJQ3cHdaU

[midnight rambler]

Very nice, nothing like having the wife onboard with a project like that.