BeechTalk - BT - Here is the coolest GA amphibian I have seen

Username Protected · **Posted:** 06 Oct 2010, 12:09

They are amazingly built airplanes, the electrical systems and wiring are incredibly neat and in order.

Username Protected · **Posted:** 06 Oct 2010, 12:19

Username Protected wrote:

I got a demo ride in one a few years ago at the Cedar Mills Seaplane event....unfortunately... no stick time. :sad:

About 1/4 of the wing gets submerged on a water landing.... very odd. :scratch:

Ok airplane... typical eastern block.... functional design.....but "coolest GA amphib".... not by a long shot IMO.

Leldon Locke
Sherman, Tx

Leldon and all,

Do any of you remember the Porchel Equator? Now THAT is the coolest amphib ever.

I wish I had the original brochure that they mailed to me some 35 years ago. Pusher, fast, 6 pax... can't find it with Google.

Username Protected · **Posted:** 06 Oct 2010, 12:21

Username Protected wrote:

They are amazingly built airplanes, the electrical systems and wiring are incredibly neat and in order.

Interesting

Username Protected · **Posted:** 06 Oct 2010, 12:40

Username Protected wrote:

It would be an easy one for TAT to make a TN kit for. Huge amounts of room in the cowls. What you you say TAT guys? You would have two customers.

Todd,
Funny that you should ask; we had a request for TN on these aircraft earlier this year. It didn't seem that the fleet size was sufficient to warrant the R&D effort but perhaps we were mistaken...?

FWIW, several of the promo videos for this aircraft are shot at Lake Texoma just south of our facility in Ada, OK.

Username Protected · **Posted:** 06 Oct 2010, 12:50

Username Protected wrote:

Do any of you remember the Porchel Equator? Now THAT is the coolest amphib ever.

I wish I had the original brochure that they mailed to me some 35 years ago. Pusher, fast, 6 pax... can't find it with Google.

Hi Larry,

No I don't... a quick google search by me did not find one. :sad:

Got a link??

Todd... I fully understand "cool" is one of those personal things.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.... different strokes for different folks... YMMV.

Had one of these very rare and very "cool" seaplanes stop by the seaplane fly-in several years ago.
[youtube]http://youtu.be/g_KNbIjc4tU[/youtube]
Hull construction used a bunch of Stainless Steel.

Leldon Locke

Username Protected · **Posted:** 06 Oct 2010, 13:04

Here you go:

http://www.equatoraircraft.com/

Username Protected · **Posted:** 06 Oct 2010, 13:06

and http://www.equatorair.de/

Username Protected · **Posted:** 06 Oct 2010, 13:19

Username Protected wrote:

They are amazingly built airplanes, the electrical systems and wiring are incredibly neat and in order.

My Polish (circa 1978) TS-11 Iskra was built better than anything produced in this country. The sheet metal work was perfect, wiring beautiful, and it was built like a tank. Now, the Mig-21 I was going to buy.... different story...

Username Protected · **Posted:** 06 Oct 2010, 13:22

Username Protected wrote:

I imagine it would be disastrous to attempt to land this plane on water with any appreciable wave action? Wouldn't it be difficult to avoid a wing dipping into the water and a subsequent cartwheel? :shrug:

???????????????

Max,

I thought the same thing until I read the review by a pilot for some aviation magazine (it is on the website for the plane.) The pilot landed the plane in roughly 2 ft waves with no problem. Most smaller water planes are limited to 1-2 ft.

Username Protected · **Posted:** 06 Oct 2010, 16:35

Username Protected wrote:

Here you go:

http://www.equatoraircraft.com/

Alejandro,

I also found that site but at first glance thought is was a different company, as the EQP2 looked nothing like the one I had on the brochure.

But I found it on the history link, the P300. I guess it was never developed, but had impressive numbers.

Username Protected · **Posted:** 06 Oct 2010, 18:28

A really low time one is for sale right now on ebay- damaged in a water landing. Ther was 2 of them based at my airport for a while. I didn't fly in it but I did sit in it once and it was pretty well built from what I could tell. I think they have the same engines as a late model seneca and reversing props. Huge door and very roomy inside, like you could probably overload it.

Username Protected · **Posted:** 06 Oct 2010, 19:53

High wing planes make good float planes, low wings do not. I just can't imagine how you could ever pull up to a dock with that airplane.

Marc Charron