Progressive Aerodyne SeaRey

Development of the aircraft that became the SeaRey began in the 1970s with the introduction of the Advanced Aviation Hi-Nuski ultralight. In the early 1980s Stanley Richter, his son Wayne Richter, Wayne's wife Nina Richter and Wayne's son Kerry Richter established Advanced Aviation where they designed and manufactured a number of different designs. The company produced the Buccaneer XA and two seat Buccaneer II flying boats for Highcraft AeroMarine, and designed the improved Buccaneer SX. The company was sold in 1992. In June 1992, Wayne and Kerry Richter, along with Advanced Aviation employee Paige Lynette, formed a new company, Progressive Aerodyne, where they designed the first SeaRey prototype. The SeaRey had its inaugural flight on 13 November 1992. The performance, including a speed of up to 105 mph (169 km/h) surpassed the design goals. Between its introduction in 1992 and 2006 over 400 SeaRey kits were delivered to customers. The latest variant of the Searey is the LSA (also available as LSX) for the US light-sport aircraft category, introduced in 2010. Category eligibility In the United States the SeaRey may be registered either as a light sport aircraft or as an amateur-built experimental. The Canadian Aviation Regulations allow the SeaRey to be registered either as an amateur built, basic ultralight or as an advanced ultralight aeroplane. The SeaRey 115 is only eligible as an AULA if the carbon fiber hull is used, due to category empty weight limitations. ==Design==

, Lakeland, Florida, in April 2009, showing installation of the above-wing pusher powerplant The SeaRey's high wing is tapered and swept back from the leading edge with a straight trailing edge. The wing, nearly 31 ft (10 m) in span, is strut-braced and covered with aircraft fabric. Designed to be amphibious, the SeaRey has a semi-monocoque hull similar to that of a boat. The windshield and the sliding canopies on either side are made of Lexan. The canopies are track-mounted, can be opened in flight and can also be locked closed on the ground. The SeaRey's single engine is mounted above the wing, and drives a single rear-facing pusher propeller. The SeaRey can be equipped with the Rotax 582, Rotax 912, Rotax 912S or the Rotax 914 turbocharged engine which produces . The SeaRey's landing gear consists of two main retractable wheels and a tailwheel in conventional landing gear configuration. Originally the landing gear was retracted for water operations by means of a mechanical Johnson-bar lever that raises or lowers all three wheels simultaneously. More recent retraction options include: manual, hydraulic or electric. The electric actuator is the newest and most popular, but the manual is the lightest. According to the factory construction time for an experienced builder to complete a SeaRey is about 400 hours, with 600 hours typical for a first time builder. ==Operational history==

In 2012, author Richard Bach flew the SeaRey he named Puff, from Florida to his home near Seattle. That trip was chronicled in his book, Travels With Puff: A Gentle Game of Life and Death. In Puff, Bach suffered near-fatal injuries in a landing accident on San Juan Island, Washington in late 2012. He later wrote about the accident, and both his and Puff's recovery, in the book, Illusions II: The Adventures of a Reluctant Student. In 2015, over the course of seven months, pilot Michael Smith flew around the world in a SeaRey, setting a record as the first person to fly a solo circumnavigation of the globe in a single-engine flying boat. Smith chronicled his journey in the book, "Voyage of the Southern Sun." ==Variants==

;SeaRey Adventure :Model with a fiberglass hull, powered by a Rotax 912S or a Rotax 914 turbocharged engine, plus analog instrument panel, sold as a ready-to-fly Special Light-sport Aircraft in the US, with a gross weight. ;SeaRey Elite :Model with a carbon fiber hull, powered by a Rotax 914 turbocharged engine, with glass cockpit instrument panel and other upgrades, sold as a ready-to-fly Special Light-sport Aircraft in the US, with a gross weight. ;SeaRey LSX :Kit-built model for the homebuilt aircraft category in the US, with a gross weight and optional carbon fiber hull. ;SeaRey "Classic" :Kit-built model for the homebuilt aircraft category in the US, pre-dated the LSA/LSX version. Some experimental Seareys have A, B, or C hulls. They have smaller tails and do not have the friese ailerons found in the more recent LSA and LSX kits. ==Specifications (2006 model SeaRey with Rotax 912)==