constant speed propellors was
truly impressive; she quickly
climbed on to the step and would
be airborne within seconds.
The L44 ticked six of the seven
attributes I was seeking, albeit using
Rotax 914s rather than the diesel
I had hoped for. But I accept small
diesel engines have a way to go, and
having f lown 480 hours around the
world beneath one of those Rotaxes,
I was very comfortable with the
whole package.
At the airport I not only
discovered SeaBear Aircraft, but
also Aero Volga, whose eight-
seat twin-engine LA-8 has been
available for some time, but priced
at over USD1m it is a serious piece
of equipment beyond my reach.
They also have a nice little two-
seater coming soon, the Borey. I
was able to see the final prototype
being assembled. Strong but
not overbuilt, with good volume
inside the cabin, clean lines
and a forward facing engine, I
thought this may nicely fill the
gap between the older style of the
Searey, and the high concept Icon
that has become very expensive, if
you can get one.
It was amusing to see years
of prototypes of various f lying
watercraft littered around in the
back blocks, with new shining
examples lining the runway edge.
These guys have been at this for a
long time; what surprised me the
most was that in 10 years of trying
to find the ideal amphibian for
my round the world trip, I’d never
come across any of this.
In isolation they have developed
australianflying.com.au 33
November – December 2017 AUSTRALIAN FLYINGnew Russian friends did not
disappoint.
In Siberia the owner of an
L42 plane, an earlier model of
the 30 SeaBear aircraft now
built, asked his young neighbour
to come along and help with
translating. Translator Victor not
only spoke perfect English, but
had just returned from 10 years
in Melbourne, having finished
his PhD studying a medicinaluse of jellyfish venom at Monash
University and winning two karate
world championships. Quite an
amazing and very focused young
man. After we landed on Lake
Baikal, with the water a near icy
three degrees, he jumped from the
aft deck of the SeaBear for a swim
before climbing back on board
via the transom; is there another
seaplane from which you’d so
easily do that?a unique and robust solution to
the problem faced by Australian
seaplane pilots, that most currently
available craft are designed and
built by Americans and Canadians
operating from fresh water. The
aeroplane building there was of the
highest quality and ingenuity, with
practicality, such as the top hatch
for entry and tail come gang plank
feature for boarding in your
good shoes!
We spent four days test f lying
these seaplanes on the Volga
and across into Siberia to land
on Lake Baikal, which is so
ginormous it holds 20 percent
of our planet’s. We discovered
gorgeous countryside, waterways
and big hearted people. One
of the great discoveries of my
solo circumnavigation was the
generosity of strangers, and myABOVE: Sleek, modern
all composite twin Rotax
engine flying boat, in the
heart of Russia.
RIGHT: The built-in
gangplank, walking
through twin rudders
which gave great
authority.