"Larry Dighera" wrote in message
...
The only one worth considering
http://www.seawind.biz/


I always thought a high-wing would permit landing in rougher water,
because of the added height of the wing above the waves. Perhaps
someone with some seaplane experience can comment on that aspect.

The position of the wing doesn't affect the water conditions limiting the
airplane so much, as does the hull design, whether it's the entire fuselage
as the hull or attached floats (a "steeper" hull generally gives better
rough-water performance).

Note the the new Russian seaplane that has a low-wing design (not even
mid-wing, like the Seawind or similar airplanes). It appears to be able to
handle waves of roughly the same height as any similarly sized airplane,
from the pilot reports I've read.

As far as protecting the prop goes...

Engine on top may protect the prop in some situations. However, because
top-mounted engines are generally pusher engines, they actually are more
susceptible in other situations, because spray comes off the hull and heads
backwards over the wing and into the prop. At the high angles of attack
when the spray is at its greatest, a front-mounted prop may be reasonably
away from the spray. In the end, neither design is necessarily better than
the other; prop erosion is a fact of life for any seaplane.

IMHO, two genuinely important questions with respect to wing position are
where and how you interface with land, and stability during turns on the
water. A low wing position allows for a lower center of gravity and better
stability (though mitigated somewhat by having the engine up high). A high
wing position gives the airplane more clearance around solid objects, like
docks, rocks, and the like.

Finally, you can always be assured, practically anytime someone precedes a
statement with a phrase like "the only one worth considering", they are
either intentionally engaging in hyperbole, or they are an idiot. It is
exceedingly rare for a single airplane to be THE ONLY viable choice for a
given application, even when the application is defined narrowly (like "you
need to be able to transport a 747 fuselage in one piece"). When the
application is defined as broadly as "seaplane", there's no such thing as
"the only".

Pete