More With The 'Wet Jets'...48 Seat HarborJet Concept

The HarborJet concept from Harbor Aviation

  That really cool video of the Convair F2Y Sea Dart I posted showed some intriguing jet-powered seaplane thinking from the 1950's... and now here's a sweet looking concept for today. It's the 48 seat HarborJet from Harbor Aviation based in the Seattle area.

 I think this concept looks truly viable for several reasons. First, there seems to be a lot of water on this planet, so it makes some pretty good sense to use it for runways every now and then.  Plus, unlike the great flying boats of the 30's and 40's, the HarborJet concept is amphibious, so you get the best of both worlds with this one. 

 Second, this design is formed around the idea of creating passenger comfort, with a lot more legroom and seat width than we typically find in transport aircraft today.  I know we've got all kinds of financial issues these days, and ‘affordable' passenger comfort seems to be a thing of the past, but I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that NOW is the time to bring back traveling comfort!

 There's a lot about this jet that just looks right to me.  It has a tri-hull design and an almost blended-body fuselage cross section that's intended to help control the water spray. With the turbofans mounted on vertical pylons attached to the outer hulls, you have a solid structure and the engines are isolated from the cabin.

 I know it's just a concept right now, but I think a unique commuter sized aircraft like this with the ability to serve many large cities around the country via rivers or bays is pretty cool.  And I think it would be a huge step in the right direction if they can find a way to make it economical enough that passengers could actually have greater comfort.  Maybe it's just me, but I'd absolutely travel slower if I could be more comfy along the way.  What about you?

 I didn't find very much info around the internet on this design, so I'm gonna see if the company will give me some details on where they are with it at this point.  Hopefully they're still moving forward...