Poll: Pick Your Fave Amphibious SLSA (ICON A5, SeaMax M-22 And The SeaRey)
Friday, February 22, 2013 at 09:26AM 
Amphibians rock! Water, ground, and sky... all in one! (Progressive Aerodyne SeaRey)
Seriously, the combo of a flying machine that can fly off terra firma AND terra aqueous is pretty much the best ever. I've also learned that the people who fly of the water are extra special avgeeks, so if you're into this idea, then you're probably extra special too!
As winter has taken another swift grip on me in my neck of the woods, I can't help but do some summer dreamin'... and a relatively affordable amphibious SLSA is what has me whipped into a frenzy today. Never mind that I can't afford any of these machines right now. But hey, I certainly hope I won't be this financially challenger forever - so I think I've got some very reasonable dreamin' going on here.
There are three choices that I'm aware of when it comes to a factory-built LSA that's amphibious. The Progressive Aerodyne SeaRey from Florida, the SeaMax M-22 from Brazil, and the ICON A5 from California (by way of the Cirrus factory in North Dakota) - maybe I should say two-and-a-half-choices since the A5 is still inching its way toward production. They do seem to be getting closer, but man, this sure is taking a LONG time.
The sexy but still not-really-in-production-yet ICON A5 amphibian SLSA
Here's the way these three break down for me: If you want the sexiest looking machine that is also designed to take the effort (and skill) out of flying safely, then the ICON A5 is your choice, especially if you're not in any hurry to go out and have your fun. Overall performance isn't exactly known yet, but the A5 is the heaviest of the three. I'm not sure of the price either but it seems to be based on the 2008 quote of $139,000, but it might go well north from there to adjust for the fact that it's now 2013. And, if you order one today, you won't have it to play with til at least 2016.
Btw, all three of these phibs use a version of the Rotax 912 water cooled engine that makes 100hp, and the SeaRey is also available with the 115 hp 914 engine as an option.
The Brazilian built SeaMax M-22 amphibian available now for $150,000
The SeaMax M-22 is available right now for $150,000 and it's a design that's been around since 2001. It's the fastest of the three with a cruise speed of 115 mph, and like the A5, it offers a tricycle landing gear for those times you aren't landing on the water. The fact that it's a proven design that's available right now, along with a good cruise speed makes it an excellent choice.
Progressive Aerodyne SeaRey amphibian... now available as an SLSA for $125,000
The Progressive Aerodyne SeaRey SLSA is a production-built updated version of the very popular SeaRey kit that has been available for many years. A very proven design, the SLSA versions are in production right now and deliveries should begin soon. The SeaRey is the slowest of the three with a cruise speed of 90 mph, but for me, the combination of a canopy design that allows for one or both sides to be opened in flight, along with the taildragger gear configuration make the SeaRey the clear winner for me. And of course it doesn't hurt one bit that it's also the most affordable option for mixing your flying with water : )
Those are my thoughts... but what do you think? Please vote in the poll below:
Reader Comments (24)
D) None of the above
I'd rather see someone shave off 70 lbs off a Volmer VJ-22.
My pick is the Searey for a lot of reasons.
1. It's a successful, well refined design. The kinks have definitely been worked out.
2. The company is not only stable and offers good support but is thriving. They moved to a new location a little while back to expand--how often does that happen in airplane manufacturing these days?
3. In my opinion the Searey is by far the best looking of the three.
4. Better useful load than the Icon which is struggling to lose weight.
5. Cheapest to buy or build.
Definitely the Searey! With a proven airframe and over 20 years in the industry, Progressive Aerodyne definitely has a winner with this amphibian.
I am having an issue choosing since I'm not really keen on the center stick of the M 22...
The Searey and A5 both have limited useful load, around 500 lbs (~230 kilos if you are metrically inclined like myself). This is a problem for me since I'm a big man of 191cm (6'3") weighing about 95 kilos (~210 lbs), and most of my family and friends are kinda big, this would leave maybe 20-30 lbs for fuel. And I'm not even putting in any cargo yet...
I've done a number of cross country flights in my friend's SILA 450, and it is nice when you can have 2 people with backpacks and a full tank of fuel, safely.
If A5 had a better useful payload I could already see myself using it for fishing expeditions at far away lakes and going to the seaside for a weekend.
Searey...unequivocal choice every time. easy to build, pleasure to fly and looks like an angel in flight.
SeaRey is definitely the safest of the three. In an upset on the water, the sliding canopies will open of themselves or at least will be easy to open. The clamshell canopies of the other two airplanes will be almost impossible to open under water or if the airplane is inverted on the ground. (Don't think this is irrelevant.)
Aside from that, you can't see out the side of a Seamax without leaning forward, and you couldn't see upward in an Icon (if there were one).
In a SeaRey you can fly with the canopies open or closed, as you wish. In the others, you have no choice: you might as well be in a Lake amphib or a SPAM can.
Searey, but I am biased because I own one. Flown it 6 years now including a 2200 mile round trip from Tampa to upstate NY and back last year. Best plane, best flying community, best support. But don't believe me, go to the factory and fly one. Then fly the other two. Sexy A-5 won't be available for years, will be 200k and simply won't compare to low and slow exploring capability of searey. Try a side by side fly off. And the bubble canopies will drown people in a water incident.
I love my Searey! I have owned a dozen aircraft in my 32 years of flying...the Searey is definitely the most fun! I have had go fast airplanes and 6 passenger planes...but realized most of my flying is local and with one occasional passenger, In southwest Florida I am flying over a "runway" most of the time...and during this time of the year you can't beat flying with the sliding canopies OPEN!
If you've ever tried to taxi a tricyle gear amphib up a sandy beach or evacuate an inverted plane in the water with a hinged canopy (I've never had to try this in either!), you'll choose the Searey hands down. Never mind all the other amazing performace attributes!
How can anyone choose an Icon when there are none out there beyond the company's test planes?
There can be only one winner - the SeaRey. You can pick out members of the SeaRey family across the world - with over 500 flying, they are the guys with the broadest permanent grins. Laughter lines are immune to Botox treatment. Friends queue for a quick splash - most hygienic bunch on the planet. Others wonder what you've been up to - check out the evil grins on the SeaRey guys ! Superb aircraft, biggest legal high.
I have personally instructed in both the SeaRey and the Seamax, and the SeaRey is the clear winner. It's stable and forgiving, something that can't be said about the Seamax. The sliding canopy is a great feature on the SeaRey in the case of an emergency and the conventional landing gear makes it great for ramping on unimproved grounds. Don't get me wrong, I love the speed of the Seamax and the sexiness of the A5, but in my honest opinion, the SeaRey beats the others by leaps and bounds.
You left out the Super Petral, which has performance and empty weight like the Seamax. A lot has been said about the sliding canopy, which gives a lean towards the Searey, but the taildragger gear I would assume makes beaching much easier than trying to push a nose gear through the soft stuff. If you operate from high elevation lakes as I plan to, the turbo Rotax 914 would offer much improved performance. So for me if they offered the Petral with sliding canopy, the 914, and tail dragger, that would be my choice, but since they don't, for now it is the Searey.
The super petrel is the most beautiful of all of them with its biplane configuration. It's lines are pure, whereas the Sea Rey leaves its wheels dangling out the side and is unsightly although it is a performer. The Super Petrel at this writing 11/2013 is $120,000 base which is cheaper than any of the others. Downsides of the Super Petrel are that the wings do not fold and there is no water rudder. The Sea Max has beauty but an electrical landing gear (in water?) and a hefty price tag at $150,000 base price right now. But, it does have performance and folding wings.
Super Petrel needs to develop the folding wing feature, Sea Max needs to lose the electrically driven landing gear, and the Sea Rey needs to finally invaginate its fuselage and store its wheels and it will probably fly faster.
To me both Icon and Seamax look a bit better than Searey but I know that at least Seamax is not as stable and as forgiving as the Searey. Never flown in the Icon A5 so cannot say. Sliding canopy in Searey is a definite safety plus both for flying with partially open canopy (as long as baggage is secure) and during an accident in water for sure. Searey has the most field experience and knowledge of its pitfalls that can be corrected in production line.
The Mermaid M6 is an awfully interesting option not mentioned here... I like the aluminium construction and the Rotax 912 combination... I'll be watching with interest if they catch on under the LSA category
I have been researching on-line now for awhile and have to say I am impressed with the SeaMax. If you haven't seen the video of a GEAR DOWN water landing on the SeaMax America website i suggest you take a look. Not sure this would happen every time but there is hope an "event" would not be fatal. Sea fins (like added to the deHavilland Beaver when on floats) on the Horizantal Stab may have solved some of the stability issues as well. I would be interested in hearing if anyone has flown a newer SeaMax… since it like the SeaRay has been around for a long time, that has the sea fins.
Pros
SeaRey- safe design, long history, many flying, super support, best canopy design if flipped over in water
SeaMax- tricycle gear, fast cruise, sexy design, safe if wheels left down on water landing
IconA5 - cool "seawing platform", super engineering, lot of pilot features, folding wings
Akoya - fast, revolutionary hydrofoils, high tech, adaptable to ice
SuperPetrel- biwing, great performance, best value, best useful load, attractive design
MVP - fast, walk out platform, convertible camper, futuristic design
Cons
SeaRey- poor cruise speeds, lots of wires and wheels hanging out, fabric wings, small cockpit, cramped feeling inside
SeaMax- unsafe canopy on inversion in water, poor side visibility, expensive, company ownership new, company support unknown
Icon A5- just coming off the design board, production just starting, expensive, long wait time to buy, performance and useful load middle of the pack
Akoya- expensive, expensive, expensive
MVP- concept amphibian, not proven, company stability unknown
Best Overall- SeaRey
In an earlier post I was leaning towards the Searey but it is hard to ignore the much improved overall performance of the Super Petrel. Thanks to composite build it is over 200 lbs lighter than the Searey and that alone will enhance performance. Even the turbo 914 Searey Elite is hard pressed to match the 100 hp Super Petrel specs and now the 914 is offered in the SP.
Cruise speed 100 hp Searey 90 mph, 100 hp SP 109 mph
Useful load Searey 450 lbs, SP 616 lbs
Take off run water 100 hp Searey 472', 100 hp SP 390'. 115 hp Searey 350', 115 hp SP 289'.
Range Searey 100 hp 363 miles, 100 hp SP 545 miles.
This difference is too much for me to ignore, I change my vote to Super Petrel.
Im with Bob now... I too am changing my choice to the Super Petrel 100 or LS. The kit form is not available any longer but the new LSA version has them all beat. Great lines, great performance, roomy, and very competitive on price.
Edra Aeronautica has been taken over by Rodrigo Scoda. Now Scoda Aeronautica. They are setting up new facilities in Florida. This is novel amphib has over 300 flying world wide.
Super Petrel!
I think the Russian made L-42M would make a big impact on the U.S seaplane market! If only they would certify them and bring them over here. With 2 Rotax 914's powering it and 4 seats inside it looks like it would be an awesome plane.
The Super Petrel LS is my choice. Just saw it at Oshkosh; incredible. The SeaRey at one time was the only real game in town. But the Super Petrel is hands above better. They said it cruises at 115mph and stalls at 40mp, and that it doesn't have a water rudder because it doesn't need one. The YouTube videos demonstrate that well enough. All that aside, it's gorgeous.
The Icon isn't here yet, and from the paltry display this year it looks like it may be dying. Probably a good thing since it was never real anyway. Last year they had a Super Petrel at the seaplane base flying about the same time as Icon flew it's demonstration. The Super Petrel was the obvious winner, by out flying and out maneuvering the Icon A5 by more quite a margin.
The SeaMax was at Oshkosh too this year. Didn't get the full story, but really, it isn't a pretty bird like the Super Petrel. The Sea Max has a lot of jury struts, wires, and is just messy. It looks like a lot of maintenance.
Searey hands down. It is the most field repairable.The Super Petrel is pretty and has great numbers, and I love biplanes, but the the nosegear doesn't seem as robust as the tailwheel design of the Searey in terms of beaching. The canopy design on the Seary makes egress in shallow water if you've flipped upside down a lot easier since the canopies will blow out sideways. I would hate to come to rest upside down in a Petrel in shallow water unable to open the canopy.
The Super Petrel is my pick. It is beautiful, has great specs, and is very sturdy. I've flown both it and the Searey now (both demo flights) and I can say for certain that the Super Petrel dramatically outperforms the Searey. I fly mostly tailwheels, but I'll take the Super Petrel's gear over the Searey's all day long. It is rock solid, including the nosegear. And any egress needed with the Searey is because it IS a taildragger. Searey's flip, especially with the gear down and a water landing. The Super Petrel almost refuses to flip, even with the gear down. I was shown a video where a guy accidentally landed with the gear down and although it was a very short landing, the remained horizontal with almost no pitching forward and the plane was fine afterward (I guess only a nose gear door broke off). The Super Petrel's sponsons are also rock solid, unlike the Searey's which I could shake/wobble with my hand. They look like a problem waiting to happen on Seareys. I've heard of one breaking off on a Searey near my field, though I didn't see it. Perhaps another needed field repair?
I guess overall repairability depends on your qualifications and whether the plane is an experimental or not. The Super Petrel is only available now as a certified SLSA, whereas the Searey is available as an experimental and SLSA. I guess you could convert the Super Petrel to an experimental LSA (E-LSA) too. In any case, anyone working on either plane can clearly see the Super Petrel has far fewer parts than a Searey, by about 10 to 1. All other things equal, the Super Petrel would be far easier to repair that the Searey.
But there's also the question as to which one you'll need to repair more often. Again, I'd have to say Searey just looks and feels fragile with all of its aluminum tubes, struts, cables, etc. The Super Petrel is rock solid everywhere, no wires, and fewer parts to break or go wrong.
So, my pick of at least these two is the Super Petrel. Anyone have one they'd like to give away?
I HOPE TO BE GETING SEAREY IN THIS NEXT YEAR . LICK THE 115 HP I LIVE ON THE WATER SO SEAREY WOKS FOR ME