Seamax

Years ago, back in the early days of the Light-Sport Aircraft sector exploding into the world of aviation, of affordable aviation, one of the early entries was SeaMax, from a Brazilian-based company called AirMax. An old friend in the business and a supremely capable pilot named Carlos Bessa helped SeaMax successfully prove standards compliance to win approval […]

Given a successful Midwest LSA Expo, you could say the “LSA show season” is underway. This is proven by the upcoming DeLand show — the second annual event — followed by the 14th Sebring LSA Expo. Even before DeLand, for those in western U.S. states, is Copperstate (which is not a pure play LSA event but […]

Seamax will join Embry-Riddle Research Park’s Customized Business Acceleration Program, the aeronautical university based in Daytona Beach announced on July 3rd, 2017. “This partnership will allow us to integrate Seamax into Embry-Riddle’s remarkable research and devel- opment cluster to further accelerate our technological and business capabilities” said Seamax CEO Gilberto Trivelato. “It will enable our […]

SeaMax from Brazil has been somewhat absent in recent years. I will spare you the detail but the company used a lot of energy to repel an undesired takeover. In recent months that was resolved and the company is now ready to move forward smartly. SeaMax was an early LSA to meet the consensus standards […]

What’s going on out in the marketplace? More than any time since the launch of Light-Sport Aircraft in 2004, I have not observed such a frenzy of activity for a particular niche, this time for LSA seaplanes. Next season, in 2013, we could see no less than nine entries; three brand new and that count […]

Seamax M-22 Price As Flown, minus delivery: $160,000 Basic Price: $150,000 Length: 19 ft. 10 in. Wingspan: 33 ft. 6 in. Wing Area (sq. ft.): 130 Cabin Width (in.): 46.9 Empty Weight (lbs., base model): 720 (currently being recalculated for upgrades, likely below 750 lbs.) Engine: Rotax 912 ULS 100 hp Max Fuel Capacity (gals., […]

Amphibian dreams vs. reality: here’s a classy amphib in full production

I have several targets on my radar for follow-up at the big show that starts July 23rd. Here’s a beforehand review; details will follow. |||| *** LSA seaplanes will generate plenty of interest, I think, with Icon‘s latest announcements and the dreamy new Lisa Akoya (photo). Both are superslick but not to be outdone by […]

Landing on water with your wheels down is a confirmed aviation no-no. Land planes that try it often get flipped over upside down, when escaping the cabin becomes a real concern. Every seaplane pilot I know has a mantra he or she repeats, “I’m landing on water so the wheels must be up.” Most simply […]

One of the oft-repeated questions about this new thing called Light-Sport Aircraft is: “When will the shakeout occur? When will some of these 75 companies [who certified a SLSA] disappear… and which ones will fail?” *** First, my ability to see the future is no better than anyone else. We’ve lost a few suppliers (Taylorcraft, […]