I just ordered a Great Planes Seawind. I'm going to use a Saito 100 on it. I was planning on using the retracts until today. I downloaded the manual and I was trying to find the recommended way for sealing the nose wheel and the wing gear when flying off the water. Nothing is in the manual about this so I contacted Great Planes. Their customer service people told me that the plane is not meant to fly off water with retracts installed. They told me that you can fly it off land, or off water, not both. This is absolutely contrary to their advertising.

I hope that someone from Great Planes reads this and provides further clarification because I know many people ordered this plane and the retracts with the same idea that I had.

Please post any information you have on this topic for everyone's benefit. Thank you.

The wheel wells are sealed and the fuselage has a "speed drain" to allow water to get out.

Great Planes told me that the SeaWind could be flown off water with the retracts installed.

Bax, are you here? (He's the GP rep that has a lot of answers)

According to the Great Planes R&D people, the instructions don't talk about making the plane a true amphib because there isn't a way to seal-off the retract wells against water incursion if you install retracts and want to fly off water. Basically, you configure it for water or land, not both.

Hmmm.. the ad seems to state that you need the retracts for land/sea operations. I also misunderstood the statement. Really a great looking airplane from what I have seen.
Tommy

Well thats a false advertising lawsuit waiting to happen.

From the greatplanes web site:

I got further info. You cannot take off from land and then land in water or vice-versa. If you install the retracts, you can disable them and put the nosewheel cover on the hull. It can be sealed with clear tape. You now have a dual-purpose airplane, but it can be flown in only one role or the other: water or land, not both on the same flight. Conversion from one or the other only takes a few minutes. The airplane does fufill the dual-purpose role as advertised.

I likely misunderstood the R&D tech I spoke to when I got the answer I posted earlier.

Bax, that works for me!

Shakes: don't be so itchy on the trigger finger for a lawsuit!

Well, it got a response

well, if you WANTED to, you could install retracts, take off on land, land on water, and just make sure to get back to shore before it is full!

Bax,

I'm very satisfied with that explanation. It will do exactly what I expected it to. Thank you for getting that information for us!

Dave Cozzi

I got the plane this weekend. What a super looking outfit! I'm really impressed and think this is a super value. It has a very thick airfoil and I'm not at all worried about how it will fly.

Bax

Could a Saito 90 Twin be mounted on it without to much cutting on the cowl?
Galen

Ok ok ok. You can not go from land to sea and sea to land. What is the problem here??? If the retract when installed are water tight, then can the retracts be used? Or even if they are water tight, they still can not be used? What is the real story? I am getting my Seawind next week and I will know better at that time. I have also ordered the retracts and expect (somehow) to use both. Well...is there any way or answer to use the plane for land and water in the same flight time?

Roy