I recently sold my Lancair and J3 Cub. I am now looking at buying either a used Rans Short Tail S7, or a SeaRey. Both can be bought in the $40k club.

I need the felxibility of landing on water
The flexibility to fly on wheel skis in the winter


What would you do? The SeaRey does not have strong gear like the Rans, but the flying hull is killer in the summer where I live on a Lake. I always hated leaving my J3 on floats outside all summer long. Spider webs, thunderstorms, and elements all beat the piss out of my investment. At the same time, the Rans on Amphibs is slick, except you have another $10-15k in Floats and the pain of removing for the winter.

I guess my main question is, will the SeaRey give me the flexibility I need of flying to the Idaho gathering at Johnson Creek, and still flying in the winter on Datum wheel skis?

I have friends flying both of these examples.

I don't see how the SeaRey can be made to work on skis. The gear is very weak and not up to the task. Additionally, the SeaRey is very slow. Even with a 100 hp Rotax, my friends plane is still an 85 mph plane at best. However on water, it is an absolute hoot!

My other friend's Rans on Chech (?) floats will keep up with my Kitfox at 115 MPH on it's 100 hp. STOL would be no problem on wheels, but the amphibs are not real good for off runway work. And, you are right the swap to skis would be labor intensive from floats.


How's that for a non-answer?

I have owned both the Searey and the S7, and currently own a Kitfox SS and am building a new S7. I had a dealership for the Searey in Florida back in the late 90's. The Searey is a very fun floatplane but I believe would have serious limitations as a bush plane. Most of the structures of the Searey are built more to the ultralight standards than to conventional standards. Such as aluminum tubing with plastic saddles and inserts. The wing has a very high angle of attack compared to the fuselage which enables the plane to make fairly short take off runs on water. You don't rotate for the take off, you levitate. It has a very high sink rate with power off but is a kick in the butt to operate on water. I operated at sea level so power to weight ratio wasn't too bad but I would be concerned at the higher elevations.
The S7 simply can't be beat for the money. Its off road capabilities are great and unlike the Searey, there are more options for tires and skis. I build the Summit snow skis and made a set of skis for the Searey. I would say that if you are primarily operating at lower elevations on water or a smooth non asphalt surface then the Searey is a very fun plane. You may want to consider the seating arrangements, dual or tandem. Pretty much any plane can fly in and out of Johnson Creek but I don't think the Searey would be as good as the S7 in those hills! Although the use of an in-flight adjustable prop on the Searey would help a lot for getting max rpm for take off.

I would think the Searey is difficult to dock compared to the Rans.

I seem to remember a recent Kitplanes article where a guy built a pretty slick amphib system for Full Lotus floats for his Rans S7. Would require a gear swap to get your legs back for skis, but I'd choose a conventional aircraft over a flying boat any day... Shy of a Widgeon.

Edit: http://full-lotus.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=66

The Searey has good performance, but clearance could be an issue. From the bottom of the step on the hull to the ground is around three or four inches. Visibility is awesome and each canopy slides independently and can be opened in flight. The cockpit is comfortable but baggage space is limited. The building/flying community is great. Most of the Seareys flying are in Florida, which should tell you something. And the visibility is awesome

I have seen pictures of a Searey on skis. I guess it's possible but landing gear failures have happened on wheels. There is no suspension beyond the air in the tires. I would imagine the stress of ski operations would make failure more likely.

An honest evaluation of the type of flying you are going to do will greatly help in your purchasing decision. They are probably both good aircraft for what they are designed for.
-Nate

Blake are you also BH? Just curious I guess....anyway, I recently picked up a short tailed S-7 and also bought a set of Full Lotus 1260 amphibs for it but have not mounted them yet. Hopefully I will get them put on this coming spring. I feel the wheel gear is definitely not intended for anything but a fairly smooth runway. The tires are small but I think they will be fine on my grass strip since it is decent as long as I keep it mowed.
I talked to a couple of RANS "gurus" about amphibs for my S-7 and they feel the Zenith amphibs floats have light built gear. I was told if I wanted to use their float that I would best if I used them on paved strips. Only hearsay as I am just restating what was told to me.
Peter Cowan in Canada and Ken Smith in WI are two guys that have quite a bit of experience with floats on the RANS planes.
Mr Cowan has a very imformative site with lots of information on the RANS. Here is a link to his site:http://www.pipcom.com/~cowcam/rans.htm
Good Luck,
Keith

...will the SeaRey give me the flexibility I need of flying to the Idaho gathering at Johnson Creek...

Blake,
When I took the Arrow to Johnson Creek, just fine getting in and out of there (with some thoughts to loading and density altitude) - but there was no flying to the surrounding strips/fly outs. It would be similar with the SeaRey I'm sure. The Rans should allow the fun extras.

Mark J

P.S. Allie just bought a sharp Cassutt with an O-290 Lycoming!

Thanks for the info guys, Keith, indeed BH.

Mark, keep me in the loop on your daughters flying, still cant believe a few years ago she was eating hot dogs with us at OSH, and now the "Academy".

It looks like more and more the S7 is the plane for me. Now I just need to find a seller with reasonable expectations. The beefed up landing gear for sale on Barnstormers gets me all hot and bothered... Sweet. It will be nice to have an electrical system and more speed than the J3.

Okay, nobody else said it, so I will: You really need one of each.

There...

MTV

Do you still have the AirCam Blake? I would think putting that on Amphib's would be lots of fun. Add the new enclosed cockpit mod & skis for winter.

There WAS a searay forsale near me this summer, not sure if it sold or not.

Blake,
If you haven't found anything by springtime you are welcome to come up to my place to check out my S-7. It'll give you a little more of a teaser for wanting the RANS I am guessing. I should be back in MN by April.
Keith

What about a Kitfox on amphibs instead?

I have a very nice Kitfox SS for sale if you are considering that option.