WESSLINGEN, Germany - Dornier Seawings rolled out its first new-production Seastar amphibian turboprop last month to an audience comprised of company shareholders, suppliers and employees. The event marked the successful completion of a critical milestone in the Seastar development project between Dornier Seawings GmbH and Dornier Seawings China.

The roll out event included a demonstration flight of the original Dornier Seastar prototype. Chinese shareholders from Wuxi pledged continued support to the program and Seastar ´s development.

The Seastar is equipped with two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-135A turboprop engines, providing a total of 1,300 horsepower (flat-rated). Its in-line push-pull engine configuration eliminates asymmetric thrust in the event of an engine failure. The 12-passenger aircraft is equipped with Honeywell Primus Epic avionics. Range is 900 nm.

Dornier Seawings GmbH´s CEO, Amy Pan highlighted the new Seastar's technical improvements which include "a newly developed full digital cockpit, new corrosion resistant landing gear with the addition of nose wheel steering, a new cabin layout equipped with an air conditioning system and finally new high efficient propellers."

Pan is confident that, "as the market in China opens up and develops further, the Seastar will be able to seize opportunities there and play a significant role in the general aviation industry on a global scale."

These words confirm the larger efforts taken by the partners of Wuxi Government, Dornier Seawings China and Dornier Seawings GmbH, which see the Seastar as a cornerstone of development.

The company's team in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany is working towards their next milestone deliverable, the first flight, which is scheduled for the first half of 2019. This will be followed by the Type Certificate in 2020.

Source: Dornier Seawings
Associated URL: dornierseawings.com