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'Dream Machine' - N3500G (s/n 631)
350 hp TIO-540 engine, extended
wings, composite wing floats, droop tips,
extended spray rails, large
rear windows, etc. by Transition Aircraft
Photo: © Randy Komko
More
than 60 years after the production ended, the Republic Seabee is still
one of most popular amphibian aircraft on the used market. Many
amphibian pilots agree that the Seabee is the best single engine
amphibian ever built, in terms of utility, ruggedness and water
handling. More and more pilots are realizing this and quite many
Seabee 'hulks' have been taken out of barns and hangar backyards to
be restored or rebuilt. The last two decades the number of Seabees
on the US Civil Aircraft Register has been increasing, from 260+ in 1972
to 320+ in 2002!
Several attempts have been made to put the Seabee into
production again, unfortunately without success. Meantime, Seabee
owners do anything they can to keep their Seabees flying. There
undoubtedly have been advances in the aviation industry the last 50 years,
especially when it comes to avionics and engines... Therefore most
Seabees flying today have been modified in some way or another to
increase performance and to modernize the equipment aboard. Listed below are
all known Seabee modifications and conversions.
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Several experimental one-of-a-kind engine installations have been
developed for the Seabee, including gas turbine engines. A number of engine
conversions also have been STC'ed, and have been offered commercially by a
few companies. Probably more than two-thirds of the World's Seabee
population have an engine conversion installed.
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Many modifications have been developed by Seabee owners and engineers to
improve the aerodynamic performance of the Seabee; extended
wings, droop wing tips, wing tip end plates ('splates'), inboard 'splates'.
Other modifications, such as extended spray rails, will improve the
water performance and reduce water spray into the propeller.
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Here is a summary of STCs issued for the Republic
Seabee.
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Republic Seabee production revisions history, and
Franklin engine revisions history.
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The most dramatic conversion of the Republic Seabee
is the UC-1 Twin Bee twin engine amphibian. The Twin Bee
conversion is so extensive that it has been awarded a new Approved Type
Certificate (# A13EA). The Twin Bee was developed in the early
1960s by Joseph Gigante, Norwood, Massachusetts. Twenty-three Twin Bee
conversions have been built to this date.
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