This is certainly getting the ' Snowball Effect '
So many people are now messaging me that I am going to put the basic details on here so all can see
Design and development
The FIB complies with the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale microlight category, including the category's maximum gross weight of 450 kg (992 lb). The FIB has a maximum gross weight of 406 kg (895 lb)
The aircraft features a cable-braced hang glider-style high-wing, weight-shift controls, a two-seats-in-tandem open cockpit, an inflatable boat hull and a single engine in pusher configuration. The FIB has no wheeled landing gear, but as a result of customer demand it was later developed into the amphibious Polaris AM-FIB.
The FIB's single surface wing is made from bolted-together aluminum tubing and covered in Dacron sailcloth. The 11.15 m (36.6 ft) span wing is supported by a single tube-type kingpost and uses an "A" frame weight-shift control bar. The powerplant is a twin cylinder, liquid-cooled, two-stroke, dual-ignition 64 hp (48 kW) Rotax 582 engine.
The aircraft has an empty weight of 216 kg (476 lb) and a gross weight of 406 kg (895 lb), giving a useful load of 190 kg (419 lb). With full fuel of 40 litres (8.8 imp gal; 11 US gal) the payload is 161 kg (355 lb).
General characteristics ( BASIC MODEL )
Crew: one
Capacity: one passenger
Wingspan: 11.15 m (36 ft 7 in)
Wing area: 19.6 m2 (211 sq ft)
Empty weight: 216 kg (476 lb)
Gross weight: 406 kg (895 lb)
Fuel capacity: 40 litres (8.8 imp gal; 11 US gal)
Powerplant: 1 × Rotax 582 twin cylinder, liquid-cooled, two stroke aircraft engine, 48 kW (64 hp)
Propellers: 3-bladed composite
Performance
Maximum speed: 80 km/h (50 mph; 43 kn)
Cruise speed: 70 km/h (43 mph; 38 kn)
Stall speed: 48 km/h (30 mph; 26 kn)
Rate of climb: 4.5 m/s (890 ft/min)
Wing loading: 20.7 kg/m2 (4.2 lb/sq ft)
# Our example actually has an empty weight of 198 kg (436.5 lb) and a gross weight of 406 kg (895 lb), giving a useful load of 208 kg (458.5 lb). With full fuel of 40 litres (8.8 imp gal; 11 US gal) the payload is 179 kg (394.6 lb). #
One avenue we are looking at is : Using a DIFFERENT RIB to get a New Fresh FIB to the Market.
Our reasoning behind using a non Polaris / non Lomac RIB is that I am advised there are more seaworthy RIB's available that offer a lighter empty weight & with a fresh application I can get a higher Max Take Off Weight agreed.
Within Europe we have 2 seater certification already in place, within the UK we have Single seat acceptance, I am currently getting acceptance for 2 seater operations within the UK.
I am curious about how many people would consider buying a Single Seater Flying Boat as opposed to a Two Seater Flying Boat?
To put my question into perspective: We can market a Single Seater at 50% of the market price of a Two Seater within the UK.
As I have an extensive Aviation background I have a ' Airtight ' knowledge & sole agreement on the acceptance of FIB's within the UK.... I believe I have hooked up with someone who has an extensive Maritime background & a ' Watertight ' knowledge of how to put this product to market within the Boating circles.
One part of the Maritime marketplace that really excites me is THE SUPERYACHT fraternity who I am told would consider a FIB as a ' Plaything ' to have on their Play List. Having discussed this with the International Aviation Authorities I have ( in principle ) that any FIB acquired by a Superyacht Owner / Operator can utilise the Aviation Registry of the Country that the Superyacht is registered to.
There are a few ' grey areas ' that I do need to get clarity on, but that is purely from an Air Law perspective, the significant part is that a FIB is not a 'toy' and whoever buys one or operates one will need to be licenced as a pilot. The Licence required is a minimum of the Microlight Pilots Licence..... any holder of a Full Light Aircraft Pilots Licence can fly a FIB totally unrestricted.
The Microlight Licence is available in 2 guises :
NPPL Restricted Microlight Rating
A minimum of 15 hours flying instruction of which 7 hours must be solo. The solo hours must be completed within the 9 month period prior to applying for the licence. A general skills test (GST) must be passed; this is carried out by an authorised instructor holding an ‘Examiner’ appointment.
Flying on a restricted rating means that you cannot take off when:-
The surface wind exceeds 15 knots
The cloud base is below 1,000 feet
The in-flight visibility is below 5 nautical miles
You must not fly outside a radius of 8nm from your departure airfield (
The 8nm radius would be from your initial take off point... so if you are in the Solent area, you are restricted to 8nm from Start point. I am getting a definitive answer on whether a Superyacht can be defined as a departure point.... the ' grey area ' would be if a Superyacht was moving at 17kts Southward, the fib would probably be able to fly a constant 8nm further south than the Superyacht
You cannot carry passengers until you have logged at least 25 hours flight time (10 hours as Pilot in Command)
NPPL Full Microlight Rating
In addition to the requirements for the restricted Microlight Rating, a further 10 hours of flying must be obtained of which at least 5 hours must be navigation training under the supervision of a qualified instructor. During the navigation training you must complete 2 solo cross country flights of at least 40 nautical miles each. During each of these solo flights a landing must be made at an airfield at least 15nm from take off.
A pilot may go straight for the unrestricted licence from the start in which case the navigational cross country requirements must be completed within the 9 month period prior to applying for the licence.
So at this time we are looking at setting up a FIB Brokerage & a Flight Training Facility in-house to have a ONE STOP SHOP.
Anyone interested can express their interest either via messaging or on this BB.
