Oshkosh (WI), 07/24/2017 – RS Aerotech, Ltd. will show the Searey Advanced Technology Demonstrator (Searey ATD) with the new Rotax 915 iS engine at the Rotax booth during Airventure 2017. The Searey amphibious land/seaplane, produced as an S-LSA by Progressive Aerodyne of Tavares (FL) is used for long time flight testing of the Rotax 9 series iS engines, MT propellers and future-oriented electronic aircraft systems designed by RS Aerotech. The modified Searey ATD has been equipped with a single lever constant speed propeller control system (SLC), and a CANaerospace-based flight data acquisition and recording system.
The Searey ATD automatically transmits engine and flight data via any 2G/3G/4G network worldwide. This data is continuously stored on a remote computer server to generate an engine health monitoring data base, thereby introducing the LSA world to the technology of large transport aircraft. This technology will be available for all Rotax 9 iS series engines soon.
With the turbocharged 135HP Rotax 915iS Sport engine, the MTV-34 constant speed propeller and the EMU9iS Engine Management Unit, the Searey ATD is the most powerful Searey that ever saw the skies, delivering a stunning performance both on water and land. The outstanding altitude performance of the turbocharged 915 iS engine, and the constant speed propeller pushes the boundary for extended high altitude cross country flying in the Searey even further.
“Exchanging the Rotax 912 iS engine against the Rotax 915 iS took only two days due to the sophisticated family concept of the Rotax 9 series iS engines. No changes in the electrical system were required at all, and the only mechanical difference was to fit the intercooler of the turbocharged engine” says Michael Stock, president of RS Aerotech.
“The same applied to the MTV-34 propeller, where a simple adjustment of the minimum blade angle was sufficient to adapt the propeller to the new engine”, adds Wolfgang Reiser, the other president of RS Aerotech.
Both agreed that the well-designed airframe of the Searey turned out to be a benefit for the installation of the more powerful engine, and provided the evidence that choosing the Searey as the basis for the Advanced Technology Demonstrator was the right decision.
The Searey ATD project is a collaborative effort of RS Aerotech of Nassau/Bahamas, Progressive Aerodyne Searey of Tavares/Florida, BRP-Rotax of Gunskirchen/Austria and MT Propeller of Straubing/Germany. The flight test activities are coordinated by RS Aerotech, operating the aircraft out of its homebases in Tavares and Nassau. RS Aerotech also provides flight test plans, data reduction and analysis, and generates the flight test reports.
The Searey ATD is on display at the Rotax tent (booth 265-267) in the Main Aircraft Display. Progressive Aerodyne Searey can be found in booth 193 (Main Aircraft Display), MT Propeller in Hangar B (booth 2014-2015). For further information, please refer to:
www.rsaerotech.com
www.flyrotax.com
www.searey.com
www.mt-propeller.com
