In the 1920s and 1930s, Dornier developed a reputation as a world-class designer and manufacturer of large flying boats. Dornier returned to its roots with the amphibious twin-engine Seastar.
Dornier Aircraft began development of the all-composite Seastar in the 1980s and it was certified in 1991. When the Dornier company was sold, the Dornier family kept the Seastar project under the Dornier Seaplane Company. The first several production aircraft featured traditional round steam gauges. Later Seastar’s offered a “glass” avionics suite.
The strut-mounted parasol wing is 58 feet 2 inches long with a wing area of 329 feet. The Seastar carries from six to nine passengers in a corporate arrangement but can carry as many as 12 passengers. The composite construction solves the corrosion issues that metal bottom amphibian planes routinely face. This should help the Seastar to a long water and land life.
A pair of PT6A-135A engines, producing 650 shp each, in an in-line push-pull arrangement, are mounted atop the center of the wing. This eliminates asymmetrical thrust during one-engine inoperative operations. This also gets the engines and propellers up and out of much of the saltwater spray.
The Dornier Seaplane Company obtained additional funding and plans to build and deliver aircraft by 2011.
