There have been many improvements and updates that are incorporated as the plane is being constructed with the some of the most advanced techniques available in the aerospace industry.
More to follow over the next few weeks.
An update from the founder follows:
Frank Leventhall, Director of Flight Operations for a major Norfolk, VA. company, introduced me to Bill Husa of Orion Technologies (www.oriontechnologies.net) early in 2007. Our initial 2 hour telephone conversation resulted in my traveling to Bill’s office near Seattle, Washington, where we agreed to form a joint-venture for the purpose of developing the 329 Amphibian under the new program name of PRIVATEER.
As the principal behind Orion Technologies, Bill is an unusual individual with the passion, knowledge, experience and ability to develop our new aircraft. Under the aegis of Orion, the PRIVATEER has morphed into a state-of-the-art configuration, which has brought amphibian design at least 50 years forward. The nearly completed design incorporates all of the patent elements of the original bird but excludes those configurational details where Leader Industries attempted to modify some of the laws of physics.
By February 2008, the design of the PRIVATEER should be substantially complete to allow the initiation of part fabrication. CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) analysis and empirical testing of the unique hull shape will be completed by Spring 2008 - initial results of water tow tests have been encouraging, demonstrating a marked improvement in hull performance and water-borne handling over current state of the art.
The PRIVATEER’s structure will be fabricated primarily of carbon-fiber materials in a unique and efficient multi-celled configuration, resulting in assemblies with superior strength to weight ratios, which can be built using more economical fabrication and assembly techniques than possible with other, more conventional structural configurations. All flight surfaces will be constructed as singular units in a reinforced monocoque configuration. The result of this approach is a dramatically lower part count and a nearly self jigging assembly.
The PRIVATEER has been increased in size to six seats in order to better serve our projected market. The new low-wing amphibian has interior room enough to incorporate a variety of passenger and/or cargo payloads – the cabin has sufficient room to carry a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood flat on the floor.
The new aircraft incorporates a Walther 601 Turboprop in a pusher configuration, along with a shrouded Hartzell propeller. The multi-bladed prop/shroud combination provides the aircraft with higher propulsive efficiencies, as well as substantially quieter operations. Cruise speed is projected to be in excess of 200 mph at sea level and 240 mph at 8000 feet.
I will update this website on a regular basis from now through completion of the prototype aircraft.
John A. Meekins, President
Leader Industries, Inc.
(Meekins74T@aol.com)