Belite’s James Wiebe recently flew the Belite Sealite amphibious ultralight off the water for the first time.
“Even with difficult conditions for a seaplane — light winds, 90+ temps, 3,800 foot density altitude — it performed really well,” he reported. “The Sealite took around 20 seconds (maybe a little less) to get airborne off the water. Of course, land takeoff times are significantly faster.”
The Belite Sealite is powered with a F23 Hirth 50-hp powerplant, coupled with a carbon fiber three blade propeller.
In amphibious (land/sea) configuration, the Sealite is priced at $60,000; in straight float configuration (no wheels, just floats), the Sealite is priced at $50,000.
Wiebe notes “it takes about nine months for us to build one of these very special aircraft. They are ultralight legal — no medical, no pilots license (just seaplane skill), no FAA registration.”
The Belite Sealite is a variant of the Belite Ultracub. The amphibious version incorporates carbon fiber floats, coupled with trailing link retractable landing gear. The straight float version uses the same carbon fiber floats in a water only (no wheels) version.
For more information: BeliteAircraft.com