Good things come to those who wait…so goes the saying. If true, then John Meekins has many good things coming his way.
More than 10 years in the making, Meekins’ amphibious Privateer made its first flight from Space Coast Regional Airport in Titusville, Florida, on Aug. 6, 2018.
“It was a highlight of my life,” said Meekins after watching his creation take flight.
At the controls was test pilot Harvey Cleveland. A cockpit video of the first flight shows the Privateer was being flown hands off a few moments after takeoff.
Hiccups in some of the instrumentation kept Cleveland from exploring more of the Privateer’s flight envelope. Cleveland did note, “access to the Walters 601 is easy from either the floats or the wing and I was relieved that it handled very normal without being overly twitchy on pitch or high on oil temp.”
Instrumentation corrections will be one of the first items tackled following the first flight, followed by a slew of additional testing. Stay tuned.
I have never heard of this aircraft until General Aviation News put a report about it on the web. I’m surprised it hasn’t appeared at EAA AirVenture yet. I wonder how well this will handle during spin tests
It seems to me, we have a large number of “critics” here! Never mind the “matching wits” contest- WHO will buy this marval – like Mike Dempsey and I have said for a number of years now; what GA (recreasional) needs is a serioud masketing plan and someone(s) expertise ; not just another technical accomplishment!
I have seen this aircraft inside the hangar at TIX and photographed it and always wondered what it was! Good to see it flying!
For those complaining in the comments, he did not take his hands off of the stick during take off, he did so 2 minutes into the flight, in level flight, to show that it was trimmed properly. Who cares that he was wearing a short sleeve shirt? It did look like he was fighting the controls a little bit at the beginning but guess what, it’s never flown before! Lots of aircraft need tweaking, that is what the test flights are for.
I wish them the best.
I guess the (armchair) test pilots are the authority. Looks good to me for a first flight.
The most unprofessional pilot I’ve ever seen. Hand off the throttle during takeoff?, No shoulder harness?,the list goes on. Remind me to NEVER fly with this guy!
Interesting new design. My questions are more concerning usefulness. How do you get in it? It appears from the photos that the distance from the floats to the doors is a “good stretch” and the cabin is too high off the ground. How will that work on a beach. The floats are so long I don’t see it using a boat ramp that has any slope to it. The nose may be in the water before it floats and then the tails of the floats will drag. What about docking? What about rough water with those long floats? How much room is under the wing to clear a dock? It may go fast, but I don’t see it being very useful for a seaplane.
Bruce, you point out some of the problems with this design. The list is very long indeed.
A twinn boom tail is not new, nor is a single engine pusher, turbo or not. Nobody smart designs like this….
My view is that this is a total waste of time and money. It will not go anywhere. Costs are massive and not worth the time.
Why can’t people wake up about seaplanes? ALL are next to useless and violate basic needs of a seaplane. Want to discuss it? Happy to….
Anybody want to work on a useful design? A real seaplane that will work? I have a design that will work.
Yeah; this looks (belly photo) something Howard Hughes might hsve dreamed up 70+ years ago?
“A cockpit video of the first flight shows the Privateer was being flown hands off a few moments after takeoff.” No. He removed his right hand, but his left hand was always on the stick. I’ve never seen someone fly with both hands on the stick like that. He was obviously struggling with pitch too. Also, his hand was off the throttle for the entire takeoff roll instead of being prepared to reject if needed. VERY unprofessional (not to mention harnesses, attire, and ballast that others pointed out). This will be yet another project that fades away.
Not only that, did you notice at the beginning of the take off roll, he pushes the red handle full forward, then when he puts both hands on the stick, the red handle slowly moves back and he never touched it again? I know in a piston that’s mixture, but in a turbine? could that contribute to the long ground roll and poor climb?
Normal controls for this engine, based on information for the Sky Tractor aircraft, would be the leftmost lever controls the power output including reverse thrust, the center lever sets the engine RPM and includes the feather control and the third lever is a shutoff lever. Given that I would expect all of the levers to be full forward for takeoff and that third lever to stay full forward during normal operation. Really they are not all that different from piston engine controls with the exception that the third lever would always stay full forward. As to why that lever is seen moving in the video is of some concern especially during the takeoff roll. If the pilot was following normal procedures his right hand would have been on the throttles guarding them throughout the takeoff and initial at the very least, The reason is to prevent any control from moving aft on its own and to be prepared to abort the takeoff if it becomes necessary. This is especially true of an aircraft on its first takeoff as part of a flight test program.
Interesting new design for an amphib. So glad the first flight was successful.
The extra long floats are unusual but a good way to make a strong box tail structure.
I hope that sprat does not damage the relatively low prop during water landings.
It appears that the wing will shield the prop from spray. Issues of control harmony are always elements of a test fright program. It is quite possible that computer modeling was not effectively used.
It will take a lot of time and money to certify such a new plane. I wish the progect well.
Wow, “test pilot” wearing a short sleeve t-shirt, no shoulder harness, no helmet, screwing around with his cellphone taking pictures…what more to say? Oh yeah, unsecured ballast sandbags laying in the passenger side footwell! Looked like a lot of forward pressure required on the takeoff roll and really poor rate of climb over those trees on the departure end. An engine hiccup and you’re in the trees. Please, please, please, get a professional to do this job before someone gets hurt.
Not only that, did you notice at the beginning of the take off roll, he pushes the red handle full forward, then when he puts both hands on the stick, the red handle slowly moves back and he never touched it again? I know in a piston that’s mixture, but in a turbine? could that contribute to the long ground roll and poor climb?
Did not know a long sleeved shirt was required. What a bunch of pansies, did your mother not teach you if nothing good to say nothing at all!
It looked like about 30 seconds for the take-off roll on a hard surface. That is a little doggy and the thought of how long it would take on water is scary.
Is it pressurized?
Yes, Nick, it come with “options” like a CD, A\C, power brakes/steering, an of course, Navagation!
Exciting! Good luck. How about some stats?
First flight Peter. As soon as we have some stats to pass along (following further flights) we will.
No shoulder harnes/belt for test flight?