CENTAUR: CAPABILITIES
The major advantages provided by the Centaur over existing seaplanes are typically:
1. Access to about FIVE TIMES as many coastal facilities
The wings can be folded to within the beam of the sponsons (15' 2"). Using an
optional water-thruster with a 360 degree steered nozzle, it can go everywhere
that most 40 ft boats can go.
2. Operations in 80 percent larger waves
Both a smooth ride in extreme waves and forgiving water handling qualities arise
from the Centaur's new hull forms. (Please look at the rough water operations in
[Video
Clips]).
3. Exceptionally high load capacity and payload range
New levels of hull efficiency combined with high aerodynamic lift and reduced
engineering content in the hull enable substantially greater useful load
capacity and range.
4. Exceptional volume and superb on-water platform
The central cabin has a large and versatile internal volume. The stub-wings
provide for easy cabin access for passengers and cargo, and a platform for all
manner of on-water functions for work and recreation.
5. Exceptional safety
The Centaur's safety advantages include:
- Greater safety margins incommon wave conditions and survivability in extreme waves
- Forgiving control response for ease of safe handling
- Reduced cockpit and cabin accelerations
- Stability in crash cases including impacting submerged objects
- Cabin that will not submerge in almost any water crash configuration
- Correct pitching tendencies in the air
- Very safe characteristics for forced landing on surfaces including sand, ploughed field, swamp etc.
- High level of protection in a land crash due to disposable structure forward and below cockpit.
These are significant life-saving advantages over both seaplanes and landplanes
6. Lower operating costs
Major cost savings in relation to conventional seaplanes are expected from:
- Low direct costs. The large load capacity of the Centaur for given power enables it to achieve most tasks with less than conventional fuel burn.
- Low indirect costs. Major reductions in preventative and cyclical maintenance are expected as a result of the use of composite materials, especially when operating in salt water. With wings folded significant reductions in berthing/mooring/hangarage costs can be expected.
- Long airframe life. The Centaur's composite airframe is anticipated to last two to four times as long as equivalent aluminum airframes in salt water between major re-builds.
- Lower insurance premiums. Favorable insurance premiums are expected as a result of the Centaur's anticipated lower incident rates arising from greater tolerance to waves and forgiving characteristics.
- Spreading overheads. Offering a more competitive service in existing applications, and enabling operations in a wider range of conditions and to a wide range of new destinations, the Centaur will tend to be used more than conventional seaplanes. Overheads will tend to be spread over more hours, reducing rates further.
These advantages are expected to increase the competitiveness of fresh-water seaplane operators by at least 20 percent, and 40 percent where longer haul operations are concerned. On tropical salt-water, life-cycled costs-per-seat-mile are expected to be in the order of half those encountered by operators of existing seaplanes.