Sea Lion Flying Boat from Stanton Hobbies

Sea Lion Flying Boat

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This model flies like no other on the market today.
It has excellent stability, but not so much that it flies like a trainer.

History of the Sea Lion Flying Boat

Over the last fifty years I have built and flown almost every flying boat kit commercially available and most every flying boat designed and published in the model magazines in the United States. Even though I enjoyed all of them, (some more than others) I never thought that any of them flew like I really wanted.

How did I want a flying boat design to fly? I wanted one to fly like typical pattern design and still take off and land on the water. Most of the designs I built and flew were either sport, scale or trainer type flyers. There were one or two designs that came close to "pattern" type performance but did not have the desired stability. So I started designing my own flying boat. I first started by designing the wing. I wanted a true symmetrical airfoil, a tapered wing and a little longer aspect ration than was typical. In addition the wing had to have servo and wingtip float mounting built in and had to accommodate an engine pylon. I also wanted the wing to be designed to easily accommodate flaps if desired. The fuselage had to have adequate volume to support a wide range of weight and still have the right moments to fly well and be easy to balance without adding any weight. I also did not want the wing loading to exceed 25 oz. Per. square. foot.

After many changes to the wing and fuselage designs, I found the original wing design to be the best and modified the fuselage, variables in moments and stab and rudder size and shape to accommodate it.

After building five different models I think I have the best compromise and I am more than satisfied with the way it flies. It is fun to fly, not like some stodgy trainer or scale type.

Many hours of work and thought that have gone into this design and it flies like no other on the market today. It has excellent stability, but not so much that it flies like a trainer.

Specifications of Sea Lion Flying Boat

Wing Span: 60 inches
Wing Area: 720 sq. in.
Length: 53 in.
Weight: 7.5 to 8.5 pounds
Radio: 5 to 6 channels
Servos: 5 to 7
Recommended Engines: .46 to .60 Two Stroke
.52 to .80 Four Stroke

The kit has laser cut parts and includes the construction manual and plans.
Hardware is not included. (Most hardware included in kits does not meet modelers standards and is substituted.)

Cost of Sea Lion Flying Boat

The introductory price is $130 plus shipping.