Roadfour SEAGLE water bomber

[Manuducati]

A Belgian startup is working on a water bomber concept.

"Scooping smoothly​

SEAGLE is designed for safe operations in the most demanding situations. Scooping water from a sleeping lake appears as a quiet task for the pilot while scooping from a windy sea surface can be very stressful. This particular flight phase is obviously dangerous and always more risky than landing on the ground in any well equipped airport. The most innovative breakthrough of SEAGLE is the fuselage shaped with hydrofoils. This well known marine technology is making the perfect buffer between the aerodynamics flight laws and the hydrodynamics laws of scooping. Beyond the center of the fuselage is located the slicer that will load the SEAGLE safely."​

The Seagle

www.roadfour.com

According to this news article (in French), they need ten orders (at 60 millions € apiece) and 6 years to launch the prototyping.

Seagle, l’avion belge qui veut remplacer les Canadairs pour sauver nos forêts

La startup belge Roadfour développe un avion bombardier d’eau destiné à s’attaquer aux « grands incendies », comme ceux qui ont pu sévir en Californie, en Australie et dans l’Ouest de la France aujourd’hui. Que l'oiseau se dépêche de décoller, le sujet est brûlant.

detours.canal.fr

Interesting concept...

 

[publiusr]

Catalina like…

 

[GTX]

Catalina like…

Really?? How do you see the Catalina in this?

 

[publiusr]

High wing-gull like

 

[GTX]

Err...the Catalina doesn't have a gull wing:

If anything I might say that it bears a superficial resemblance to the Do 26:

 

[Silencer1]

Quite innovative! Perhaps, too innovative... There were no aircraft with such hydrofoil arrangement and IMHO this a potential project's problem - to develop them for the real-size aircraft. Separate scoop is also not ordinary idea.
I could sounds pessimistic, but it's another attempt to made "DC-3 replacement". With CL-215/415 in the role of DC-3

 

[TomS]

EDO tested hydrofoils (and hydroskis) on a Grumman Goose.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yolgS1bn7P8&t=108s&ab_channel=DavidQuam

Edit:" I will say that the sheer width of the fuselage on the Seagle reminds me a bit of the Catalina. It's got a notably broad planing surface compared to a lot of other seaplanes that have rather tall and narrow fuselages.

 

[Silencer1]

EDO tested hydrofoils (and hydroskis) on a Grumman Goose.

You are right, and I'm not precise in my statement. But, as we see there were no series-produced aircraft with hydrofoil undercarriage - despite many successful experiments. Anyway, for SEAGLE it's particular layout of hydrofoils should be developed and tested extensively, as it's large aircraft and intended to use such undercarriage few times during flight over various states of water surfaces (and during water scooping with new type of scooper).

Curiously, just few days ago I found a French-produced small amphibian with hydrofoil - as primary device for take-off/water landing - Lisa Akoya.

Hydrofoils : Seafoils, innovation by LISA Airplanes

The only plane in the world with hydrofoils, the AKOYA is a revolutionnary amphibious aircraft: a high-performance seaplane and airplane !

lisa-airplanes.com

I think, it's appropriate place to it - to show current "state of the art" in hydrofoils.

 

[riggerrob]

EDO tested hydrofoils (and hydroskis) on a Grumman Goose.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yolgS1bn7P8&t=108s&ab_channel=DavidQuam

Edit:" I will say that the sheer width of the fuselage on the Seagle reminds me a bit of the Catalina. It's got a notably broad planing surface compared to a lot of other seaplanes that have rather tall and narrow fuselages.

Tall and narrow fuselages/hulls were a later (post World War 2) configuration designed to increase hull-speed.
Back during World War 1, flying boats (Curtiss and Felixstowe series) had wide hulls and huge wings to compensate for tiny engines. Curtiss hulls" planing surfaces were extended outboard of the cockpit.
Basically, a longer hull and water-line translated to less drag. Look at the difference between Martin's WW2 Mariner and post WW2 Marlin which share similar flying surfaces, but the late Marlin has a narrower hull.

 

[riggerrob]

Hydrofoils are great in theory but quickly collapse when they meet flotsum.
Consider how forest fires occur in the forests surrounding the lakes that firefighters (e.g. Catalina conversions) like to re-water from. How many floating logs and dead-heads can you expect to find in a lake surrounded by forests?

 

[TomcatViP]

There is also sea operations that looks compromised.*

IMOHO they added complexity where it wasn't needed. A simple modern CFRP fuselage with ample of extra space thanks to count parts decrease and lighter airframe weight would have been sufficient to raise interest. Hydrofoils look cool but, as hinted earlier in the Design section, isn't needed for the entire aircraft.

Wrong architecture that will cost extra money to refine with plenty of needed market winning additions that will have to be canceled to fit the budget they have.

*some large lakes have also 1.2 to 1.5 meter waves in windy conditions. What are they gonna do when this happens? Work from home?!

 

[renato74]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27ZQuVqz6Sk