2002 Polaris Flying Boat

Testers Notebook: Polaris Flying Dinghy Location: Lake Simcoe, Cook's Bay, Ontario Test load: two adults, full fuel, safety gear. Test day conditions: Fall, 1-2 foot chop offshore, winds 5 knots gusting. Synopsis: Is it a boat?  Is it a plane?  No, it's the best of both:  a dinghy with a wingy.

By Ted Rankine
     I love boating.  I love flying.  And I take lots of time every summer to enjoy both.   A few years ago, I even traded my old wheel equipped airplane for something with floats so I could enjoy the best of both worlds.  But my dear old floatplane can hardly compare to the "flying boat" I had a chance to spend some quality time with this past fall. 
     Dave Templeton, from the Lighthouse Store in Midland Ontario is the local dealer for Polaris Flying Inflatable Boats from Italy and he trailered one of his demonstrators down to Lake Simcoe for us to take a test cruise and flight. 
     Although Polaris have only been in the "flying boat" business for about 12 years, they are long in the tooth when it comes to ultralights, having more than 25 years of manufacturing under their belt which speaks volumes about their quality and reliability. 
     The boat part of the Polaris is a slightly modified Lowmac rigid hull inflatable with a "trike" style ultralight built on top.  When I say modified, the only real changes are the lightening of the hull somewhat to a weight of 128 pounds; light enough to fly but strong enough to take the rigors of take off and landing.  Unlike normal inflatable use, the hull on a Polaris only spends short periods of time on the water, taxing out and back for take offs and landings.  Most of its operational time is spent over the water.
     The airplane part of the Polaris features two seats in a tandem configuration, (one behind the other), with the rear seat built slightly higher to provide the passenger a good view over the pilot's "helmet".  Power is the reliable Rotax 582, twin cylinder, water-cooled engine, which has been modified for aircraft use.  Pumping out 64 horsepower (that's gobs of power by ultra-light aircraft standards), the Rotax has dual carbs, and dual ignition and spark plugs for enhanced safety.  The triangular shaped wing has a 36 foot span and a total surface area of 236 square feet to provide lots of lifting power.  With an empty weight of 448 pounds and a gross weight of 1161, there's lot of room, 713 pound in total to carry pilot, passenger, fuel and baggage. 
     Dave's Polaris had the smaller gas tank which when filled with high octane fuel at a 50 to 1 oil to gas mixture, provided about 2 hours of flight time. Burning between 2 and a half to three gallons per hours, and with its average cruise speed of 40 mph, had a range of about 80 miles.  Now, that may not sound like much, but that is not too bad for an inflatable and if it's not enough, there is a larger capacity tank available.
     Helmets strapped on and engine ticking over, we taxiied (or is it cruised?) out to a clear area on Cook's Bay, a few hundred feet offshore to give the Rotax some time to warm up and let me get a feel of how the Polaris handles on the water.   A turn into wind, a quick push on the foot throttle and we were airborne in a few hundred feet.  The 700 foot per minute rate of climb for the Polaris may be average for recreational aircraft, but it climbs steeply so it felt more like we were strapped to a slow moving "Polaris" rocket.  We leveled off at one thousand feet above the lake, which allowed sufficient height to put the Polaris through its paces.
     The aircraft is stressed to a maximum G force loading of plus three and negative one, which is plenty for normal operations.  It's not certified for aerobatics, but frankly who the heck would want to do a loop or slow role in their dinghy?   Maximum cruise speed is 45 miles per hour, top speed 55 and stall, or rather a "mush" is at a very slow 25 mph.  Power off, the Polaris has a glide ratio of  6 to 1, meaning that for every foot it drops it moves forward 6.  So at 1,000 feet, with the engine off, we could glide for over a mile before reaching the ground or water.
     We set up for a landing approach at about 30 mph, and after touch down, we were stopped in about 60 feet or so.  We needed to do some take offs and landings for the camera, so we headed out into the open bay and it's there that we encountered somewhat rougher water.  With the waves running over a foot or so, I was amazed at the ability of the Polaris to handle them without the pounding you would expect from the aluminum floats many aircraft are equipped with.  Dave said that he has seen Polaris Flying Boats hopping rides in the islands down south, riding on ocean swells for take off and landing.  As a traditional float-plane pilot, I have a great aversion to rough water but what I experienced with the Polaris is certainly testament not just to the ruggedness of the aircraft, but also to its versatility in a variety of water conditions.
     You'll need at least one license to operate the Polaris; a pilot's license for sure and with the current Pleasure Craft Operator Card requirements in Canada (the hull is under 4 meters in length) and a variety of requirements depending on the state, you may likely need a recreational boater's card as well.  An ultralight pilot's license is sufficient to fly the Polaris (it will take you about 20 hours or so to obtain one) and as for the boating one, we all have whatever's required already for operating a vessel on the water! Right??
     I must admit, that the Polaris is the ultimate toy if you are as hooked on boating and flying as I am.  And with the best of both worlds contained in one package like this, suffice it to say that when it comes time to buy a new dinghy for Chay Aboard, this big kid's toy is top of my list.   Not only will it be fun to own and fly, but imagine the looks at the marina when I tell people that my boat is 11 feet long but has a beam of 36.
 

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