The Ultimate Dinghy??

[oldjags]

Anybody out there have a dinghy like this one?

http://www.youtube.com/v/vyiL7d713fo

[liberty16]

I watched the whole movie. Awesome!!! Looks like a lot of fun. I wonder how much it costs, the maker's website is dead....

[AnchorageGuy]

Those units have proved to be very dangerous and an individual was killed using one in Mexico. Could be why the makers web site is down.

[ireaney]

Cooooooool!!!!!

Where do you get one, great when there is no wind.

[Ram]

iVe seen them in the Palm Beach area for about 10 years and understand there built here, they use to cost about $20 k some years back
Ive been buzzed by them a few times

[oldjags]

Originally Posted by Chuck Baier

Those units have proved to be very dangerous and an individual was killed using one in Mexico. Could be why the makers web site is down.

Yep, I'm sure it's a lot more complicated that just hooking up a hang-glider to an inflatable and sticking an engine and prop on the back. Airplanes are very sensitive to center-of-gravity when you load them - put too much weight in the back end and it'll stall and fall ouy of the sky.

I think the rule of thumb with one of those things is never fly higher than you're willing to fall.

Sure looks like fun, though!

[Sandero]

I have seen these several times, in ME and there happens to one in Greenport where I moor and see him all the time and have photos of him taxying out and flying.

[liberty16]

Oh, I think it has to do with patent law.
I found the website: Flying Boat for Sale (FIBs)
It's an Italian invention.

I don't this is any more dangerous than scuba diving or hang gliding or sky diving or sailing.

[johneri1]

What a trip. . . .

[Celestialsailor]

I think it's cool but would'nt want one buzzing me with all 44 rigging wires for them to snag. I think for safety, the prop needs a guard.

[Benjamaphone]

I was camping a couple summers back at a place called McCrae Lake up near the Muskokas in Ontario. We were paddling in my canoe peacefully along the shore when I heard this buzzing that sounded an awful lot like a lawnmower. As the sound approached, I looked up and to my amazement I saw a man flying his dinghy! It was truly one the most incredible things that I had seen up to that moment as I had never even heard that such a modification was possible. I immediately thought of the long portage at the end of the lake and thought about great it would be to just fly over it with all my gear.

Here in Ontario we have a lot of little lakes and rivers that are connected with impassable rapids and obstructions. A flying dinghy would make short work of a 4 km long portage. I grew up boating on the Great Lakes and also think that this is a good idea for making short trips in and around all the islands and shoals of Georgian Bay.

Of all things, I wonder about the fuel mileage… I would imagine that there would much less resistance from water to air and also the incredible speed compared to taking the wet route. Once you got the thing up in the air, I would think that it might be pretty economical way to travel, though I am not the aeronautical type. Thoughts?

[GordMay]

The FIB should get 4-5 hours flying time (on 50 litres of fuel) giving a maximum range of 180 - 250 miles (at 45-50 mph).

[liberty16]

The Brazilian version (BRio) is alleged to have a range of 100 miles at 50-55mph