Manufacturer: Shorts / Dornier

Model: S.800

Name: SeaVan

Type: Flying-boat airliner

Date:

Status: Demonstrator

Country: Germany

Service: Commercial

Designation: none

I have always loved flying boats. Whenever I love an aircraft and want to play around with it, the seaplane is always a subject of choice... The Shorts Skyvan already inspired me to do a helicopter version, but its original lines and bulky fuselage lends itself to many other variations.

On seeing the photo of a beautiful white Shorts 360 the idea to couple it with another photo I'd saved of a Dornier SeaStar hit me right away. Shorts had done many seaplanes in the past, and had an aircraft named the Skyvan; Dornier was Germany's seaplane specialist and they had done aircraft named the SkyServant and the SeaStar... How appropriate to imagine a collaboration between the two companies and a new model named the SeaVan!

Although the tail was redesigned, the fuselage and wing those of the SD-360 while the bottom of the hull and engines are the SeaStar's (in this case placed on each wing instead of central on top of the fuselage). I find the end result quite pleasant and not so far-fetched. Certainly it would be great to see the age of the big flying boats come again! Do you like this one?

• Superb! (Caravellarella)
• Brilliant! I'd like to see what a military version in Navy colours would look like. :) (Matsucorp)
• push-pull 4-engines? Nice! (Tophe)
• Wow! This really looks good! It really does look like something that could really be produced by these two companies! Beautiful work as always!!! :D (dinobatfan)