Development and construction of the twin-engine amphibious aircraft Dornier Seastar made of fibre-reinforced composite materials

Dornier Seawings GmbH

Oberpfaffenhofen (DE) · Wuxi (CN)New on Amplifa

2013Founded as a German-Chinese joint venture

2Production lines (Oberpfaffenhofen and China, planned)

12Passengers in the passenger version

30,000 hproven service life of the airframe

approx. 7 million EURestimated base price Seastar

About Dornier Seawings

Dornier Seawings GmbH is a German-Chinese joint venture based at Oberpfaffenhofen airfield, which is developing the Dornier Seastar amphibious aircraft and is to produce it in series in the future. The twin-engine turboprop with STOL capabilities accommodates two pilots and up to twelve passengers and can be operated from grass runways as well as from water, snow and ice surfaces without special equipment. The fuselage consists largely of glass-fibre- and carbon-fibre-reinforced epoxy resin with a proven cell service life of 30,000 flight hours; the two Pratt & Whitney engines are arranged in the tandem configuration typical of Dornier flying boats. In the joint venture, which was concluded in 2013 with two Chinese state-owned companies from Wuxi, numerous individual parts are already being produced there; final assembly is to take place in two production lines in Oberpfaffenhofen and China. Fields of application are passenger and cargo transport, SAR, ambulance flights, disaster relief as well as surveillance and supply flights.

Site: Oberpfaffenhofen
Processes: Development and construction of amphibious aircraft (Seastar programme), Assembly in two production lines (Oberpfaffenhofen and China, planned)
Materials: Glass-fibre- and carbon-fibre-reinforced epoxy resin, Fibre-composite primary structure, Metal wings (Do 28)
Certificates: Aviation certifications (LBA 1990, FAA 1991)
Founded: 2013
Industries: Aerospace, Passenger transport/tourism, Search and rescue (SAR), Ambulance flights, Disaster relief, Surveillance flights (environmental/coastal protection, customs, border control)

01
Development and design of the Seastar
02
Prototype construction and flight testing
03
Manufacture of individual parts (Wuxi)
04
Assembly in production lines (Oberpfaffenhofen and China, planned)
05
Type certification and series production readiness

Materials and Construction Method

GFK/CFK-Epoxidharz

Glass-fibre- and carbon-fibre-reinforced epoxy resin

Main material of the fuselage, highly resistant to seawater corrosion.

CFK

Fibre-composite primary structure

Wings and tail unit of the modern prototypes in composite construction.

Metall

Metal wings (Do 28)

Used on the first test aircraft VT-01 to save costs and time during testing.

Locations

Oberpfaffenhofen

Development, prototype construction and planned production line/assembly

Materials: Fibre-reinforced composite materials

Wuxi

Location of the Chinese joint-venture partners; production of numerous individual parts, assembly planned

Industries

AerospacePassenger transport/tourismSearch and rescue (SAR)Ambulance flightsDisaster reliefSurveillance flights (environmental/coastal protection, customs, border control)Cargo transportSupply of oil rigs and island/coastal regions

Additional services

Development and construction of amphibious aircraft (Seastar programme)Assembly in two production lines (Oberpfaffenhofen and China, planned)

Quality and Certification

The aircraft holds the European type certification from the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (1990) and US airworthiness according to FAA/DoT (1991) for the original Seastar design; the series models are to be certified accordingly.

Evidence	Oberpfaffenhofen
Aviation certifications (LBA 1990, FAA 1991)

History

1984
Maiden flight of the test aircraft VT-01 with metal wings of the Do 28 on 17 August in Hamburg
1985
Foundation of Claudius Dornier Seastar GmbH & Co KG by Claudius Dornier Jr. after the takeover of the Dornier works by Daimler-Benz
1987
Maiden flight of the second prototype from Oberpfaffenhofen on 24 April
1990
European type certification by the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (October)
1991
US airworthiness (FAA/DoT, June); foundation of Dornier Seastar GmbH & Co. KG by Conrado Dornier
2001
The Dornier Seastar GmbH & Co. KG was merged into the Dornier Seawings AG
2009
Announcement of the start of Seastar production (October), but without any aircraft built
2013
Merger of the Dornier family company with two Chinese state-owned companies from Wuxi to form the joint venture Dornier Seawings GmbH
2018
170 million US dollars of financing from the Chinese partners for the production facility and prototype (November)
2020
Maiden flight of the new, improved third prototype from Oberpfaffenhofen airfield on 28 March
2025
Series production readiness planned; assembly in two production lines in Oberpfaffenhofen and China