Corvette amphibian airplane in various versions has been in production since 1993. Over the years, the plane design and our company itself have passed all the way from self-made Che-22 built by a team of enthusiasts to the aircraft complying with the requirements of applicable airworthiness standards, which is confirmed by Type approval certificates, capable to solve a wide rang of customers’ tasks, and to the aviation enterprise complying with aviation series production requirements. Almost 90 amphibian planes have been produced till present day, operated in Latvia, Ukraine, Jordan, Costa Rica, France, Vietnam and Cuba.
Corvette amphibian plane has proved itself to be a reliable, easy-to-handle plane, inexpensive in service, having flying and technical characteristics allowing for applications in wide range of expected operational conditions at poorly prepared sites and water ponds of limited dimension.
Most of Corvette amphibian planes are used by their private owners for touristic and entertaining flights. Private pilots are excited by the chance to enjoy the bird’s eye view of the natural beauty beneath or to look at out-of-the-way spots of the country for potential trophy fishing or hunting.
The airplane finds its applications for corporate tasks of both private companies and state authorities.
The experience of using Corvette amphibian planes for training and practice flights, including induction training for hydroplane pilots, has been accumulated in Russia, Jordan, Vietnam and Cuba.
Besides, in Cuba Corvette amphibian planes were successfully used for coast guard and border monitoring purposes.
Corvette amphibian planes with aerial photography and land motoring equipment have been used for geodetic and geologic surveying.
The planes are also used for passengers and cargo transportation in the areas of Far North and Chukotka, as well as in forestry management applications for fire-fighting and animal head count purposes.
Fire extinguishing system installed on the plane is one of the most recent developments.
Unfortunately, wider application of the plane for utility purposes is impeded by the current economic situation and the air legislation currently in effect in our country.
A new modified version - Corvette-SK amphibian plane- has been offered by Silver Wings Ltd. since 2017.
Rudder design in this version has been changed, with a mass balance installed instead of horn balance compensation system. Fixation of horizontal fin to the tail boom has been reinforced. New wingtips with floats have been put onto the wings. Ground clearance from the runway is increased through longer springs of main landing gear and tailwheel with diameter of 152 mm. Main landing wheels are equipped with hydraulic brakes. Sliding pilot’s seats are installed in the cockpit. Airplane control system has been modified.
These improvements provide for better flight and technical performance of the plane.
General information
Corvette-SK airplane is a dual-engine amphibian plane, which belongs to the class of very light general-purpose aircrafts. Requirements of plane airworthiness standards AP-23, AP OLS (for very light planes) and JAR- VLA were taken in account in the plane design.
The following units can be installed as the plane powertrain:
- two Rotax-582 engines – two-stroke, two-cylinder engines with fluid cooling, power of 64 hp each, fuel used: А-92;
- two Jabiru-2210 engines – four-stroke, four-cylinder engines with air cooling, power of 85 hp each, fuel used: А-95.
Cockpit contains two sliding seats equipped with three-point harness, and parcel shelf to carry up to 90 kg of cargo. Upon agreement with customer, the shelf can be additionally equipped with seat and safety harness to arrange an additional passenger seat.
Corvette-SK amphibian plane is intended to be used for aerodrome and off-aerodrome flights in the areas with developed hydrography, for the following applications:
- passenger and cargo transportation;
- training and exercise flights, touristic and entertaining flights;
- inspections and environmental monitoring in forestries, in hunting and fishing sectors;
- aerial photography and area surveying;
- air patrol of rail roads, motorways, oil and gas piping and power transmission lines.
Fights are only allowed in visual meteorological conditions during apparent day, under visual flight rules.
Only non-acrobatic flights are allowed for the plane, including:
- any maneuver required for a normal flight;
- stalling;
- tight turns with maximum bank angle of 60°.
The plane can be operated from an unpaved runway at least 200 m long, and from water ponds 0.5 m deep and at least 250 m long.
Main characteristics of the airplane:
| Maximum takeoff weight, kg | 750 |
| Weight of empty equipped plane, kg | 450…550* |
| Fuel weight (2х50 l), kg | 78 |
| Crew, persons | 1+1 (+ passenger seat or cargo place) |
| Maximum speed of level flight, km/h | 160…170* |
| Cruising speed, km/h | 130..140* |
| Stall speed with in-flight configuration, km/h | 70 |
| Initial climb, m/s | 6 |
| Flight distance, km | 500…650* |
| Operational overload range | +3.8/ -1.5 (-0.5 by engine) |
| Takeoff distance / field length, m | 100/300 |
| Landing distance / field length, m | 150/350 |
| Range of operational temperatures, °С | -25 … +50/ -17 …+40 (by engine) |
| Wind velocity: - front wind, m/s | 12 |
| - back wing, m/s | 5 |
| - side wind, m/s | 5 |
| Runway soil strength, kg/cm2 | at least 4 |
| Seaworthiness (wave height), m | up to 0.5 |
*- depending f engine type and package level.
Plane package version
Basic package version:
- airframe assy;
- powertrain:
- two Jabiru 2210 engines with two-blade rotors;
- two Rotax -582 engines with two-blade rotors;
- control system: dual system with opportunity to remove the RH control board, mechanical flap deployment;
- landing gears: rotating main gear legs of spring type, controllable tail wheel, hydraulic shared braking system of main wheels;
- instrumentation (one set of instruments as per air service rules): speed pointer, climb indicator, altitude display, bank indicator, magnet compass, fuel tank level indicator;
- cockpit equipment: two hard seats for pilots with pilot’s four-point harness, parcel shelf, cockpit ventilation with ambient air;
- plane trim/ decoration: white painting of the plane, grey painting of inner surfaces; synthetic leather side trim, synthetic coating of cockpit floor;
- operational documentation: Flight Crew Operation Manual, Operation Manual, aircraft log-book, engine log book, components certificates, weighing, rigging and control system adjustment reports.
In addition to the basic equipment package, the plane design can be modified for installation of additional equipment, with a limited set of supplement options.
Supplement options:
- instruments: second set of instruments (in any package level), combined instrument (horizon indicator+compass), radio station (aerial+headset), fuel computer, ampere meter, clock.
- equipment: self-contained heater unit (cockpit ventilation + heating), lighting equipment (landing headlamp, navigation lights, instrument illumination, cockpit lamps), negative-displacement pump (boat + tail boom), socket to connect aerodrome-supplied power line, adjustable louvers in JABIRU-2210 engine air ducts.
- landing gears: skis for main and tail gears.
- cockpit equipment: soft pilot’s seats, additional direct-vision window on cockpit door, luggage net, additional lap belt at the place for cargo/passenger’s seat, additional cockpit trimming;
- aerodrome equipment: rudder screw clamps, set of covers, chocks, tool kit for plane and engine
- airplane painting; customized painting, with logos and state license numbers.
