Dornier Seawings announced on Wednesday that it has acquired the Flywhale aircraft project from Germany-based Uniplanes GmbH. The deal covers all intellectual property and production assets associated with the project including design data, drawings and manuals along with the toolings and molds required for serial production. According to Dornier, the deal was official as of Jan. 1, 2022.
“The Flywhale fits very well into our product portfolio given its flying boat configuration and proven design features such as corrosion-free composites, high wings and engine as well as sponsons,” said Dornier Seawings CEO Amy Pan. “Our mission is to revive the Dornier flying boat tradition with advanced technology to provide our customers with the unique experience of superior mobility that combines water, land and air operation.”
Dornier plans to produce and market the Flywhale design as the DS-2C by Dornier Seawings. The two-seat, amphibious aircraft has a top cruise speed of 220 km/h (119 knots), 1,000-km (540-NM) range and maximum takeoff weight of 650 kg (1,433 pounds). The company says it intends to use the DS-2C as a research platform for its newly launched DS-2C-X-eVTOL amphibious jet project.
