Presently undergoing FAA certification, the SEAFIRE will comply with structural requirements of the latest 14 CFR Part 23. The Type Certificate is expected during the first half of 2024, with production scheduled to commence within sixty days after FAA approval.

The beautiful lines of the SEAFIRE are no accident … the design is by David B. Thurston, America’s foremost authority in amphibian design. Mr. Thurston, who was Vice President of Engineering for International Aeromarine Corporation, had been associated with the design of sixteen aircraft including the Brewster Buffalo fighter, various Grumman aircraft such as the F9F Panther, F11F Tigercat, the AgCat and the Rigel Missile; the Colonial Skimmer Amphibian (now the Lake Buccaneer) and the Teal Amphibian.

Thurston Aircraft, with facilities located in Melbourne, Florida, USA is a privately held company formed to develop and manufacture the SEAFIRE TA16 Amphibian. For this reason our company has assembled the very finest manufacturing equipment, operated by experienced, highly trained supervising personnel having 10 or more years of aircraft manufacturing background.

Available interiors vary from utility through custom design. The instrument panel contains full glass IFR dual avionics. The view forward is free from glare. The standard finish scheme has straight color lines of varying widths flowing along the wing, tail and engine cowl providing a distinctive yet simple pattern.
The basic airframe is of riveted monocoque sheet Aluminium and extrusion construction with a heavily reinforced hull bottom. All bottom joints are sealed for water tightness and the hull is water tested prior to delivery.
The main wing beam is a “D” spar torsion box assembly, with an auxiliary beam located in the wing trailing edge. Main beam caps are fabricated from 2014-T6 aluminum alloy extrusion while the balance of the structure is primarily 2024-T3 ALCLAD sheet. All aluminum alloy parts of the airframe are individually alodined and primed prior to assembly for maximum corrosion protection. Wing, tail, hull, landing gear and engine pylon structures have been static tested to ultimate load as part of the Type Certification program.

As a final note, the large size (6.00 X 6 in) nosewheel is ideal when operating in bush country or when coming up onto sand or pebble beaches. Since the nosewheel is steerable, snow skis may be installed for winter operation; all landing gear struts are designed for snow ski condition loads based upon the heavy duty Canadian Ministry of Transport requirements.
We hope the SEAFIRE is what you have been looking for and more …but were never able to find…now you have the opportunity to acquire this versatile utility amphibian. For details and information on how to place your order and reserve your position in our production schedule, please contact us: information@ThurstonAircraft.com