Explorer... a Flying Boat!

[dholly 718]

"Dean Wilson had a dream

of designing a motor home

he could fly around the

country. Hubert de Chevigny

had a dream about a flying

boat that would take him to

remote locations for adventure

filming. Today their

dreams are reality in the

guise of flying boat, motor

home, adventure plane

called EXPLORER!"

Explorer.pdf

[akflyer 1427]

"Dean Wilson had a dream

of designing a motor home

he could fly around the

country. Hubert de Chevigny

had a dream about a flying

boat that would take him to

remote locations for adventure

filming. Today their

dreams are reality in the

guise of flying boat, motor

home, adventure plane

called EXPLORER!"

Holy crap, talk about airplane envy! Dean is a genious when it comes to design. Anyone else designing this plane would have had to hang some monster turbines on it to get it to fly.

[Gurvan 0]

Hello, 

 

Sorry for digging that subject up, but I am trying to find more information on that beautiful plane ! I have found some video on Youtube : 

and from start I started some research on the net...

I found some interesting things using keywords like "explorer" "de chevigny", "dean wilson" and so on but I am still looking for more if more can be found.

 

I am looking whether someone might have PDF copies from articles that were published in US magazines which might be difficult to find where I am right now (Frenchman living in Germany...) :

- Kitplanes Magazine : Octobre 1995 - Explorer   II:   Exploring   the   Limits   (Dean   Wilson's Explorer)

- Flying : August 1998, Volume N°125 Issue 8 Flying Winnebago - Reports on the introduction of the Explorer, an airplane designed by Dean Wilson for Hubert de Chevigny of Private Explorer company. Features of the airplane.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I know that this might sounds far-fetched but I am REALLY interested in that one !

 

I am willing to share whatever I found myself like, for instance this link to a French flying video program which deals with an interview from Hubert de Chevigny relating his experience with the Explorer (There are also quite a lot of things about the Avid Flyer. In fact, most of it deals with the introduction of the Avid Flyer in France...) : http://www.ina.fr/video/CPC08002781/retour-aux-sources-video.html There is a short extract but it does not really relate with the video itself...

 

I know that there is also another video that exists about the "AVION" : a Global Explorer that was used for a video program in France and from where comes the Youtube video mentioned above. But I have yet to find that one (Whether commercially or not) on the web.

 

In short, if anyone has anything on that plane, please, let me know...

[Av8r3400 1179]

Is that plane still flying or wasn't it destroyed in some incident?

[Gurvan 0]

It seems that two were built.

 

One crashed somewhere in Canada trying to take-off with its spoiler/air brakes deployed. It seems that it was looted by locals on the site of the crash...

 

The other one had a much longer life in France and flew for around 10 years all over the world for a French TV program called "In the Nature" by the company called Canal+. It was then sold to someone and crashed on a ferry flight to a new airport. Engine failure and hitting a power line were mentioned. The wreck has been moved to the "Seaplane Museum" of Biscarosse in southwestern France where, supposedly it will be rebuilt...

 

In both cases, there were no fatalities.

 

There is a memo about the restoration of the wreck available somewhere on the net for money : http://www.academon.fr/rapport-de-stage/la-renovation-de-l-hydravion-explorer-ii-4234/ But in French and a bit expensive, I'd say...