AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2016 - 54

airplanes, especially if they float. He already had a 1929 Travel Air
S-6000B and a de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver-both with floats and
wheels-that he operates under the banner of Pole Pass Airways,
which is based at East Sound Airport on Orcas Island, the largest
of Washington's San Juan Islands.
Why is he so enthusiastic about floats? "Simple," he said. "In
addition to the pure and unadulterated joy that seaplane flying provides, floats get you to places you can't get to on wheels."
Wright was the successful bidder and purchased the H-47 as
a landplane. He was determined, however, to locate the airplane's
original 1929 Edo 6400 floats. An extensive search ultimately found
them in a Fairbanks, Alaska, junkyard in early 2011-but the seller
demanded an outrageous price. "They're the only floats in the world
for a Metalplane," he said smugly. Wright's representative replied,
"Yeah? Well, we've got the only airplane in the world that can use
them." The price quickly became reasonable. Although the floats
had been outdoors and exposed to the harsh Alaskan climate for
30 years, Kenmore Air in Washington was able to restore them.
Wright loves to share his Metalplane by flying this piece of aviation history to fly-ins and airshows, where it never fails to attract
attention. He purchased it to fly, not to collect dust in a museum.
The original H-47 was powered by a 525-horsepower Pratt
& Whitney R-1690 Hornet, but parts for this engine are no longer available. NC-879H now has a supercharged Pratt & Whitney
R-1340 Wasp that delivers up to 600 horsepower, depending on
the propeller; it's the same radial engine that powers the North
American AT-6 Texan. The two-blade, ground-adjustable propeller was made by-you guessed it-Hamilton. It currently is set to
low pitch to optimize takeoff and climb performance.
54 | AOPA PILOT January 2016

The airplane seats eight- THE WOBBLE PUMP below the
two in front and six in the cabin. fuel-selector valve (far left)
is used to manually develop
Wright, however, has removed
fuel pressure prior to engine
the three leather-trimmed start. The elevator-trim crank
wicker seats from the left side (above) is on a bulkhead
above, behind, and between
of the cabin. "People are larger the pilots.
and heavier today than when
the airplane was built in 1929,"
he said. On floats, the airplane
has a maximum-allowable
gross weight of 6,375 pounds and a useful load of 1,694 pounds. On
wheels, it grosses out at 5,750 pounds and has a useful load of 1,839.
The cockpit isn't roomy, either. The right seat folds up against
the right sidewall so there is room to crawl into the left seat. You
get into the right seat by swinging the seat down and into position,
standing on it while sticking your head out of the rooftop hatch, and
then lowering yourself onto the seat. Pilots usually find themselves
cozily rubbing shoulders with each other.
Refueling the two 70-gallon wing tanks requires climbing
through the rooftop hatch and onto the wings, not much fun in
foul weather.
The airplane does not have an elevator-trim indicator.
Positioning the trim for takeoff involves turning the small crank-
above, behind, and between the pilots on the ceiling bulkhead-from
one limit to the other while counting the number of cranks (usually
24). You then crank half that amount to position the adjustable horizontal stabilizer in the middle position. There are no wing flaps.
When headed into the wind and ready for takeoff, you raise
the water rudders using a cable on the left cockpit sidewall and

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2016