Hydroplum II

During the presentation of the Hydroplum I with the Paris airshow in 1985 Claude Tisserand understood that to transform the success of regard of his seaplane into business success it was necessary to make a two-seater of it and to pass to a method of construction allowing a series production. A construction in composite Materials allowed the production in moulds and marketing in kit, while cause a drop in the price of the machine. The study was thus launched while taking account of the regulation ULM then of use in France: 175 kg maximum with vacuum and 10 kg/m ² of wing load. To preserve a compact apparatus, easily transportable on trailer, with a light and solid structure, a solution was essential, the formula biplane, which made it possible to remain within the limits of the load with the m ². The project was buckled at the end of the summer 1985, remained to be passed to the realization. Thanks to a modest subsidy of ANVAR a prototype hull and a mould were ordered from a craftsman of Bandol, Var, the wings, the beam carry-empennage and the train at Alain Petit, founder of Arplast. The prototype was completed in August 1986 and weighed 179 kg with vacuum, without instrumentation. The marine tests began on October 12th, 1986, with St Florent, Corsica and showed the need for reinforcing the hull. The first flight was carried out the next on November 1st, without incident. But the hull continued to show signs of weakness. It is again reinforced at the end of November, and on January 25th, 1987 took place the first takeoff since the ground of Ghisonaccia, even if the development of the system of raising were to be long and hard. At the beginning of May a electric Trim was added on the depth. At the end of August 1987 the step was modified to reduce the takeoff distance and at the beginning of September began the negotiations for a marketing with André Wydauw, industrialist of the Trinité-sur-Mer. At the end of September the hull undergoes a new modification of the step and, after revision the prototype left Corsica for Brittany or it was going to become SMAN Petrel.

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