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Old 02-03-2020, 01:57 PM   #48
Icelander
 
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Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Iceland*
Default Re: Seaplanes or Amphibious Aircraft for Caribbean Adventuring and Logistics

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rupert View Post
FWIW, there's mention that the big Short flying boats were phased out of service in the Pacific because they were incredibly expensive to run (presumably compared to the new modern liners of the post-war period) in the 50s. While think they're a great plane and would look awesome, etc., I think that if Kessler was to have bought one it would have to have been as a talking point. However, he might have leased it for a while.
Quote:
Originally Posted by smurf View Post
It was a combination of bigger is better (more economical) and airport building with tarmac, concrete, and terminals. Without the infrastructure the heaviest aircraft could realistically only use water. World War 2 also produced heavier aircraft (Lancaster and B-17) and developed purpose built airfields that required the land to allow these aircraft to take off and land.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Daigoro View Post
I know they were used for the Sydney-London route. Both ends probably had good airports at the time, but they had to make lots of intermediate stops to get there.
Well, in 1981, Antilles Air Boats ceased operations and their fleet of aircraft, including numerous Grumman Goose G21A and JRF-5 models, a Beechcraft RC-45J and one or both of a Short S.25 Sandringham 4 and Mk5, were put into inadequate storage.

In real life, the company failed to sell more than a couple of Grumman Goose models and the fleet of aircraft deteriorated slowly until most of them were destroyed in Hurricane Hugo in 1989.

In my campaign, even if Kessler has no interest in buying the aircraft in 1981*, as by that time he is 'merely' an ordinary billionaire, without knowing about the supernatural, that fleet would still be available dirt cheap in 1986, just as Kessler decides to set up an organization to investigate the paranormal, which includes sending expeditions to places where reports of oddness originate.

As Kessler probably doesn't know that the Soviet Union will fall in a couple of years, he doesn't know that soon he'll have the opportunity to purchase more surplus aircraft than he could ever use, and the Antilles Air Boat fleet would appear a quite convenient windfall.

That is, if there is any utility in them. Obtaining them would be as close to 'free' as buying an aircraft could be, but while they were airworthy in 1981, they might require some refurbishing in 1987 if they are to be accepted as playthings for tourists.

We know from real life that by this time, they were no longer economical to run as commercial passenger aircraft. Indeed, the 1970s were the decade where many of the airlines that ran regular passenger service between Caribbean islands with seaplanes switched to other types of aircraft or went bankrupt.**

I'm assuming that Kessler bought a DHC-6 Twin Otter or two for his purposes at this time, but given the special circumstances of a defunct airline unable to find buyers for their aircraft, Kessler could probably get the entire grounded fleet of Antilles Air Boats for what it would cost him to buy a second Twin Otter. Edit: Scratch 'probably', the entire fleet of Grumman Geese + a Short S.25 Sandringham bought from the defunct airline would most likely cost him under a million dollars, while a DHC-6 Twin Otter is from $3 million to $6.5 million, depending on whether you get the 300 or the 400 model.

Even if he didn't ultimately end up using them heavily, due to better options becoming available after 1990 (I'm having him obtain a Be-12 Chayka and Il-76TD after the Soviet Union fell), they remain owned by him as interesting options for anachronistic aircraft, in case he's transporting tech-averse occultists or sending another expedition into a heavily magical area.

*Not entirely a foregone conclusion, as at that time he already owns two Grumman Goose aircraft, enjoys piloting his personally owned one and may safely be considered an enthusiast of WWII vintage airplanes.
**Interesting aversions are the operations of Air Antilles, Carib Aviation, LIAT and Winair, all of which operated de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters to some degree, some apparently still doing so, in pretty much the exact area where Kessler needed to move his people around. From which I gather that in the 1980s, DHC-6 Twin Otters were still economical for passenger service in that area, but that older seaplane designs were probably not.
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Last edited by Icelander; 02-03-2020 at 03:34 PM.
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