Flying Boat Adventures

The Flying Inflatable Boat
The FIB was patented by Polaris Motor SRL, the first Italian producer of hand gliders and ultralights, in 1986, in collaboration with the well known RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat ) manufacturer, Lomac Nautica.

The Malingri Family, owner of Polaris with their experience and knowledge of the sea, designed a safe and seaworthy ultralight with a very simple maintenance and easy to use from boats or beaches. Since 1987 more than 2100 units have been sold around the world (Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Turkey, Red Sea, Argentina, Madagascar, USA etc.) Toyota bought 80 FIB units, many units operate from tourist resorts, and are on maxi yachts. The navy seals of Singapore use FIB's for special missions. Green Peace has two FIB's and used them in Mururoa. The strength of the FIB is given by his simplicity: in only 10 hours of flight lessons you are perfectly capable of flying in safely.

Technical features
WEIGHT BASIC UNIT	FIB 582 486 lbs
MAX. TAKE OFF WEIGHT	FIB 582 460 lbs Pilot/Student/Gear
STALL SPEED	23 MPH
Max Height	10,000 Feet
CRUISING SPEED	45-50 MPH
Take Off Distance	100-200 Ft.
MAX. SPEED	55 MPH
FUEL CAPACITY	10 Gallons
Range	2 to 3 Hours (90 Miles)
WING SPAN (21 Meter Wing)	36 Ft
WING SURFACE (21 Meter Wing)	236 Sq Ft
ASPECT RATIO	6
DOUBLE SURFACE	35 %
CONFIGURATION	Biplace tandem
Boat Length	11' 6"
Motor	Rotax 64 HP
Motor	582 cc 2 Stroke

The FIB motorized with the Rotax 582 was realized not for more HP, but to reduce drastically the noise emissions. With the extra power it is possible to silence the motor and install a three blade propeller. The FIB 582 is in this way more fit for use in places were excess noise can be unwelcome (Hotels, Clubs etc).

FIB 582 is equipped as follow : Rotax 582 two stroke, two cylinder, twin carburetor and twin ignition, water cooled, mechanical reduction gear box type C or E, silencer on intake air filter and on exhaust muffler, three blade wood propeller with special protection on leading edge, console with radiator temperature instrument and with place for 4 more gauges, wing single surface 21 sqmt or 19 sqmt.

Ask for the additional lists of options and accessories available.

Why we use a Rubber Inflatable Boat (RIB ) as a floater

The FIB's purpose is to fly on all water surfaces also including the sea, of course, which is the largest runway available in the world.
The pontoon's system, popular in the ultalight field, was not found safe and seaworthy for a weight shifting machine. It's well known that a single hull seaplane has better performances in rough sea than the conventional pontoon's like the catamaran style . For this reason the most popular seaplanes in the world are all single hull : like the Catalina, the Candair, and more .

After two years of testing Polaris Motor chose a specially made RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat) for floating, that permitted safe take off and landings even in fairly rough sea. The boat jumps from one wave to another with out any problems till it reaches it's take of speed. The boat also protects the whole machine (including the propeller) from the water during take off with big waves, leaving the pilot, passenger, and engine 100% dry. In case of very bad landings, the boat slips around avoiding capsizing and relative damages .

Compared to a machine equipped with pontoon catamran style, the inflatable boat has a more naturally aerodynamic shape that reduces the drag in the air and does not interfere negatively with the control of the aircraft.

For this reason the FIB allows take off and landing till 3/4 Beaufort with out any problems.

The fiberglass hull of the RIB is specially designed for surfing fast with low power, this allows you to reach take of speed in a very small space.

It's easy to understand that the FIB is very safe while taxiing in water to reach take off and landing areas, and has the great advantage of being able to be used in many different ways; transport, store, parking on beaches, docks etc. The wing can also be removed and the FIB used as a high speed airboat, cruising at speeds up to 30 mph. This gives you multiple options for exploration.