Look out, Icon A5! Here comes Wave and it should be quite exciting.
Designer Paul Vickers (see video interview below) has a history in boat-hull design. This history forms a logical path to a LSA seaplane with its boat hull and water control features. Paul employed that experience but has widened his history to encompass a flying boat, the Wave.
From the images that accompany this article, you may see a artist's sense of style, an engineer's focus on efficiency, and a creator's close attention to detail. I think these fresh photos convey those qualities quite well.
In one image you notice the Rotax 915iS hiding inside its shapely engine nacelle.
Over the years, Wave has evaluated different engines. At one time, they contemplated 
First flight is ahead — though this is one of those nailing-jello-to-a-wall stories. First flight is something a designer never wishes to rush. Yet after all the time spent working on this design, the desire to see Wave go aloft must be tremendous — not even considering what pressure those waiting for the design may be exerting.
Paul and his Vickers team have worked hard, not only to make a dashing design but creating one that is easier to build. Vickers reports their total part count is a fraction of Icon's for the A5, which should translate into quicker, easier, surer building and that in turn may help the New Zealand company keep their prices well below A5's. Wave is composed of around 400 parts where Vickers said 1,800 or more parts is more common. Each part adds a material and labor cost.
In another photo, you can see a door leaning up against the hangar wall. Reportedly, Wave will use an aft-sliding door to enter a rather spacious compartment.
Wave also planned to use a novel arrangement of main gear — called "CrossOver" gear — such that it could handle the expected duties without needing to be retracted. Until the company gets first flight in their logbook, they're concentrating on the essentials so it's too early for confirmation of specific features.
Despite the uncertainties, Paul Vickers planned the design so meticulously that the first flight aircraft looks highly finished and not the sort of roughed-out prototype that often flies as a "proof-of-concept." If Paul achieves what I think he might with this impressive aircraft, the POC first-flight example might end up being very similar to the production aircraft that will follow.
Down under, heads are down and wrenches are wrenching. A team in New Zealand has been working for years on what might be the most sophisticated new aircraft to emerge …well, anywhere among Light-Sport Aircraft but certainly in LSA seaplanes. Look out, Icon A5! Here comes Wave and it should be quite exciting. Designer Paul Vickers (see video interview below) has a history in boat-hull design. This history forms a logical path to a LSA seaplane with its boat hull and water control features. Paul employed that experience but has widened his history to encompass a flying boat, the Wave. From the images that accompany this article, you may see a artist’s sense of style, an engineer’s focus on efficiency, and a creator’s close attention to detail. I think these fresh photos convey those qualities quite well. Visual Clues We can pick up a few clues from these “teaser photos.” (Somebody appears to know a thing or two about taking intriguing photos.) In one image you notice the Rotax 915iS hiding inside its shapely engine nacelle.
The Coronavirus madness is far from being a U.S. problem. Naturally, we tend to focus on our own part of the world …as we must. Yet even far-away countries are also struggling — to protect citizens and to keep their economies afloat. It simply has to improve as the present situation cannot last.
Despite the challenging situation, progress continues in the distant nation of New Zealand. As in many nations, wide-ranging business support has also been rolled out, softening the impact of the lockdown and allowing New Zealand to move forward with minimal long-term disruption.
"Along with much of the world," Paul continued in early April, "New Zealand is feeling the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic with a state of emergency declared. With this four-week lockdown all non-essential companies are required to close or work from home."
However, he added, "This will also be the year we fly our much-anticipated Wave." Interest is indeed keen as proven by more than 120,000 views of the video shown at the bottom of this post.
Aircraft design and its accompanying release documents and part traceability often takes longer to create than the production of aircraft components and assemblies.
"While our technicians and workshop staff are safe at home with their families, our designers are using this time and working from their homes to finalise the remaining aspects of the design, prepare work and plan the actions required once we are able to get all staff safely back to work," observed Paul.
On a positive note, he reported the 
"Not currently being reliant on sales and having investors with long term vision makes Vickers a stable and strong company in this environment," explained Paul.
"This is our eleventh year working on Wave," noted Paul. "I am often asked why is it taking so long? The answer, you don’t want an aircraft to be rushed. It has to be right the first time, no shortcuts, no compromises and always safety first. Not once have I compromised on any of Vickers' core values, nor will I. Wave will be ready soon, but not before it is fully completed. It has taken the time that has been necessary to design and produce a truly incredible aircraft."
Earlier 
The last airshow (
One of the most anticipated of these new Light-Sport Aircraft seaplanes is the 
"As 2019 draws to a close, we are pleased to announce a new strategic partnership with 
You might think those words don't apply to many Light-Sport Aircraft. Certainly, "big" is not a word most pilots associate with LSA. A number are actually rather compact, though with standardized rules, aircraft parameters don't differ as much as some might think.
Wave is different …at least in one particular way. The newest LSA seaplane in development in the Southern Hemisphere has something special. What is it?
Vickers recently announced winning a weight increase exemption for their deluxe Wave. As other producers wait to read FAA's coming regulation regarding aircraft size, Wave can begin leveraging their higher gross weight to increase capability and power.
Principal Paul Vickers stated, "After many months we can finally announce that Vickers Aircraft has received our FAA weight exemption for the Wave™ LSA. This will allow a MTOW of 1,850 pounds (839 kilograms), so we can incorporate additional safety features that will set the Wave apart and help us achieve our long-term goal of moving aviation forward." He added, "Some of these safety features include water maneuvering thruster, CrossOver Landing gear, increased horsepower, and the required fuel capacity to ensure the Wave is operated safely and can perform its mission."
Paul continued, "We have designed the Wave for this increased MTOW and have incorporated the required additional structure." He feels this sets up Wave to smoothly transition into the LSA rule changes that are on the horizon, new definitions that will include adjustments regarding the weight of Light-Sport Aircraft.
"The aviation industry is known for its high barriers to entry," said Paul. "While everyone sees the final product (the aircraft) flying, what they don’t see are the years of work that go into the company structure behind it." Vickers related tasks to meet business regulations plus health and safety requirements, environmental considerations, design, flight and manufacturing criteria as well as aviation authority regulations prior to the first aircraft even operating.
"With this in mind, the last 12 months has seen Vickers not only progress the aircraft design but also move into an employment phase to bring in the necessary people to meet all of our regulatory requirements," Paul explained. He said this means a doubling of the Engineering (Design) Team numbers and the employment of a Quality and Systems Manager.
Increased staffing levels allowed engineering to move into the stress testing phase of the design program to prove the strength of the design. This phase includes physical coupon testing to demonstrate Vickers can manufacture the parts to the design strengths and to verify our structural analysis. "This phase has to be completed before the flight test aircraft is manufactured to ensure it operates as expected," Paul noted.
During this time, finishing touches put into the manuals and processes ensure that Vickers meets all of its regulatory requirements. "We are using technology to do it smarter and quicker," said Paul. "Vickers is creating a paperless work environment from engineering to the manufacturing facility to customer support. Ensuring that all data is generated and stored electronically cuts down on development time and physical storage space while providing improved levels of control of the build of individual parts and aircraft." Vickers notes use of portable electronic devices such as phones and tablets to allow staff to directly monitor the manufacturing equipment such as ovens and freezers. This technology also enables the approval of work and the ordering of parts and materials electronically.
"The benefits to the customer are that our team can quickly retrieve this data both onsite and offsite, immediately understanding the configuration of any aircraft we have built" said Paul. "This provides accurate and fast response times to customers anywhere in the world. There will be no more needing to wait until the office opens in the morning." That will be valuable as New Zealand operates on a very different time than, for example, the USA.
"Wave eVTOL is a four-seat, semi-autonomous hybrid and will harvest 80% of our Wave Light Sport Aircraft model’s DNA," said Paul. "This positions us well down the road of developing shared technology, components and tooling, R&D, materials, manufacturing processes, techniques, and facilities that we have been refining over the years for our LSA."
"Developing an eVTOL with amphibious capabilities opens possibilities not yet explored in this space, and with the New Zealand government leading the world from a regulation standpoint, New Zealand is on track to be the first country to allow approved manned eVTOL passenger flights."
Vickers Aircraft is working closely with the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand (CAANZ) throughout the development of the Wave LSA and eVTOL aircraft variants.
As you can see yourself, the proposed Wave eVTOL uses the multicopter approach with wing sections. They aren't the first to do this (
Anticipating a question readers might pose, I asked Paul if this new direction meant he was easing away from the fixed wing LSA.
"The initial design for the Wave was always to have a core base that can be used on a number of different models; the second in this range is the Wave eVTOL," Paul explained. "With facilities and technical ability already established [and with] wider government and regulatory support for the development of next generation aircraft in New Zealand, we feel confident in having a proof of concept ready by 2020."
The Wave LSA seaplane will come much sooner though Vickers Aircraft is cautious about promises given what they've observed from other companies in this space. He offered no update on the fixed wing model.
However, he is enthusiastic about using years of hard work to bring a one-design company closer to the family of aircraft he always foresaw.
"The beauty of the Wave eVTOL is that it can be developed in parallel with [our] LSA, enabling us to maintain our schedule," said Paul. "Both models will share everything from components and tooling to ergonomics and storage, as well as manufacturing procedures and material allowables that will combine to result in a rapid development cycle."
To further communication on the new aircraft in planning, an organization called 
By the way, the use of technology seeks not only to save weight. New methods are used because they can, that is, developers don't need to jump through the regulatory hoops as demanded in Part 23. LSA developers can quickly implement new ideas and materials.
Boeing’s Aurora is one of a flock of new developments aimed at the air taxi trade but it could result in a sport model.
"We received confirmation from EAA on the time slot for our forum and meet & greet at 
