Photograph:
Seabird Rouseabout Mk 4 10-0280 (c/n 04) at Caloundra, QLD (Author’s collection)
Country of origin:
Australia
Description:
Single-seat light sport monoplane
Power Plant:
(Rouseabout)
One 21 kw (28 hp) Koenig [570 cc] four-cylinder radial air-cooled engine
Specifications:
- Wingspan: 9.7 m (31 ft 9 in)
- Length: 5.5 m (18 ft)
- Max speed: 117 km/h (73 mph)
- Cruising speed: 102 km/h (63 mph)
- Stalling speed: 37 km/h (23 mph)
- Rate of climb: 183 m/min (600 ft/min)
- Endurance: 2 hrs 30 mins
- Fuel capacity: 22 litres (4.8 Imp gals)
- Empty weight: 115 kg (254 lb)
History:
The SB-1 Rouseabout was a small ultra-light aircraft developed by Seabird Ultralight Aircraft at Port Vernon, QLD. It was designed by Donald and Peter Adams in consultation with Gordon Bedson and became available in two basic models, under 95.10 and 95.25 regulations, the latter having a larger engine and a strengthened structure. Construction was of fibreglass / kevlar for the fuselage with an integral tail boom. A small production line produced a number of examples and a few are still flying.
Described at the time as one of the “best looking microlights in the World”, it was a derivative of the Resurgam Mk 2 and the Resurgam Aviation Zeitgeist. The wing was structured around a 10 cm (4 in) diameter aluminium tube with ⅞-in by ⅜-in wide spruce cap strips epoxied on the top and bottom. The strut take-off fittings were located on an internal aluminium sleeve, pushed in and epoxied. The leading- edge was formed of fibreglass back to 45% of the chord and the wing was covered with poly-fibre back to the full-span flaperon spar. It had an NASAG (W) 2 aerofoil and the machine had a Koenig engine driving a 1:1.75 reduction gear and a 132 cm (52 in) diameter adjustable pitch propeller.
The Rouseabout was powered by a German-built Koenig 21 kw (28 hp) engine which was a four-cylinder unit which turned over at slow rpm and had a TBO of 500 hours. The aircraft could be fitted with a one-metre drogue chute which deployed a safety parachute. Max speed was 80 knots (148 km/h – 92 mph) and a two-seat version with a 37 kw (50 hp) engine was developed as the Bushranger, this being able to carry a stretcher for evacuation work. It could also be fitted with a survival parachute. The Bushranger was a two-seat derivative.
Eventually the Company moved on to newer and larger types, particularly the Sentinel series, and the Rouseabout was marketed by Geonic Aero Industries of Woodridge, QLD. Examples of the Rouseabout registered under RAA Regulations include 10-0335 (c/n 1) registered from 30 June 1988 to 20 January 2000 which had a Rotax 447 engine; 10-0280 (c/n 4), 10-1017; 10-1047 (c/n 2); and 10-0281.
An example of the Rouseabout is held in the collection of the Queensland Air Museum at Caloundra, having been obtained from Hervey Bay in August 2017 and placed on display.