Listing Of The Week
1946 Amphibious RC3 Republic SEABEE Airplane
2040 Total Hours On The Airframe and Only 85 Hours Since The Last Overhaul
The RC-3 Seabee was the brainchild of Percival Hopkins "Spence" Spencer, an early aviation pioneer who built his first hang glider in April 1911, just two weeks after his 17th birthday, using plans he found in a "Popular Mechanics" magazine. The aircraft was displayed in St Louis, Missouriin December, and by the end of 1944 Republic had received 1,972 civilian orders for the $3,500 airplane. The aircraft was also shown to the U.S. Navyand Army Air Corps. Both divisions were pleased with the design, and on February 19th 1945 the Navy granted Republic Aviation the rights to use the name Seabee for the civilian version.
On November 22nd 1945 the prototype RC-3 Seabee (NX87451) came off the assembly line at Republic's factory in Farmingdale, New York, and on December 1st made its first flight in Farmingdale with "Spence" at the controls.
An RC-3 Seabee appears in the movie The Man With The Golden Gun taking James Bond (Roger Moore) to the island where his enemy Scaramanga(Christopher Lee) lives and has his "training facilities". The aircraft is destroyed in the film.