While doing a bit of research for my TT article about the Weston SEA-ERA a couple of weeks ago, image search served me the above picture, another unique looking aircraft which I’d never heard of before. A bit of detective work on the N-number revealed that it was actually possessed by a much more mundane airframe type, further deepening the mystery. Reverse image search finally gave me a name though – the Pelican.
Save that while there have been six different airframe types bearing the name “Pelican” over the years, absolutely none of them have looked anything like this particular pelican. Ah, but YouTube finally had the answer. This particular pelican is a (somewhat common? I don’t know) model. Usually it’s a single-engine, though this picture appears to be a twin. Mystery solved. Thanks internet!
Incidentally, the other pelicans (according to Wikipedia):
The Boeing Pelican, a massive Wing In Ground-Effect transport that was studied but never built.
The Sikorsky HH-3F Pelican, a USCG version of the S-61R
The Doman LZ-2A, an early American built helicopter.
The Pilatus SB-2
The Ultravia Pelican, which is actually two series of high-wing, single-engine ultralights
The Air Est JCD 03 Pelican, a french motor-glider.