Our “Sea Rover” flying boat is the only one to remain of 18 designed and built by Tom Towle and Jim Eastman in Detroit in the late 1920s. The company did not survive the Great Depression. Five “Sea Rovers” ended up in British Columbia serving for many years as utility aircraft in various parts of the province. All five either crashed or were destroyed.

Our survivor was assembled from parts of three of these tough little aircraft. The first came to our attention soon after the Museum was established in 1988. Sections were acquired from Duncan and Fort St. John, BC, and Carcross, Yukon.

The fuselage is from Jim Eastman's personal aircraft that sat derelict at Atlin B.C. after Eastman's death. Fort St. John farmer Roy Fedderly purchased the aircraft and, when contacted through Norm Dressler and Peter L'Hirondelle, donated it to the Museum. Restoration was spread over four years under the supervision of Bert Clark, and it was completed in the summer of 1995. Construction is traditional wood & canvas, but with a metal cladding. It has a very early adjustable pitch propeller and the smallest two-row radial engine ever-built; a 165 hp, 6 cylinder Curtis “Challenger”.