A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft designed to take off and land (alight) on water. Overview Fixed-wing aircraft range from small training and recreational aircraft to Wide-body aircraft and military cargo aircraft. Seaplanes can be divided into separate categories such as floatplanes, flying boats, and amphibians. A floatplane is a type of Seaplane, with slender Pontoons (known as "floats" mounted under the fuselage only the floats of a floatplane normally come A flying boat is a specialised form of Aircraft that is designed to take off from and land on water using its Fuselage as a floating hull. An amphibious or amphibian aircraft is an Aircraft that can take off and land on either land or water These aircraft are occasionally called hydroplanes, a term rarely used in English. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States

Contents 1 Types 2 History 3 Uses and operation 4 See also 5 References

Types

The word "seaplane" is used to describe two types of air/water vehicles: the floatplane and the flying boat. A flying boat is a specialised form of Aircraft that is designed to take off from and land on water using its Fuselage as a floating hull.

• A floatplane has slender pontoons mounted under the fuselage. A floatplane is a type of Seaplane, with slender Pontoons (known as "floats" mounted under the fuselage only the floats of a floatplane normally come A pontoon is a flat-bottomed Boat or the floats used to support a structure on water The fuselage (from the French fuselé "spindle-shaped" is an Aircraft 's main body section that holds crew and passengers or Cargo Two floats are common, but many floatplanes of World War II had a single float under the main fuselage and two small floats on the wings. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Only the "floats" of a floatplane normally come into contact with water. The fuselage remains above water. Some small land aircraft can be modified to become float planes.
• In a flying boat, the main source of buoyancy is the fuselage, which acts like a ship's hull in the water. A flying boat is a specialised form of Aircraft that is designed to take off from and land on water using its Fuselage as a floating hull. In Physics, buoyancy ( BrE IPA: /ˈbɔɪənsi/ is the upward Force on an object produced by the surrounding liquid or gas in which it is A hull is the body of a Ship or Boat. It is a central concept in floating vessels as it provides the Buoyancy that keeps the vessel from sinking Most flying boats have small floats mounted on their wings to keep them stable.

The term "seaplane" is used by some to refer only to floatplanes (aircraft with floats as landing gear), with the flying boat being a distinct type of craft. In Aviation, the undercarriage or landing gear is the structure (usually wheels that supports an Aircraft on the ground and allows it to taxi This article treats both flying boats^[1] and floatplanes^[2] as types of seaplane^[3].

An amphibious aircraft can take off and land both on conventional runways and water. A true seaplane can only take off and land on water. There are amphibious flying boats and amphibious floatplanes, as well as some hybrid designs, e. g. , floatplanes with retractable floats. Modern production seaplanes are largely amphibious and of a floatplane design.

History

The first seaplane was invented in March 1910 by the French engineer Henri Fabre. Henri Fabre ( November 29, 1882 &ndash June 30, 1984) was a French Aviator and the inventor of Le Canard Its name was Le Canard ('the duck'), and took off from the water and flew 800 meters on its first flight on March 28, 1910. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Events 37 - Roman Emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the Principate, entitled to him by the Senate. Year 1910 ( MCMX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting These experiments were closely followed by the aircraft pioneers Gabriel and Charles Voisin, who purchased several of the Fabre floats and fitted them to their Canard Voisin airplane. Gabriel Voisin ( February 5, 1880 &ndash December 25, 1973) was a French aviation pioneer The Canard Voisin was a plane developed by Gabriel and Charles Voisin in 1910 In October 1910, the Canard Voisin became the first seaplane to fly over the river Seine, and in March 1912, the first seaplane to be used militarily from a seaplane carrier, La Foudre ('the lightning'). The Seine (sɛn in French) is a slow flowing major River and commercial waterway within the regions of Île-de-France and Haute-Normandie

In the United States, early development was carried out at Hammondsport, New York by Glenn Curtiss who had beaten Alexander Graham Bell and others in the Aerial Experiment Association. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Hammondsport is a Village in Steuben County, New York, United States. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous Glenn Hammond Curtiss ( 21 May 1878 &ndash 23 July 1930) was an American Aviation pioneer and founder of the Curtiss Aeroplane WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The Aerial Experiment Association (AEA was a Canadian aeronautical research group formed on 30 September 1907 under the tutelage of Dr The first American seaplane flight occurred on January 26, 1911. Events 1340 - King Edward III of England is declared King of France. Year 1911 ( MCMXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year

Englishman John Cyril Porte joined with Curtiss to design a transatlantic flying boat, and developed a more practical hull for Curtiss' airframe and engines with the distinctive 'step' which enabled the hull and floats to cleanly break free of the water's surface at take-off. Lieutenant Commander John Cyril Porte CMG RN ( 26 February 1884 - 22 October 1919) was a Flying boat In the UK the Curtiss flying boat was developed into the Felixstowe series of flying boats, which were used in the First World War to patrol for German submarines. The Felixstowe Porte Baby was a British reconnaissance Flying boat of the First World War first flying in 1916 U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word, itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot ( undersea boat) and refers Curtiss N-9 seaplanes were used during World War I as primary trainers, and over 2,500 Navy pilots learned to fly in them. The Curtiss N-9 was a seaplane variant of the Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" military trainer used during the First World War. A handful of N-9s were used in the Hewitt-Sperry Automatic Airplane project to develop an "aerial torpedo", an early RPV. The Hewitt-Sperry Automatic Airplane was a project undertaken during World War I to develop an aerial torpedo, a pilotless aircraft capable of carrying explosives An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV is an unpiloted Aircraft. UAVs can be remote controlled or fly autonomously based on pre-programmed flight plans or more complex dynamic

On March 27, 1919, the first transatlantic flight was completed by a U.S. Navy NC-4 flying boat. Events 196 BC - Ptolemy V ascends to the throne of Egypt. 1309 - Pope Clement V excommunicates "For other uses see NC 4 (disambiguation. The NC-4 was a Curtiss NC Flying boat, designed by Glenn Curtiss

Due to the lack of runways and the perceived safety factor over water, many commercial airlines including Imperial Airways (fore-runner of BOAC), and Pan-American World Airways used large seaplanes to provide service for long distance service across the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Imperial Airways was the early British commercial long range air transport company operating from 1924 to 1939 and serving parts of Europe but especially the Empire routes to The British Overseas Airways Corporation ( BOAC) was the British state airline from 1939 until 1946 and the long-haul British state airline from 1946 The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth 's Oceanic divisions The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's Oceanic divisions covering about 20% of the water on the Earth 's surface Aircraft specially built for these routes included some of the largest aircraft built between the wars.

Examples include:

• Aeromarine 75
• Consolidated Commodore
• Martin China Clipper
• Boeing Clipper
• Sikorsky S-42
• Sikorsky VS-44
• Dornier Wal
• Short Kent
• Short Empire
• Latécoère 631

Smaller carriers found them useful as well for operating into areas without prepared runways. The twin engine F5L was one of the Felixstowe F series of Flying boats developed by John Cyril Porte at the Seaplane Experimental Station, Felixstowe WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The Martin M-130 was a rare but influential Flying boat, designed and built by the Glenn L WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The Short S17 Kent was a British 4-engined 15-seat biplane luxury flying-boat airliner designed and built by Shorts to meet a requirement from Imperial The Short Empire was a passenger and mail carrying Flying boat, of the 1930s and 1940s which flew between Britain and British colonies in Africa, The Latécoère 631 was a civil transatlantic Flying boat built by Latécoère, the largest ever built up to its time Popular with bush operators, sportsmen and explorers, a huge variety of designs were built. Examples include:

• Sikorsky S-38
• Sikorsky S-39
• Grumman Goose
• Grumman Mallard
• Douglas Dolphin
• Dornier Delphin
• Supermarine Sea Eagle
• Vickers Viking
• Canadian Vickers Vedette
• Beriev MBR-2

Typical for the above types, the Grumman Goose came about in 1936, when a group of wealthy industrialists, including Henry Morgan, Marshall Field and E. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The Sikorsky S-39 was a smaller single-engine version of the S-38 light Amphibious aircraft, built in the USA by aviation firm Sikorsky Aircraft during WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The Supermarine Sea Eagle was a British passenger-carrying Flying boat designed and built by the Supermarine Aviation Works for its subsidiary the WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The Canadian Vickers Vedette was the first aircraft in Canada designed and built to meet a specification for Canadian conditions WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout R. Harriman, wanted an easier way to commute from their homes on Long Island, New York, to the financial district of Wall Street. They commissioned Roy Grumman to build ten airplanes that could take off from their private air strips and land on the water near the financial district. Grumman re-engineered their amphibians after the war and built a commercial version of their durable amphibians, called the Grumman Mallard. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout

During World War II, most navies used seaplanes for reconnaissance, search and rescue, and anti-submarine warfare. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Reconnaissance (also scouting) is a military and medical term denoting exploration conducted to gain information For the TV series of this title see Search and Rescue (TV series. Anti-submarine warfare (ASW or in older form A/S is a branch of Naval warfare that uses surface Warships Aircraft, space craft or other Submarines Possibly the most commonly known was the Consolidated PBY Catalina which was flown by the United States, United Kingdom, Russia, and Canada, among many others. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Similar aircraft were used by Japan, Germany, Italy.

The US Navy utilized a fleet of seaplanes for reconnaissance, rescue and had many fitted with machine guns and bombs. Most battleships carried one or two (some cases as many as four) catapult-launched seaplanes to spot targets over the horizon for the big guns, or to fight off enemy reconnaissance planes. A battleship is a large heavily armored Warship with a main battery consisting of the largest Calibre of Guns Battleships were The failure of the German battleship Bismarck's Arado 196 seaplane to hunt down a PBY is said to have contributed to that ship's demise. Background Design of the ship started in the early 1930s following on from Germany's development of the ''Deutschland'' class cruisers and the ''Scharnhorst'' class The Ar 196 was a shipboard Reconnaissance aircraft built by the German firm Arado starting in 1936

Examples include:

• Arado 196
• Blohm & Voss BV 222 Wiking
• CANT Z.501
• Dornier Do 18
• Dornier Do 24
• Consolidated Catalina
• Consolidated Coronado
• Martin Mariner
• Short Sunderland
• Supermarine Sea Otter
• Supermarine Stranraer
• Supermarine Walrus

In the post war period the availability of large paved runways and the greatly expanded performance of land-based planes meant that both commercial and military use of seaplanes was much reduced. Anti-Submarine Warfare was just as easily carried out with land based aircraft, which often had better performance, and Search and Rescue could more easily be carried out with helicopters, which had the advantages of being operated from smaller ships, and in higher sea states. Anti-submarine warfare (ASW or in older form A/S is a branch of Naval warfare that uses surface Warships Aircraft, space craft or other Submarines For the TV series of this title see Search and Rescue (TV series. The compromises that came from being able to float and rise again from the water caused excessive drag and added considerably to the weight of the aircraft. In commercial service this translated into increased costs, and for a military aircraft, into reduced warloads, speeds and ranges.

Only in specialized roles were they able to remain competitive, such as waterbombing, where their ability to quickly reload was a huge asset. A number of surplus WW2 seaplanes including the PBY and Martin Mars were initially used in this role but their advancing age has required a new specially designed aircraft in the form of the Canadair CL-215 which operates alongside an entire air force of second-hand land-based bombers and transports. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout

The only amphibian aircraft produced for post war commercial usage was the Grumman Mallard which was designed as a true airliner, with modern technology and longer ranges, greater passenger and cargo loads. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The Mallard saw production from 1946-1951. Only 59 were delivered, used mostly by corporations and some regional commuter carriers.

The British and the US experimented with jet powered seaplane fighters such as the Saunders-Roe SR.A/1 but despite some successes these did not enter service. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout An attempt was made in the early to mid-1950s to develop a large jet-powered flying boat (the Martin P6M SeaMaster) for the U. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout S. Navy. Although several prototypes were built and tested, the project, like those of the fighters, was eventually terminated.

The U. S. Navy, however, continued to operate seaplanes and seaplane tenders, especially in the Far East, until the mid-1970s. Both Japan and Russia continued operating military seaplanes even later, including the Shin Mewa PS-1 and Beriev Be-12, primarily for Anti-Submarine Warfare, where they can take advantage of their range and speed over helicopters, while still able to land on water. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Anti-submarine warfare (ASW or in older form A/S is a branch of Naval warfare that uses surface Warships Aircraft, space craft or other Submarines

Seaplanes are still being used for firefighting and sightseeing, but have been replaced in nearly all military roles by helicopters.

Uses and operation

Numerous modern civilian aircraft have a floatplane variant, usually for light duty transportation to lakes and other remote areas. Most of these are offered as third-party modifications under a supplemental type certificate (STC), although there are several aircraft manufacturers that build floatplanes from scratch, and a few that continue to build flying boats. A Type Certificate, is awarded by aviation regulating bodies to aerospace manufacturers after it has been established that the particular design of a civil aircraft engine or propeller A flying boat is a specialised form of Aircraft that is designed to take off from and land on water using its Fuselage as a floating hull. Many older flying boats remain in service for fire-fighting duty, and Chalk's Ocean Airways operated a fleet of Grumman Mallards in passenger service until service was suspended after a crash on December 19, 2005, which was linked to maintenance, not to design of the aircraft. Chalk's International Airlines, formerly Chalk's Ocean Airways, was an Airline based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA. On December 19, 2005, Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101 from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States to Bimini, Events 324 - Licinius abdicates his position as Roman Emperor. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Purely water-based seaplanes have largely been supplanted by amphibious aircraft.

Seaplanes can only take off and land on water with little or no wave action and, like other aircraft, have trouble in extreme weather. Ocean surface waves are Surface waves that occur on the Free surface of the Ocean. The size of waves a given design can withstand depends on, among other factors, the aircraft's size, hull or float design, and its weight, all making for a much more unstable aircraft, limiting actual operational days. Flying boats can typically handle rougher water and are generally more stable than floatplanes while on the water.

Rescue organizations, such as coast guards, are among the largest modern operators of seaplanes due to their efficiency and their ability to both spot and rescue survivors. Rescue refers to operations that usually involve the saving of Life, or prevention of Injury. A coast guard is a national organization responsible for various services at sea Land-based airplanes cannot rescue survivors, and many helicopters are limited in their capacity to carry survivors and in their fuel efficiency compared to fixed-wing aircraft. Fuel efficiency, in its basic sense is the same as Thermal efficiency, meaning the efficiency of a process that converts chemical potential energy contained in a carrier (Helicopters may also be fitted with floats to facilitate their usage on water, though not referred to as seaplanes. ) These are even more limited in range.

Water aircraft are also often used in remote areas such as the Alaskan and Canadian outback, especially in areas with a large number of lakes convenient for takeoff and landing. Alaska ( Аляска Alyaska) is a state in the United States of America, in the northwest of the North American continent Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Outback or the Outback refers to remote arid areas of Australia, although the term colloquially can refer to any lands outside of the main Urban areas A lake (from Latin lacus) is a Terrain feature (or Physical feature) a body of Liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the They may operate on a charter basis, provide scheduled service, or be operated by residents of the area for private, personal use. A charter airline, also sometimes referred to as an Air taxi, operates Aircraft on a charter basis that is flights that take place outside normal schedules by a

Greece uses seaplanes to connect its many islands to the mainland. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία The Greek Islands are a collection of over 6000 Islands and Islets that belong to Greece. In the Western Hemisphere, there are numerous seaplane operators in the Caribbean Sea that offer service within or between island groups. For the region see Caribbean. The Caribbean Sea (kəˈrɪbiən or /ˌkærɨˈbiːən/ is a tropical Sea in the Western Hemisphere

In August 2007, Scottish based commercial operator Loch Lomond Seaplanes launched the only European city based seaplane service. Loch Lomond Seaplanes is an Airline based in Scotland. After receiving approval from the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority and Clydeport They offer a daily service from Glasgow, Scotland's largest city, to the west coast town of Oban, as well as charters and excursions elsewhere.

See also

• Amphibious aircraft
• Floatplane
• Flying boat
• List of flying boats and seaplanes
• Auxiliary cruiser
• Seaplane tender

References

An amphibious or amphibian aircraft is an Aircraft that can take off and land on either land or water A floatplane is a type of Seaplane, with slender Pontoons (known as "floats" mounted under the fuselage only the floats of a floatplane normally come A flying boat is a specialised form of Aircraft that is designed to take off from and land on water using its Fuselage as a floating hull. The following is a list of Flying boats and Seaplanes. These do not include WIG or 'Wing-In-Ground'-effect craft also referred to as water-skimming wingships or in Armed Merchantmen has come to mean merchant ships equipped with guns usually for defensive purposes either by design or after the fact A seaplane tender (or seaplane carrier) is a Ship that provides facilities for operating Seaplanes These ships were the first Aircraft carriers

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