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Encyclopedia > Sea plane
A DeHavilland Single Otter floatplane in Harbour Air livery
A DeHavilland Single Otter floatplane in Harbour Air livery
H-4 Hercules flying boat
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H-4 Hercules flying boat

A seaplane is an aircraft designed to take off and land (correctly, though less commonly, "alight") upon water. DeHavilland Single Otter in Harbour Air livery. ... DeHavilland Single Otter in Harbour Air livery. ... De Havilland Otter Categories: Aircraft stubs | Canadian civil utility aircraft 1960-1969 | Canadian military utility aircraft 1960-1969 ... Categories: Airline stubs | Airlines of Canada ... --205. ... --205. ... Boeing 314 A flying boat is an aircraft that is designed to take off and land on water, in particular a type of seaplane which uses its fuselage as a floating hull (instead of pontoons mounted below the fuselage). ... An aircraft is any machine capable of atmospheric flight. ...


The aircraft are occasionally called hydroplanes, based on usage in several Romance languages, but is rare in English. The Romance languages, also called Romanic languages, are a subfamily of the Italic languages, specifically the descendants of the Vulgar Latin dialects spoken by the common people evolving in different areas after the break-up of the Roman Empire. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

Contents


Types of seaplane

There are two types of seaplane: the float plane and the flying boat. Boeing 314 A flying boat is an aircraft that is designed to take off and land on water, in particular a type of seaplane which uses its fuselage as a floating hull (instead of pontoons mounted below the fuselage). ...

  • A float plane has slender pontoons mounted under the fuselage. Two floats are common, but many float planes of World War II had a single float under the main fuselage and two small floats on the wings. Only the "floats" of a float plane 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 as a ship's hull in the water. Most seaplanes have small floats on their wings to keep them stable.

An amphibious aircraft can both take off and land on conventional runways and take off and land on water, whereas a true seaplane can only take off and land on water. There are amphibious flying boats and amphibious float planes, as well as some hybrid designs, e.g., a seaplane with retractable floats. However, most modern aircraft that are seaplanes that are made, are amphibious and of traditional design. A pontoon boat, like this small pleasure boat, typically floats and balances by means of two pontoons oriented in the direction of travel. ... World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons like the atom bomb. ... In physics, buoyancy is an upward force on an object immersed in a fluid (i. ... A hull is the body or frame of a ship or boat. ... An amphibious or amphibian aircraft is an aircraft that can land on either land or water. ...


Seaplane uses and operation

Numerous modern civilian aircraft have a floatplane variant, usually for light duty transportation to lakes and other remote areas. Flying boats have remained in service for fire-fighting duties. Often an amphibious aircraft that can land on land as well as land on water has supplanted a pure water plane. Boeing 314 A flying boat is an aircraft that is designed to take off and land on water, in particular a type of seaplane which uses its fuselage as a floating hull (instead of pontoons mounted below the fuselage). ...


Seaplanes can only take off and land on water with little or no wave action and, like other aircraft, have trouble in extreme weather. The size of waves a given design can land depends on how big the aircraft is, and the specifics of its shape. Flying boat seaplanes can handle rougher water, and are generally more stable than the float planes on the water. WAVE (WAVE-3) is a local NBC station in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. It is owned by The Liberty Corporation and broadcast from their main studio in downtown Louisville. ...


It was common to launch small reconnaissance seaplanes from shipboard catapults.


Some of the largest users of seaplanes are rescue organizations such as coast guards because the same aircraft can be used for spotting and rescuing survivors. Seaplanes are much more fuel-efficient than helicopters and unlike helicopters, can land when they run out of fuel, weather permitting. Rescue refers to operations that usually involve the saving of life, or prevention of additional injury. ... U.S. Coast Guard helicopter A coast guard is an organization devoted to saving the lives of shipwrecked mariners or people in danger at sea. ... A helicopter is an aircraft which is lifted and propelled by one or more large horizontal rotors (propellers). ...

A DeHavilland Twin Otter floatplane in West Coast Air livery
A DeHavilland Twin Otter floatplane in West Coast Air livery

Seaplanes are often used in remote areas such as Alaska and the Canadian outback, especially in areas with a large number of lakes convenient for takeoff and landing. They may operate on a charter basis, or provide scheduled service. Image File history File links West Coast Air De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter floatplane shortly after takeoff from Vancouver, B. C. Image taken June 13, 2005 by User:Leonard G. File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this... Image File history File links West Coast Air De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter floatplane shortly after takeoff from Vancouver, B. C. Image taken June 13, 2005 by User:Leonard G. File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this... The DHC-6 Twin Otter is the most successful aircraft program in Canadas history. ... West Coast Air is a small airline based out of Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. ... State nickname: The Last Frontier, The Land of the Midnight Sun Other U.S. States Capital Juneau Largest city Anchorage Governor Frank Murkowski (R) Official languages English Area 1,717,854 km² (1st)  - Land 1,481,347 km²  - Water 236,507 km² (13. ... A lake is a body of water surrounded by land. ... A charter is a document bestowing certain rights on a town, city, university or institution. ...


History of seaplanes

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. Hammondsport is a village located in Steuben County, New York. ... State nickname: Empire State Other U.S. States Capital Albany Largest city New York Governor George Pataki (R) Official languages None (English is de facto) Area 141,205 km² (27th)  - Land 122,409 km²  - Water 18,795 km² (13. ... Glenn H. Curtiss on the cover of Time magazine on October 13, 1924 Glenn Hammond Curtiss (May 21, 1878 – July 23, 1930) was an aviation pioneer and founder of the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company, now part of Curtiss-Wright Corporation. ... Alexander Graham Bell (March 3, 1847–August 2, 1922) was a scientist, inventor, and founder of the Bell Telephone Company, known as the father of the telephone. ... The Aerial Experiment Association (AEA) was formed in 1907 under the tutelage of Dr. Alexander Graham Bell. ...


During World War I and II, many navies used seaplanes for reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare. Most battleships carried one or two catapult-launched seaplanes to spot targets over the horizon for the big guns, or to fight off enemy reconnaissance planes. The failure of the Bismarck's Arado 196 seaplane to hunt down a PBY Catalina reconnaissance aircraft is said to have led to Bismarck's destruction. However, seaplanes are mostly considered obsolete for military purposes. Seaplanes would seem an obvious choice for military aircraft at sea, but there are good reasons why aircraft carriers and planes that cannot land on water are the choice of the military. Seaplanes tend to have mediocre aerodynamics because of the air drag and mass of the floats. They can land on water, but their carrier ship must stop to pick them up. In a battle, stopping is never a good idea. Moreover, large ships need a long time and much space to slow down and make a rendezvous with a small plane. World War I was primarily a European conflict with many facets: immense human sacrifice, stalemate trench warfare, and the use of new, devastating weapons - tanks, aircraft, machineguns, and poison gas. ... World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons like the atom bomb. ... U.S. Navy supercarrier USS Nimitz on November 3, 2003. ... Mixed reconaissance patrol of the Polish Home Army and the Soviet Red Army during Operation Tempest, 1944 Reconnaissance is the military term for the active gathering of information about an enemy, or other conditions, by physical observation. ... Anti-submarine warfare is a term referring to warfare directed against submarines. ... HMS Victory in 1884 In naval history, battleships were the most heavily armed and armored warships afloat. ... Bismarck was a German battleship during World War II. She was named after Otto von Bismarck and is famous for sinking HMS Hood in 1941, and for the subsequent pursuit which ended with her destruction just three days later. ... The Ar 196 was a shipboard reconnaissance aircraft built by Arado starting in 1936. ... The PBY Catalina (aka PBY Canso) was the definitive air-sea rescue aircraft of the 1930s and 1940s. ...


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  Results from FactBites:
 
Untitled Document (171 words)
The use of sea planes to get to surf spots is dramatically revolutionizing the sport.
Boats are very slow compared to sea planes, and they only allow a surfer to check out a few spots.
Billabong announced their production of the Billabong clipper, a sea plane built to transport surfing's elite around the globe in search of new spots.
Spennemann, Japanese Sea Plane Operations in the Marshall Islands (1314 words)
The lagoon is usually clam enough to permit unrestricted landing and take-off of larger flying boats, and so it is not surprising that the lagoons were used as seaplane bases first by civilian and later by military aviation.
The planes were equipped with communications and small anti-submarine bombs.
Spennemann, Dirk H.R. (1992 [2000]) Japanese Sea Plane Operations in the Marshall Islands.
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