Pilots And Planes: Floatplanes

Showing posts with label Floatplanes. Show all posts

Monday, 25 May 2020

Boats in the Sky: The Era of Flying Boats

Back in the 1930s before the start of the Second World War if you wanted to fly long distances, the flying boat was the king of the skies. Very few cities had paved runways capable of accommodating massive large aircraft before WWII. But after the war, the infrastructure advantage of flying boats – the ability to operate heavy aircraft without long runways – was no longer relevant.
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Dornier Flying Boats Are Coming Back
Before World War II, Dornier Aircraft built huge flying boats capable of crossing oceans nonstop. Roughly one-thousand seaplanes have borne the Dornier name, such as the Dornier Wal and the 12-engine powered DO X. The flying boat business ended for Dornier — and soon for everybody else — after the war, but the knowledge and heritage of seaplanes stayed in the family. When fiberglass became a viable material for building boats and flying boats, Dornier realized what this material could do to make seaplanes practical, and the Seastar concept was born.

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100-Year Heritage of Dornier Flying Boats
Because the Seastar was originally certified in Europe, the basic airframe will be built there, as the authorities are familiar and comfortable with the process. The location of the Seastar Company headquarters where final assembly will take place has not yet been determined but will probably be in Florida or in Alabama.

The Seastar airplane already has a type certificate and the management is realistic about the pace at which production can be accelerated. The Seastar is one nice boat that flies today.

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Boing 314 Flying Boats
By building a flying boat, Boeing produced a long-range plane that could land anywhere, providing the destination had a sheltered bay. Another key to the aircraft/boat was that in conditions where poor visibility would have prevented a conventional aircraft from landing, the Boeing 314 could land out at sea and then taxi into the harbor.

Produced between 1938 and 1941, the Boeing 314 flying boat achieved more than any other aircraft of its time flying from the US to the UK, Ireland, the Philippines, Guam, Australia, and New Zealand. 9 of 12 Boeing 314s built entered service with Pan Am. In total 12 aircraft were produced at the Boeing factory in Seattle, WA, with nine entering services for Pan American World Airways. They were called 'Clippers'. Pan American’s flying boats were the pinnacle of leisure travel at the time.

Built for luxury air travel due to the duration of transoceanic flights, seats on the Pan Am Clippers could be converted into beds for overnight accommodation. One of the huge differences between then and aircraft we are used to today was the fact that Pam Am Clippers had a cruising speed of just 188 miles per hour - as opposed to the 560 miles per hour of a Boeing 777.

By the time the war ended in 1945 the need to land aircraft on the water was superfluous as aircraft could now land on concrete runways that were built to handle heavy bombers. The last Pan American Airways World Airways Clipper retired in 1946 after having flown more than a million miles, ending what many consider to be one of the greatest eras of aviation.
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Martin Mars Flying Boats
The largest flying boats ever flew operationally—the World War II-era Martin JRM Mars—are being put up for sale. The aircraft served the US Navy until the mid-1950s, after which they were acquired as surplus by a Canadian company that modified them for firefighting operations. After already performing decades of air tanker service, they were bought by Canada’s Coulson Flying Tankers Inc., in 2007.

Originally, the Mars, which has a wingspan of 200 feet and a max takeoff weight of 165,000 pounds, was designed as cargo transport and patrol aircraft and was the largest allied seaplane built during World War II. In total, only seven of the big flying boats were built, with just two surviving today: the Hawaii Mars II and the Philippine Mars.
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Grumman Flying Boats
Grumman utility seaplanes have been admired and used since 1938 - with its major and minor "modern features" already present from then. In addition to the Widgeon and Goose the company also built the G-73 Mallard with luxurious seating for two crew and ten passengers. Albatross used primarily in air-sea rescue work. All of these amphibious flying boats shared the characteristic high engine placement designed to minimize propeller contact with damaging water spray. The design of the boats gave them sturdiness and low center of gravity, allowing them to operate in conditions that would have been disastrous for floatplanes.
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Flying Boats vs. Seaplanes
A flying boat is as it says in the name, a boat that can fly. It must satisfy many of the same requirements for performance, efficiency, strength, and reliability as a landplane.
In addition, they must possess some qualities of a boat in the water and some qualities unique to the flying boat itself. Built around a single hull which serves as the planes floatation device, a flying boat takes off and lands on its fuselage. They must be seaworthy, maneuverable, and stable on the water and have low water and air drag.

In contrast, a seaplane or floatplane, as they are often called, is a pontoon-based plane that has floats instead of having wheels attached to it. This means that the aircraft’s body, unlike a flying boat, never touches the water. And then there are the amphibians...

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TO LIVE IS TO FLY
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TRAUMBERUF PILOT?
Piloten Ausbildung, Jobsuche und Berufsalltag
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Thursday, 8 August 2019

Rare Floatplane Gatherings in Europe

Seaplanes in Switzerland
This was a premiere in the small community of Weggis near Lucerne on Lake Lucerne in the heart of Switzerland. Although seaplanes have a long tradition in Switzerland, they are still severely restricted. Since the 1950s, seaplane flying has no longer been possible in Switzerland except with the special permission of a plane for Lake Zurich. Only at a handful of events may SPAS members take off or land on lakes in German- and French-speaking Switzerland.

The temporary "Tower" is just a tent on the promenade of Weggis. Several pilots of the organizer, the Seaplane Pilots Association Switzerland, or SPAS for short, are seated there in a relaxed atmosphere. They have all the latest weather and aviation information available around the lake. They are therefore in radio contact with the seaplane pilots and provide them with the necessary information.

But it also means for pilots to take special care. Because of this hot day, excursion boats, sport boats, or water sports enthusiasts can appear from anywhere on Lake Lucerne.

Amphibian floats can also be used to extend a wheel landing gear so that the aircraft can take off and land on water as well as on asphalt or grass runways.

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Air Challenge at Lake Wolfgang-Austria

For ten years the Scalaria Air Challenge had already landed seaplanes at Lake Wolfgang. With the introduction and opening of a free "Public Viewing", it became a big event with several thousand visitors. They marveled not only at Seaplanes but also at aerobatic planes, helicopters and military aircraft, including the historic "Super Conny" passenger plane.

Until 2015 these floatplanes, among others, participated:

Piper PA-18-150 Super Cub
Cessna U206G Stationair 6
Maule
De Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver
Cessna Reims Rocket
Aviat A-1C Husky
Dornier DO 24 flying boat

Unfortunately, a large part of the air show was no longer approved, the event is now called "Flying Opera", and more an evening show.

This year even John Travolta came
He is not only an actor but also an enthusiastic pilot and was awarded the Living Legend Award years ago. As an ambassador for the organization, he presented the prizes at the gala.

"Twelve years ago, together with the Flying Bulls, we organized a seaplane meeting at Lake Wolfgang for the first time," says project manager Schenk and explains how the contacts to Hollywood came about.

On 19 July 2019, a gala and the "Flying Opera" took place at Lake Wolfgang. They wanted to organize a European offshoot of the "Living Legends of Aviation" gala. On the meadows of the Kalvarienberg in St. Wolfgang a public viewing zone was established.
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Lake Como, Northern Italy, Seaplane Flying Base

Author Alex Easthope wrote:
"Forget a Lamborghini Miura, a classic Moto Guzzi, or a gleaming Riva Aquarama — the only way to arrive at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, and truly embrace the majesty and allure of Lake Como, is by seaplane…"
Orson Welles, Winston Churchill, Gianni Versace, and George Clooney. Lake Como and its fabulous surrounding mountainous landscape, studded with quaint villages, opulent villas, and grand hotels, has been a destination for the glitterati for hundreds of years.
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Since almost a hundred years, the Aero Club Como, the longest continually operating seaplane base in Europe, offers floatplane training, floatplane rental (for licensed pilots) and sightseeing tours.

Have a seat in one of the open-air restaurants and watch the floatplanes taking off and arriving at the base. Europe’s only seaplane flying school is a daring and romantic affair on Lake Como, where the atmosphere is cosmopolitan, the training is combined with convivial excursions and the aircraft are considered an art form.

“Flying a seaplane demands the skills of a pilot, a sailor, and an explorer,” says pilot Cesare Baj, author of a seaplane manual.

https://www.aeroclubcomo.com/Home/tabid/36/language/en-US/Default.aspx

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