An air transport mode using powered fixed-wing aircraft able to take off from and land on open water instead of a paved runway. Frenchman Henri Fabre flew the first successful seaplane, his Gnome Omega-powered Fabre Hydravion, on 28 March 1910, and flying boats went on to dominate long-distance international aviation through the 1930s and 1940s, carrying passengers and mail across oceans and into regions with no land-based airport at all. The mode declined sharply after the Second World War as paved runways spread worldwide and conventional land-based airliners proved faster and cheaper to operate, though seaplanes still serve remote coastal and island communities and specialized charter routes today. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Core ConcernLanding and taking off from open water on a fixed-wing aircraft instead of a paved runway 1 Connections
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Seaplane
WikipediaIntroduction
A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting) on water.
Overview
Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their technological characteristics: floatplanes and flying boats; the latter are generally far larger and can carry far more.
History
Aviation's earliest pioneers looked to bodies of water to serve as runways for take-offs and landings, a practice that began in earnest in the 1910s.
- In Category: Modes
- Part Of: Aviation
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