Flying boats got their start at the turn of the last century when Henri Fabre in the French harbor of La Mede made the first successful flight in 1910 from a water take off in his ‘Hydravion’ traveling 1640 ft. at an altitude of 6.5 ft at about 34 mph. The flying boat quickly evolved to an enclosed hull structure capable of sustained flight with a payload, even weaponry by 1919 with the Curtis H-12. The flying boat came into it’s own into the 1930’s when Pan Am opened the Pacific to passenger flight. Imagine, there was no need to build a complicated infrastructure in remote areas of the world -- like airfield runways or control towers -- just a dock in a protected harbor and 20+ people could fly to a remote island up to 3,200 miles away. The zenith of the era was Pan American’s Martin 130 “China Clipper” c. 1936 was a flying boat 90 ft. long, powered by 4 – 850 hp. Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp fourteen cylinder radials, Wingspan: 130 ft., Take Off Weight 52,000 Lbs., and a Top Speed of 163 Mph. at 7,000 Ft.
Below is the Grumman G-44A “Super Widgeon” flying boat of the US Fish and Wildlife Service c. 1966. Engines: Two 270 hp. Lycoming ‘flat six’. Wing Span: 40 ft., Length: 31 ft., Take Off Weight: 5,500 lbs., Max. Speed 185 mph., Operational Ceiling: 18,000 Ft., Range: 1,000 miles.Attachment: Flying Boat.jpg (Downloaded 81 times)
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