Comments on: Martin Sea Planes

By: Alan Little

Alan Little — Mon, 06 Sep 2004 08:49:25 +0000

In British usage, a “flying boat” has a boat-shaped hull/fuselage that it lands on; a seaplane looks like a normal plane on floats-on-stilts. Flying boats usually but not always much bigger. American usage may be different.

I believe the Hughes “Spruce Goose”, a flying boat, may still be the largest plane ever built. If not, then the Russian “Caspain Sea Monsters” might be – these were/are enormous flying boats with short stubby ground effect wings designed to skim just above the surface of the water. I read that Boeing have something similar on the drawing board as a high capacity fast military transport.

By: bobthebellbuoy

bobthebellbuoy — Mon, 06 Sep 2004 02:43:16 +0000

There is still a Marin Mars flying in British Columbia. It’s owned by a timber consortium and is used as a self loading water bomber. It’s an awsome machine, on land it’s towed around by the tractor of one of the largest logging trucks made. The airplane dwarfs the truck. This plane probably maxed out the seaplane technological limitations.

By: Michael Hiteshew

Michael Hiteshew — Sun, 05 Sep 2004 17:18:28 +0000

flying boats (not “sea planes”)

I worked at the facility where the China Clipper and the SeaMaster were built. The terms flying boat and sea plane were used interchangeably. To my knowledge, they still are.

makes it sound like [they] were hen’s teeth.

This was just something I found interesting. It wasn’t meant as a technical report or a comprehensive history.

By: j.scott barnard

j.scott barnard — Sun, 05 Sep 2004 15:48:26 +0000

I get a hard on (figuratively speaking) every time I see that plane. Love it. Although it's not as sexy as a Boeing 307 Stratoliner Clipper Flying Cloud - (Smithsonian)(Curious Lee)(Boeing)(Vance)

By: Fred Boness

Fred Boness — Sun, 05 Sep 2004 15:20:19 +0000

Indiana Jones was doing U.S. government work at the time. I’m sure taxpayers got the bill.

By: Angie Schultz

Angie Schultz — Sun, 05 Sep 2004 15:11:28 +0000

Recall that Indiana Jones took the Clipper to Asia in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Wonder who paid for his ticket?

By: Steven Den Beste

Steven Den Beste — Sun, 05 Sep 2004 15:04:47 +0000

This makes it sound like flying boats (not "sea planes") were hen's teeth. Actually, one of the big reasons they stopped making the ones mentioned was WWII, and the need for militarized flying boats. A lot of them are described here: PBY Catalina, PB4Y-1 Liberator, PB4Y-2 Privateer, PB2Y-5 Coronado, PBM Mariner.

By: Robin Goodfellow

Robin Goodfellow — Sun, 05 Sep 2004 12:40:21 +0000

Seaplanes are still fairly popular among private pilots. Such as the little 6 seater Grummun Widgeon. While were on the topic of seaplanes, I'm reminded that the Soviets once developed a massive jet powered sea plane transport designed to fly low over the water on ground effect. Googling... Ah, it was called the Ekranoplan and it was a beast if ever there was one.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 05 Sep 2004 08:34:54 +0000

When you get tired of a big jet flying boat, climb into your single-seater Convair Sea Dart, another fascinating direction that aviation did not take. Though navy politics were supposedly the reason for the demise of American military seaplanes, I would think technical issues were a much larger problem then than now.

http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/performance/q0190.shtml