Flying Boats of the World
A Complete Reference
Sorted by Country & Date of Manufacture

 


Lockheed C130 Herc Amphib Concept
Pan Am's Miami Airport for Flying Boats
Bob Bailey's "Connie" Amphibian

 

Flying Boats Only - Pilot must sit in or on the hull

 

This Reference was compiled in the summer and fall of 2001
My intent here is to rationalize, categorize and generally make sense of the numerous flying boats of the world.

All of this information was compiled from the WWW - there is no original information here. However, this is the ONLY website that attempts to list ALL of the world's flying boats.

The WWW contains copious amounts of information about virtually all of the flying boats listed here so I didn't attempt to replicate specifications or descriptions. I also tried to reduce the use of "links" to other sites because links tend to disappear (broken) on a regular basis.

My criteria for inclusion in this listing:

  • the aeroplane had to have a boat-hull rather than floats.
  • the boat-hull had to be the main airframe fuselage with the pilot sitting in/on it.


    • I had some difficulty when I started to come across WIGs - Wing In Ground Effect vehicles. They look like an aeroplane but usually only fly a few feet high. On the other hand, some of them will go to 10,000 feet! I guess some WIGs really are aeroplanes, in the usual sense, but others are not. Apparently I'm not the only one wondering about these craft. They are illegal in Canada and the USA because the governments can't figure out if they are boats or aeroplanes! However, this website is for research (aircraft identification) and WIGs look like flying boats so I'll include at least a sampling of them.

    I found almost all of the photographs and information on the WWW. I didn't provide any credits but If a photograph had somebody's name on it I certainly didn't remove it. Actually, more than once I found identical photographs with different names on them. If anybody gets REALLY mad at me just let me know, I'll replace the photos with another.

    This website is a public service....nobody's making any money. Matter of fact I pay for it!

    Have fun with it.

    Aird Flavelle
    Abbotsford, B.C. Canada

    p.s. If you know of a flying boat that I missed (I don't believe it!) then please do let me know and I'll add it on. Might even give you credit!

     

    General Flying Boat References
    Canadian Seaplane Pilots Association
    (U.S.) Seaplane Pilots Association
    First Class Reference for American aeroplanes:
    AeroFiles logo
    		The first practical seaplane was constructed and flown by the American Glenn H. Curtiss in 1911 in the U.S.A.

    January 1, 1914: U.S.A.'s first regularly scheduled airline starts operation across Tampa Bay between Saint Petersburg and Tampa, Fla., with one Benoist (French) flying boat. It lasts three months.

     

     

    All Photographs have been compiled from the WWW
    Website donated by MSA Computer of Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada
    WebMaster: Aird@Flavelle.com
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    Last Update: 011104

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