Amphibious aircraft
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An amphibious aircraft or amphibian is an
Design
Floatplanes often have floats that are interchangeable with wheeled landing gear (thereby producing a conventional land-based aircraft). However, in cases where this is not practical, amphibious floatplanes, such as the amphibious version of the DHC Otter, incorporate retractable wheels within their floats.
Many amphibian aircraft are of the
Some non-amphibious seaplanes may be mistaken for amphibians (such as the
Hazards
An occasional problem with amphibians is with ensuring the wheels are in the correct position for landing. In normal operation, the pilot uses a checklist, verifying each item. Since amphibians can land with them up or down though, the pilot must take extra care to ensure they are correct for the chosen landing place. Landing wheels up on land may damage the keel (unless done on wet grass, a technique occasionally used by pilots of pure flying boats), while landing wheels down on water will almost always flip the aircraft upside down, causing substantial damage.
Usage
Amphibious aircraft are heavier and slower, more complex and more expensive to purchase and operate than comparable landplanes. However, they are also more versatile. Even though they cannot hover or land vertically, they compete favorably with
History
In the United Kingdom, traditionally a maritime nation, a large number of amphibians were built between the wars, starting from 1918 with the Vickers Viking and the early 1920s Supermarine Seagull and were used for exploration and military duties including search and rescue, artillery spotting and anti-submarine patrol. These evolved throughout the interwar period to ultimately culminate in the post World War 2 Supermarine Seagull, which was to have replaced the wartime Walrus and the Sea Otter but was overtaken by advances in helicopters.
Starting in the mid-1920s and running into the late 1930s in the
) that were widely used for exploration and as airliners around the globe, helping pioneer many overseas air routes where the larger flying boats could not go, and helping to popularize amphibians in the US. TheDevelopment of amphibians was not limited to the United Kingdom and the United States. In any case, few designs saw more than limited service, as there was a widespread preference for pure flying boats and floatplanes, due to the weight penalty the undercarriage imposed. Russia also developed a number of important flying boats, including the widely used pre-war
Amphibious aircraft were particularly useful in the unforgiving terrain of Alaska and northern Canada, where many remain in civilian service, providing remote communities with vital links to the outside world. The Canadian Vickers Vedette was developed for forestry patrol in remote areas, previously a job that was done by canoe and took weeks could be accomplished in hours, revolutionizing forestry conservation. Although successful, flying boat amphibians like it ultimately proved less versatile than floatplane amphibians and are no longer as common as they once were. Amphibious floats that could be attached to any aircraft were developed, turning any aircraft into an amphibian, and these continue to be essential for getting into the more remote locations during the summer months when the only open areas are the waterways.
Despite the gains of amphibious floats, small flying boat amphibians continued to be developed into the 1960s, with the
With the increased availability of airstrips in remote communities, fewer amphibious aircraft are manufactured today than in the past, although a handful of amphibious aircraft are still produced, such as the
Development of amphibians has continued into the new millennium. The ShinMaywa US-2 was developed in the 2000s in Japan for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
See also
- Amphibious helicopter
- Amphibious vehicle
- List of flying boats and floatplanes
- Floatplane
- Flying boat
- Seaplane
- Tigerfish Aviation (retractable float)
- Unmanned aerial vehicle
References
- ^ "Grumman Mallard". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2018-10-16.