Making a splash
Still going strong
Often associated
with the Golden Age of flying in the 1930s, seaplanes have recently been
staging a comeback with an increasing number of new operators, designs and
applications. BILL READ FRAeS reports
Mention the word ‘seaplanes’ and
many people think back to the long-gone days of the 1930s when companies such
as Imperial Airways flew passengers around the world in luxury flying boats.
However, recent years have seen renewed interest in the use of flying boats for
a variety of applications, including recreational flying, tourist sightseeing
flights, private and commercial transport, air sea rescue, firefighting and providing
vital transport links to remote communities. There have also been initiatives
to use seaplanes for military operations and even a proposal for transatlantic
commercial flights.
Land and water
Seaplanes can be categorised into
aircraft that can only take-off and land on water and amphibians that can
operate from both land and water. Some seaplanes are derivatives of land
aircraft fitted with floats while others are ‘flying boats’ designed with
specially shaped hulls which are an integral part of their design. Flying boats
are able to operate in rougher water and said to be more stable than
floatplanes.
Modern manufacturers
The most widely used type of
seaplanes are small aircraft which are either variants of popular GA designs or
specially designed sport or light aircraft. There also a variety of customised
designs. One established manufacturer of seaplanes is Idaho-based Quest
aircraft which produces the single-engine Quest Kodiak. First delivered to
customers in 2007, the 10-seat Kodiak is designed to be easily adaptable from a
land to an amphibious float plane without structural upgrades. Another popular
seaplane is the amphibious version of the Cessna Caravan made by US
manufacturer Textron Aviation.
There has also been a revival in
older designs. In 2007, Canadian manufacturer Viking Air announced the restart
of production of the discontinued de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter. Fitted
with new engines the 19-passenger STOL (short take-off and landing) Series 400
Viking Air DHC-6 Twin Otter utility aircraft has the option of being configured
as a water-only or amphibious floatplane. To date, over 100 of the Series 400
version of the aircraft have been sold.
In 2017, German manufacturer Dornier
Seawings rolled out its new Seastar advanced amphibious aircraft. Powered by
two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT-6 turboprops mounted fore and aft above the
wing, the all-composite aircraft will have a maximum cruising speed of 180kt.
Fitted with tricycle landing gear and fuel tanks in the sponsons, the interior
of the Seastar can be configured for 12-seat commercial, 9-seat corporate or
government or seven-seat VIP missions. Jointly developed by Dornier Seawings in
Germany and Dornier Seawings China, the fuselage and wings of the Seastar are
to be manufactured by Diamond Aircraft in Canada with final assembly to to
carried out first in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany and later in Wuxi in China.
First flight of the Seastar is scheduled for the first half of 2019 with type
certification to follow in 2020.
In France, Lisa Airplanes is
developing the Akoya amphibious aircraft which it claims will be able to operate
from land, water and snow. Powered by a single turboprop fitted to the tail,
the Akoya is fitted with ‘Seafoils’ fins beneath the fuselage, giving the
aircraft the ability to glide on the water like a hydrofoil. The aircraft’s
wings can be folded and the empennage detached to allow the aircraft to be
stored in small spaces or transported by trailer. Following the first flight of
the prototype aircraft in 2007, progress on the project has been slow but,
following a $20m investment from Chinese investors in 2013, a second prototype
was flown last year.
An additional new seaplane design is
the US-made Icon 5A single-engine amphibious light sport aircraft. First flown
in 2008, the first production version of the Icon 5A took to the skies in 2014.
However, the project suffered a number of setbacks last year with no fewer than
three accidents, two of which were fatal, one of which killed the company’s
chief test pilot.
Another company which experienced
problems developing a seaplane is Sea Air Composites which was working on the
four-seat composite Seawind 3000 featuring a single-engine fitted to the
leading edge of the vertical tailfin. The programme encountered a series of
delays following the crash of the prototype Canadian-built aircraft in 2007. A
new test aircraft was rolled out in 2010 but experienced more problems during
flight tests. In 2012, production of the aircraft was moved to the US after a
financial dispute with the Canada Revenue Agency. Further delays were
experienced during certification testing, including the crash of the second
prototype aircraft in 2014. In December 2016 the company announced that it
needed to raise an additional $100m to complete flight certification and begin
production, after which no new information has been released.
Sightseeing and charter
One of the most popular use for
modern small seaplanes is for fun. In addition to their use by private pilots,
there are a number of commercial operators around the world which offer
seaplanes for tourist sightseeing flights. These include the Aero Club at Lake
Como which is also host to a seaplane flight training school which has
been in operation since 1913.
Hai Au Aviation in Vietnam (which is
run by the Thein Minh Group travel and hospitality company) operates charter
and tourist seaplane flights from Hanoi using a fleet of three 12-seat Cessna
Caravan 208B-EX amphibians. The aircraft can operate on land from Noi Bai
Airport and sea in Halong Bay.
Another Cessna Caravan 208 operator
is UAE company Seawings Dubai which flies luxury sightseeing flights over Dubai
and Abu Dhabi. Its fleet of three nine-seat aircraft operate from Dubai Creek
where Imperial Airways seaplanes used to fly in the 1930s.
The UK has its own seaplane operator
with Scottish company Loch Lomond Seaplanes which operates a Cessna 208 Caravan
on tourist flights around Loch Lomond and the Trossachs. Prestwick in Scotland
is also the location of a seaplane training centre which offers EASA SEP (Sea)
class rating using a Cessna FR172F fitted with Wipline amphibious floats.
In Australia, Sydney Seaplanes
offers scenic flights over locations close to Sydney Harbour. First started in
2005, the company is now the largest seaplane operator in Australia, flying a
fleet of five de Havilland Beavers and Cessna Caravans from its Seaplane
Terminal in Rosebay - a location also used by Imperial Airways Empire flying
boats. Sadly, Sydney Seaplanes was recently in the headlines for the wrong
reasons after one of its crashed while attempting to land into the Hawkesbury
River, near Sydney on 31 December, killing the pilot and all five passengers.
It was the company’s first accident in 22 years.
Linking remote communities
Canadian operator
Harbour Air operates scheduled seaplane services across British Columbia.(Harbour Air
Seaplanes)
However, seaplanes are not limited
to sightseeing flights but can also provide commercial transport links to
remote areas. These can either be island archipelagos or inland areas where
there are no airports but plenty of lakes. There have also been a number of
national initiatives where governments are attempting to promote the use of
seaplanes as part of a larger transport network.
In Canada, seaplane operator Harbour
Air flies a fleet of de Havilland single Otters, Twin Otters and Beavers on
scheduled services to nine destinations in British Columbia. However, some of
the more northern services do not operate in the winter due to the lakes being
frozen.
Located in the Indian Ocean, the
Republic of Maldives is made up of 1,200 coral islands, making it an ideal
location for seaplane operations. Local operator Trans Maldavian Airlines (TMA)
claims to have the world’s largest seaplane fleet with a fleet of 48 Twin
Otters. In 2016 TMA carried close to 1m passengers on over 120,000 flights.
Seaplane activity in the Maldives looks set to expand. Setouchi Holdings (the
parent company of seaplane manufacturer Quest Aircraft) has entered a
joint-venture agreement with Island Aviation Services to launch a new seaplane
operation. Operated by the Maldives government Island Aviation Services
operates both large commercial aircraft and seaplanes. Named Sky Atoll Private,
the new JV company would initially operate four Quest Kodiak 100s fitted with
Aerocet 6750 straight floats.
Indian low-cost carrier SpiceJet and
Setouchi Holdings Seaplane in Japan recently ran trials at Girgaum Chowpatty
off Mumbai’s coast to look at the feasibility of using seaplanes to connect
Mumbai with cities in western India which have no airports but where water
landings are possible. The plan depends on the suitability of stretches of open
water to use for take-offs and landings, as well as investment into
infrastructure such as floating jetties. If the economics looks feasible,
SpiceJet could invest up to $400m to acquire up to 100 small Kodiak amphibious
aircraft from Setouchi Holdings to feed into its existing network from remote
areas. The Indian government is interested in the venture with Indian Prime
Minister Narendra Modi taking a flight in December in Gujarat flying from the
Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad to Dharoi Dam in a Spice Jet-acquired Kodiak
seaplane.
There have been earlier attempts to
operate seaplanes in India but the businesses failed to make a profit. In
2011, a seaplane service was started by Mehair in the Andaman and Nicobar islands
with different fares for islanders and the tourists but it was not became
financially viable. A further proposal in 2014 to start a seaplane service
connecting Mumbai to tourist destinations in the Western Ghats also failed to
take-off. A seaplane service was also started in 2013 in Kerala but commercial
operations were opposed by local fishermen.
In November last year a series of
test flights were conducted at the Greek island of Corfu to investigate the
practicality of establishing seaplane flights in Greece. The test flights
involved a 10-seat Quest Kodiak which performed a series of take-offs and
landings from the port of Corfu and destinations at other Ionian islands. The
flights were conducted by seaplane base management organisation Water Airports,
in collaboration with K2 Smart Jets and the Japanese groups Setouchi Holdings
and Mitsui. Water Airports has obtained licences for three seaplane bases at
Corfu, Paxi and Patras and is hoping to add 34 more bases in island and coastal
areas in the Ionian Sea, Crete, Cyclades, Dodecanese, Saronic Gulf, the
Peloponnese and Attica. The company plans are to begin regular flights from
Corfu this Spring, using a 10-seat and a 19-seat seaplane. The aircraft could
also be converted for medical evacuation missions.
In Japan, Hiroshima-based Setouchi
Seaplanes operates chartered and sightseeing flights from Onomichi Floating
Port using a fleet of amphibious Kodiak 100s. Japan’s sole seaplane operator,
Setouchi Seaplanes, announced plans in September to begin flights between the
Sanin and Sanyo regions. The company conducted a trial flight in July carrying
seven passengers on a round trip from Lake Nakaumi along the Shimane Peninsula
facing the Sea of Japan. Setouchi Seaplanes hopes eventually to expand its
services to cover the whole of Japan.
For and against
The use of seaplanes is not always
welcomed by local communities. Californian company, Seaplane Adventures, which
provides sightseeing tours of the San Francisco area and air charter services,
ran into trouble last year following noise complaints from residents who called
for restrictions on the company’s number of daily flights and use of an inlet.
However, a public hearing of the Marin County Planning Commission held in
September voted to assist the company to continue flying.
Meanwhile, residents of Hebgen Lake
in Southern Montana are opposing plans from operator Yellowstone Seaplanes to
land seaplanes in the lake due to concerns over noise and disturbance to
fishing.
In Montana, seaplane operators have
been accused of spreading aquatic invasive species (AIS) across the lakes they
operate in. However, the Montana Seaplane Pilot Association (MSPA), together
with the Seaplane Pilot Association (SPA) and the Washington regional
association of seaplane pilots, have countered the accusations, pointing out
that there are fewer than 300 seaplanes operating in the state, compared to 68,000
registered motorboats and an estimated 78,000 paddle craft. Any contaminated
water that leaks into seaplane floats can be pumped out and contained while any
water outside the floats will kill any AIS by dehydration.
Sometimes, state legislation has been
introduced to promote seaplane use. In Ohio, local officials announced in 2016
that the state would take steps to allow seaplane access to more bodies of
water. In Michigan the state Senate is considering introducing legislation
which would protect the state’s ‘open water’ policy and allowed seaplane access
to public waters where they have been subject to restrictions by local
municipalities.
Seaplanes gather at the Tavares Seaplane Base. (City of Tavares)
However, there are some communities
which not only welcome seaplanes but actively promote them. The city of Tavares
in central Florida has rebranded itself as ‘America’s Seaplane City’ and is
actively encouraging and promoting the use of seaplanes. Tavares has the
advantage for seaplane operators that it is surrounded by lakes which do not
freeze in winter. Visitors to the city can enjoy seaplane scenic rides, day
trips and pilot training. Tourists are also encouraged to visit the city’s own
seaplane manufacturer, Progressive Aerodyne, which produces the Searey
amphibious flying boat in either kit or finished form. There is even a
specialist seaplane shop - the Prop Shop - which sells seaplane baseball caps,
mugs, toys, tees, jewelry and scale models. Non-seaplane activities also
include gliding, fishing, boating and golf. Tavares holds two ‘fun seaplane
splash-ins’ every spring and autumn - the most recent of which was postponed
due to damage from Hurricane Irma in September 2017 but which was still held in
November.
Seaplanes to the rescue
Several countries manufacturer
larger seaplanes which can be used in a variety of specialist roles, among
which are water bombers, air-sea rescue, maritime patrol and military
transport. Amphibious water bomber are particularly adept at fighting forest
fires as they have the advantage that they do not have to land at an airport to
be filled with water but can skim over lakes and refill quickly while still
flying. Until recently, Canadian manufacturer Bombardier produced the
twin-engine Bombardier 415 amphibious waterbomber which was first developed in
1993 by Canadair as the CL-415. However, the aircraft was not considered to be
a core business and Bombardier sold the type certificate for the CL-415 to
Vikingair in 2016, although no new versions have been produced since 2015.
CL-415s are in operation in Canada, Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Malaysia,
Morocco, Spain and the USA.
Another specialist use is air-sea
rescue. Seaplanes have a longer range than helicopters and have the advantage
over fixed-wing land-based aircraft that they can land on water to rescue
survivors. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force operates the four engine
ShinMaywa US-2 air-sea rescue amphibian which can carry up to 20 passengers
over distances of 4,700km. The Indian Navy and Coast Guard is considering
acquiring the US-2.
Military giant
Transatlantic future?
PIC - Two illustrations from the future Large airliners paper showing three-engine blended wing body seaplane design for 200 passengers with a range of 5,600km (left) and a seven-engine design for 2.000 passengers with a range of 15,000km. (Levis and Serghides)
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