First successful flight of a seaplane-like craft
(towed kite): 1905
First actual seaplane flight: 1910, the Hydravion
First flying boat flight: 1912
First amphibian flight: 1913, Glenn Curtiss, Model D
First large-scale production seaplane: Felixstowe F.5 (100 produced during WWI)
Number of Curtiss NC-4s that in 1919 attempted the first Atlantic crossing: 4
Number that succeeded: 1
Years that seaplanes were fastest aircraft in the world: 12 (1927-1939)
World record in 1934 set by Macchi M.C.72 seaplane: 440.5 mph
Years record as fastest aircraft stood: 5
Years as fastest piston-powered seaplane: 82 (1934-present)
Length of time it took mail to get from Australia to England in 1930: one month
Length of time via Short C-23 seaplane: 16 days
Problem created by this advance: Letter writing soon exceeded plane’s capacity
Most engines on a seaplane: Dornier Do X, 10 of 615 hp each
Top speed of Do X: 131 mph
Passenger capacity: 100
Number produced: 3
Fate of last Do X: Destroyed by British air raid in 1943
First successful transoceanic flying boat transport: Boeing 314 Clipper
Passenger capacity: 74
Maximum speed: 210 mph
Length of crossing San Francisco to Hong Kong: 6 days
Duration of Clipper’s air transport career: 3 years (ended by WWII)
World’s only double seaplane: Short Mayo Composite (Short S.20 on top of a Short S.21)
Reason for design: S.20 too heavy to take off unassisted
Largest seaplane ever: Hughes H-4 Hercules
Nickname: Spruce Goose
Primary construction material: Plywood
Wingspan of H-4: 322 feet
Maximum takeoff weight: 400,000 lbs.
Cruise speed: 250 mph
Number of flights: 1 (disputed if it really “flew”)
Most produced seaplane: Consolidated PBY Catalina
Number built: 3,305
First jet seaplane: Saunders-Roe SR.A/1
Number constructed: 3 (2 lost in accidents during testing)
Top speed of SR.A/1: approximately 445 mph
Fastest jet seaplane ever: Convair F2Y Sea Dart
Top speed of Sea Dart: 825 mph (only supersonic seaplane)
Number built: 4
Number that survive: 4
Busiest seaplane base: Lake Hood, Anchorage, Alaska
Average daily operations: 190
Number of float slips there: 500
Waiting list to get a slip: 10 years (more than 300 on waiting list)
Most produced civil seaplane (flying boat): Lake LA-4
Number produced: More than 1,000
Seaplane pilots who trained at Jack Brown’s in Winter Haven, Florida: 20,000, since its inception in 1963
Current cost of the course in J-3 Cub: Approximately $1,400
