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production volumes to pay for the development and production of the small number of aircraft operated from the water. Additionally, on all but the largest seaplanes, floatplane wings usually offer more clearance over obstacles, such as docks, reducing the difficulty in loading while on the water. A typical single engine flying boat is unable to bring the hull alongside a dock for loading while most floatplanes are able to do so.
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is not in contact with water, which simplifies production by not having to incorporate the compromises necessary for water tightness, general impact strength and the hydroplaning characteristics needed for the aircraft to leave the water. Attaching floats to a landplane also allows for much larger
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and land-based aircraft, military seaplanes have stopped being used. This, coupled with the increased availability of civilian airstrips, has greatly reduced the number of flying boats being built. However, many modern civilian aircraft have floatplane variants, most offered as third-party
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in rough water: a long central float is directly attached to the fuselage, this being the strongest part of the aircraft structure, while the smaller floats under the outer wings provide the aircraft with lateral stability. By comparison, dual floats restrict handling, often to
277:"single float" designs, in which a single large float is mounted directly underneath the fuselage, with smaller stabilizing floats underneath the wingtips, on planes like the
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and weight, rendering floatplanes slower and less manoeuvrable during flight, with a slower rate of climb, than aircraft equipped with wheeled landing gear. Nevertheless,
283:"twin float" designs, with two main floats mounted side by side outboard of the fuselage. Some early twin float designs had additional wingtip stabilizing floats.
270:, not least because water takeoffs permitted longer takeoff runs which allowed greater optimization for high speed compared to contemporary airfields.
209:(STC), although there are several aircraft manufacturers that build floatplanes from scratch. These floatplanes have found their niche as one type of
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basis (including pleasure flights), provide scheduled service, or be operated by residents of the area for private, personal use.
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uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, making the vehicle an
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devoted to floatplanes attracted much attention during the 1920s and 1930s, most notably in the form of the
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as little as one foot (0.3 metres) in height. However, twin float designs facilitate
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Floatplanes allow access to most remote aquatic locations
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James M. Triggs (Winter 1971). "Floatplane Flying".
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406:"Will a Lake Be Your Postwar Landing Field?"
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308:– leave the belly free to carry a
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200:and the advent of helicopters, advanced
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168:mounted under the fuselage to provide
144:de Havilland Canada DHC-3T Turbo Otter
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425:Floatplanes
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333:References
220:See also:
211:bush plane
158:floatplane
116:April 2008
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264:air races
253:U.S. Navy
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316:See also
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