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Amphibious Encyclopedia · Hovercraft and aircraft

Amphibious aircraft

An amphibious aircraft, or amphibian, can take off from and land on both water and ordinary runways [1][2]. It is a seaplane, either a flying boat or a floatplane, fitted with wheels that retract for water operations [1][2]. Well-known examples include the Grumman Albatross rescue amphibian, the Canadair CL-215 and CL-415 water bombers, and the ICON A5 light sport aircraft [3][4][8].

  • Hovercraft and aircraft
  • 1910s to present
  • Worldwide

Floatplanes, flying boats and amphibians

"Seaplane" is the general term for an aircraft that can land, float and take off on water [1]. There are two basic layouts. A floatplane is essentially a landplane with floats, or pontoons, in place of wheels, while in a flying boat the fuselage itself is a boat-shaped hull [1]. Both use a stepped bottom; as speed builds, the aircraft rises onto the step so that little of it is in contact with the water during the takeoff run [1]. Single-hull flying boats need wingtip floats or short stub wings called sponsons to stay upright, while twin-float aircraft do not [1].

An amphibian is either type with retractable landing wheels added, so it can also use land runways [1][2]. Britannica credits Glenn Curtiss, who built the first practical seaplanes in the United States in 1911 and 1912, with this addition as well [1]. Amphibious floatplanes usually fold their wheels into the floats, while amphibious flying boats retract them into the hull or sponsons [2]. Seaplanes that carry only beaching wheels or dollies, which are not built to absorb a landing, are not true amphibians [2].

The landing gear adds weight, drag and complexity, so an amphibian is usually heavier, slower and more expensive to buy and run than a comparable landplane [2]. Pilots must confirm the position of the wheels before every landing. Touching down on water with the wheels extended will almost always flip the aircraft, and landing on a runway with them retracted damages the hull [2].

History

Seaplanes set many of the early range and endurance records. In 1919 the US Navy's NC-4 flying boat made the first crossing of the North Atlantic, by way of the Azores, and by the late 1920s the largest and fastest aircraft in the world were seaplanes [1]. After World War II, longer-ranged landplanes and new airfields reduced their role [1]. Amphibians kept a place where both water and runways had to be used. Sikorsky built a family of amphibians from the mid-1920s, Grumman introduced the Goose and Widgeon in the late 1930s, and the Consolidated Catalina flying boat was developed into an amphibian during the war [2].

Grumman built 466 Albatross amphibians between September 1947 and May 1961 [3]. The US Coast Guard obtained 91 of them from May 1951 and flew them for more than 500,000 hours, mostly on search and rescue work, with a crew of four and room for 12 passengers or 12 stretcher cases [3]. In 1962 Coast Guard and Navy crews set several world records for amphibians in Coast Guard HU-16E number 7255, including a nonstop flight of 3,104 miles (4,995 km) from Kodiak, Alaska, to Pensacola, Florida [3]. The Coast Guard's last Albatross made its final landing on 10 March 1983 at Air Station Cape Cod, retiring the service's last true amphibian [3].

Water bombers

The Canadair CL-215 was designed from the start to fight forest fires, and Flight International described it as the first aircraft built with water bombing as its main role [5]. It first flew on 23 October 1967, and the first delivery went to France's civil protection agency in June 1969 [4][5]. Production of the piston-engined version continued until 1990, and about 125 were built [4][5]. It is an amphibious flying boat with hydraulically retracted landing gear, so it can operate from airports as well as lakes [5].

Instead of returning to an airport to reload, the aircraft skims across a lake or the sea with scoops lowered and refills its tanks on the move [5]. De Havilland Canada, which continues the line, says the CL-215 can scoop 5,436 liters (1,436 US gal) of water in 12 seconds [4]. The turboprop CL-415 followed, with production starting in 1993, and its tank holds 6,136 liters (1,621 US gal) [4][5]. The company is building an updated model it calls the De Havilland Canadair 515 [4].

Light sport amphibians: the ICON A5

The ICON A5 is a two-seat amphibious light sport aircraft with a carbon-fiber hull, a 100 hp Rotax 912 engine driving a pusher propeller, landing gear that retracts into sponsons, and wings that fold back for towing on a trailer [6][8]. The prototype flew on 9 July 2008 and the first production aircraft on 7 July 2014 [8]. US light sport rules capped amphibians at 1,430 lb (649 kg); in July 2013 the FAA allowed ICON up to 250 lb (113 kg) more so the A5 could carry a spin-resistant design with a larger wing and tail [6]. ICON raised the base price from $139,000 to $189,000 at that time [6].

AOPA reported that the first A5 built for a customer flew on 24 April 2015 at Tehachapi, California, and that production would take place in Vacaville, California [7]. Sources differ on whether regular customer deliveries began in 2015 or 2016, and about 221 had been built by December 2025 [8]. Other modern amphibians include the Russian Beriev Be-200 jet water bomber and the Japanese ShinMaywa US-2 search and rescue flying boat [2].

Sources

  1. Seaplane, Encyclopaedia Britannica (2026-11-08). www.britannica.com/technology/seaplane
  2. Amphibious aircraft, Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphibious_aircraft
  3. Grumman UF-1G/2G (later HU-16E) "Albatross" or "Goat", US Coast Guard Historian's Office (2020-03-24). www.history.uscg.mil/browse-by-topic/Aviation/Article/2122820/grumman-uf-1g2g-later-hu-16e-albatross-or-goat
  4. Ready to fight fires around the globe (Aerial firefighters), De Havilland Aircraft of Canada. dehavilland.com/aerial-firefighters
  5. Canadair CL-215, Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadair_CL-215
  6. Icon gets weight limit increase for up to 250 pounds, AOPA (2013-07-29). www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2013/july/29/icon-exemption
  7. Icon A5 nears delivery, AOPA (2015-05-11). www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2015/may/11/icon-a5-nears-delivery
  8. ICON A5, Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICON_A5

Last reviewed November 2026. Spotted something to correct or add? Tell us and include a source.

About the Amphibious Encyclopedia

WaterCar has designed and built amphibious vehicles in Southern California for more than 25 years. We keep this encyclopedia so anyone curious about vehicles that cross between land and water has one place to start, with the sources listed for every fact.

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