Amphibians

Amphibians, designed to land on both water and dry land, are more versatile than regular seaplanes and land-based planes. They are useful in remote regions such as northern Canada and Siberia in Russia, where there are plenty of bays, lakes, and rivers but few cities with airports. Amphibians were as pop­ular as land-based planes during the early years of aviation.

Amphibious airplanes continue to be useful for many tasks. One of the most enduring designs was the Canadian – built Noorduyn Norseman (1935), which is basically a very tough, high-wing
monoplane that could be fitted with wheels, floats, or skis (for snow and ice). Canada also produced the Canadair CL-215 (1966). This aircraft, still used today, was designed as a firefighting amphibian. It has two 600-gallon (2,271- liter) tanks for water scooped up while flying low over a lake or river and then dumped over wildfires. The Grumman Albatross (1947) also has enjoyed a long career as an amphibian, used by the U. S. Air Force and U. S. Coast Guard.

N

SEE ALSO:

• Aircraft, Commercial • Aircraft, Military • Curtiss, Glenn • Hughes, Howard • World War II

_____________________________________________ /