The Rise and Fall (and Rise?) of the Military Seaplane
Once seen as the future of aviation, seaplanes are now mostly forgotten relics of early aviation. But a new monster seaplane suggests these aquatic aircraft aren’t dead yet.
By Alex Hollings
Nov 22, 2020
At 10:18 a.m. local time on July 26, 2020, a massive amphibious aircraft pressed its hull through the waters of the Yellow Sea. Called the AVID AG600 "Kunlong" (which roughly translates to "fish dragon"), the seaplane’s four powerful WJ-6 turboprop engines soon whirled with enough force to drag the 121-foot aircraft, and its 100,000 pound airframe, up and out of the water—held aloft by its impressive 128-foot wingspan.
The Chinese-made aircraft, now officially the largest amphibious aircraft in the world, bears a striking resemblance to the aerial-aquatic mammoths of a bygone era, when flying boats and float planes seemed like the future of aviation. While World War II—and its massive infrastructure boom of land-based airstrips—delivered the killing blow to that future, the AVID AG600 suggests the idea is far from dead.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a34522805/military-seaplanes/
