Ultralight seaplanes
Ever find it interesting that mankind’s natural habitat is good old terra firma yet few among us do not crave both the skies and the sea? If you are one of those that longs for time spent soaring with the birds and sailing with the fishes, you need to know that you do not have to choose one over the other – an ultralight seaplane will afford you the answer to both dreams!
With ultralight seaplanes you generally take off and land on water, although a few called amphibians can do so on land or water. One such amphibian is the Storch Amphibian CL. With many ultralight seaplanes you can cruise along on either the water or in the air making them ideal for the enthusiast that just cannot stand the idea of being limited to one or the other.
When looking into ultralight seaplanes, also check out companies that predominately advertise their ultralight airplanes as some of them will also offer their airplane with floats making it a seaplane. One such company is well-known Quicksilver. Their GT-500 sport airplane is available on floats. Another option is the Challenger II which can be built with either regular landing gear, with floats or as an amphibious float plane.
Seaplanes fall under two categories – floatplanes and flying boats. Most seaplanes used today are floatplanes.
- Floatplanes (also called pontoon planes) have floats mounted under the fuselage in either a single float design or a twin float design.
- Flying Boats use a purpose-designed fuselage that floats.
Seaplanes have been produced all over the world by many different companies for a number of years. Some of America’s seaplanes date back to the early 1900’s, such as the various Boeing two-seat models from 1916 to 1918.
Today we see many rescue organizations such as coast guards and other professionals taking advantage of seaplanes. One such plane used is the Seawolf multipurpose amphibian which is capable of things such as:
- Search and Rescue
- Air Ambulance
- Surveillance
- Border or River Patrol
- Aerial Mapping or Photography
- Immigration Control
- Special Ops
Although such high-end aircrafts such as the Seawolf are not for the typical seaplane enthusiast, it is nice to know that seaplanes are used for such a variety of uses that there is reason for continued support of them including increasing technological improvements.
If you are considering looking into ultralights or light sport aircrafts, and seaplanes speak to your land and sea aspirations, then an ultralight seaplane may be just the thing for you. Even if you do not immediately run out and buy one, you can get a taste of it by taking a seaplane tour. Various companies offer scenic flights in these wonderful planes. One such company is in Miami, Florida. Miami Seaplane Tours currently offers the following tours:
- Miami Skyline – a 30 minute tour of the Miami skyline for $150 per passenger
- Ultimate Miami and Beaches – an hour tour of the Miami skyline as well as Key Biscayne, Coral Key and Boca Chita and more for $225 per passenger
- Miami and Fort Lauderdale Coastline – an hour tour of both the Miami skyline and Fort Lauderdale sites for $225 per passenger
- Everglades – a two hour tour starting with the Miami skyline and heading into the beautiful Florida Everglades for $350 per passenger
It is always nice to find out you can have your cake and eat it too – so fear not that you must choose between flight or fish, join the world of seaplanes today!