Seaplane Design - A Forgotten Art

A seaplane gives the ultimate freedom of flight with theoretically endless take-off and alighting possibilities along the coast, on lakes and rivers – and not to forget on the open seas. The design of seaplanes is based on the knowledge of aircraft design and speedboat design. The craft must meet buoyancy and lift requirements. Hydrostatic and -dynamic stability has to be matched with the longitudinal and lateral static and dynamic stability in the air. The structure has to withstand water and air loads. Crucial are hydrodynamic resistance at take-off as well as the lift-to-drag ratio in flight and particularly the water loads in defined sea states. Sea plane design has a glorious past, but much of the knowledge is buried in dusty archives. It is even worse if knowledge is lost forever and needs to be reinvented.