Plane Facts: Seaplanes

First actual seaplane flight: 1910, the Hydravion

First flying boat flight: 1912

First amphibian flight: 1913, Glenn Curtiss, Model D

First large-scale production seaplane: Felixstowe F.5 (100 produced during WWI)

Number of Curtiss NC-4s that in 1919 attempted the first Atlantic crossing: 4

Number that succeeded: 1

Years that seaplanes were fastest aircraft in the world: 12 (1927-1939)

World record in 1934 set by Macchi M.C.72 seaplane: 440.5 mph

Years record as fastest aircraft stood: 5

Years as fastest piston-powered seaplane: 82 (1934-present)

Length of time it took mail to get from Australia to England in 1930: one month

Length of time via Short C-23 seaplane: 16 days

Problem created by this advance: Letter writing soon exceeded plane's capacity

Most engines on a seaplane: Dornier Do X, 10 of 615 hp each

Top speed of Do X: 131 mph

Passenger capacity: 100

Number produced: 3

Fate of last Do X: Destroyed by British air raid in 1943

First successful transoceanic flying boat transport: Boeing 314 Clipper

Passenger capacity: 74

Maximum speed: 210 mph

Length of crossing San Francisco to Hong Kong: 6 days

Duration of Clipper's air transport career: 3 years (ended by WWII)

World's only double seaplane: Short Mayo Composite (Short S.20 on top of a Short S.21)

Reason for design: S.20 too heavy to take off unassisted

Largest seaplane ever: Hughes H-4 Hercules

Nickname: Spruce Goose

Primary construction material: Plywood

Wingspan of H-4: 322 feet

Maximum takeoff weight: 400,000 lbs.

Cruise speed: 250 mph

Number of flights: 1 (disputed if it really "flew")

Most produced seaplane: Consolidated PBY Catalina

Number built: 3,305

First jet seaplane: Saunders-Roe SR.A/1

Number constructed: 3 (2 lost in accidents during testing)

Top speed of SR.A/1: approximately 445 mph

Fastest jet seaplane ever: Convair F2Y Sea Dart

Top speed of Sea Dart: 825 mph (only supersonic seaplane)

Number built: 4

Number that survive: 4

Busiest seaplane base: Lake Hood, Anchorage, Alaska

Average daily operations: 190

Number of float slips there: 500

Waiting list to get a slip: 10 years (more than 300 on waiting list)

Most produced civil seaplane (flying boat): Lake LA-4

Number produced: More than 1,000

Seaplane pilots who trained at Jack Brown's in Winter Haven, Florida: 20,000, since its inception in 1963

Current cost of the course in J-3 Cub: Approximately $1,400