I was just wondering why this section is called "Floatplane Operations" in particular instead of the more general "Seaplane Operations"

I don't know if this has already been discussed here, I wasn't sure how to do an effective search using such general terms.

In any case, there has obviously been many occasions on which the subject of discussion here has involved flying boats too. I will concede that floatplanes are probably more common, especially in "bush" operations, but any such bias, even if unintended, would seem to be needlessly counter-productive to civil conversation here.

So, like I said already, I was just wondering....

Forgive my ignorance but aren't seaplanes and floatplanes the same thing? So anything that floats and flies can be talked about here? I may see it differently than the owner of the forum though. What say you, Zane?

Fisherman wrote:Forgive my ignorance but aren't seaplanes and floatplanes the same thing? So anything that floats and flies can be talked about here? I may see it differently than the owner of the forum though. What say you, Zane?

Floatplanes are airplanes designed as land planes that are modified for use as seaplanes by means of the installation of, usually, a pair of fixed floats mounted on struts under the airplane.

A flyingboat is an airplane that is designed from the get-go as a seaplane and whose fuselage also functions directly as a boat hull too.

Both floatplanes and flyingboats can be amphibious or not (i.e. "straight floats" and "pure" flyingboats.)

All of the above are subsets of the more general term "seaplanes".

All floatplanes are seaplanes, but not all seaplanes are floatplanes. Just because a seaplane "floats" does not mean that it necessarily is a "floatplane" too.

In the Navy we had two communities, the Black Shoes, drove ships and brown shoes, fly aircraft and command boats. Only aviators get to wear brown shoes with their Kakis. This was a really big deal with the Black Shoes.

This question is a typical black shoe view of the world. We call Aircraft Carriers, "Boats." The black shoes get infuriated, they insist they are ships and go into nauseating detail on what differentiates the two. The reality is there are "boats" and "targets", ships are targets. There is a reasons why you have to have gold wings to command a carrier, attention to this kind of BS is how you get to wear black shoes. BTW, the submariners have joined aviators on their nouns for their vessels, a sub is a "boat" as well and ships are their targets as well. Oddly enough, the egg sack where they incubate the majority of black shoes, the Naval Academy, is called the "Boat School."

Anyhow, this is a typical Black Shoe discussion, my eyes have rolled up into my head.

Lighten up Francis.

Really?

hehe! It's a bit like asking a guy flying a radio control plane if it flies like a real one

So what do you call a non flying amphibian?

Zzz wrote:Really?

+1

150Mike wrote:

Fisherman wrote:Forgive my ignorance but aren't seaplanes and floatplanes the same thing? So anything that floats and flies can be talked about here? I may see it differently than the owner of the forum though. What say you, Zane?

Floatplanes are airplanes designed as land planes that are modified for use as seaplanes by means of the installation of, usually, a pair of fixed floats mounted on struts under the airplane.

A flyingboat is an airplane that is designed from the get-go as a seaplane and whose fuselage also functions directly as a boat hull too.

Both floatplanes and flyingboats can be amphibious or not (i.e. "straight floats" and "pure" flyingboats.)

All of the above are subsets of the more general term "seaplanes".

All floatplanes are seaplanes, but not all seaplanes are floatplanes. Just because a seaplane "floats" does not mean that it necessarily is a "floatplane" too.

Look at his avitar!! No one could take his question seriously!!

Crzyivan13 wrote:So what do you call a non flying amphibian?

A frog?

Hahaha, seriously? you have got to be kidding, I hope. This thread is needlessly counter-productive

wouldn't "seaplane operations" be a little biased against those that generally only fly into freshwater lakes!
Its a hard point to seperate, due to all the variables....but i think on this forum surely its fine as it stands!

Rob

S7Paco wrote:

Crzyivan13 wrote:So what do you call a non flying amphibian?

A frog?

I don't think so

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LQndkNvgAH ... QndkNvgAHQ

Some frogs leap a pretty fair distance at a pretty fair speed.....
Wouldn't they get just a mite bit of "body lift"?

Flap might write us a grant request to get govmt money to study this....?

Ha!
lc

PS Flying boats float.....Right?
So they are float planes, too!
Problem solved!

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Act II, Scene I, Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare. Much Ado About Nothing--another of Willy's works.

Cary

I think users here could stand to demonstrate more tolerance for the AFBFPRDIC community.


That's Amphibian, Flying Boat, Float Plane, Rubber Ducky, and Inflatable Companion, for those not sufficiently up-to-date on your sensitivity training.

Inflatable Companion

I forgot her/his name.

Cary