Idea # 289 – Flying in a Seaplane
A seaplane is a plane having the capacity to land on water or to take off on the water. In 1876, the precursor Charles-Alphonse Pénaud had the idea to use a quiet stretch of water as base of flight and applied for a patent of seaplane with retractable landing gear. The first experimental flight of seaplane is realized in 1905 by Gabriel Voisin, who succeeds in taking off on the Seine, dragged by a high speed launch. The first really autonomous flight of a seaplane is realized by Henri Fabre, who takes off, on March 28th, 1910, from Etang de Berre, to Martigues, in France, with his hydro-aeroplane “Duck”. Between the first World Ward and the Second World War, the international transport by seaplanes knew a big success. After the Second World War, the seaplane knew its peak, in particular by the transport of transatlantic passengers, often in conditions of extreme luxury, before giving way to the first ground long haul planes. At present, seaplanes are not more used than for specific functions : transport in regions of difficult accesses rich in plans of water, water bomber, maritime recognition… This video is shot on saint Etienne Cantales’s dam, in Cantal. Let’s go, we take off !
Where is it?
Aurillac, Cantal, France
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