BIG DREAM Hobby and Craft: The Rise and Fall (and Rise?) of the Military Seaplane

Minggu, 22 November 2020

The Rise and Fall (and Rise?) of the Military Seaplane

XINHUA NEWS AGENCY / GETTY IMAGES

The Rise and Fall (and Rise?) of the Military Seaplane

Once seen as the future of aviation, seaplanes are now mostly forgotten relics of early aviation. But a new monster seaplane suggests these aquatic aircraft aren't dead yet.

BY: ALEX HOLLINGS

At 10:18 a.m. local time on July 26, 2020, a massive amphibious aircraft pressed its hull through the waters of the Yellow Sea. Called the AVID AG600 "Kunlong" (which roughly translates to "fish dragon"), the seaplane's four powerful WJ-6 turboprop engines soon whirled with enough force to drag the 121-foot aircraft, and its 100,000 pound airframe, up and out of the water—held aloft by its impressive 128-foot wingspan.

The Chinese-made aircraft, now officially the largest amphibious aircraft in the world, bears a striking resemblance to the aerial-aquatic mammoths of a bygone era, when flying boats and float planes seemed like the future of aviation. While World War II—and its massive infrastructure boom of land-based airstrips—delivered the killing blow to that future, the AVID AG600 suggests the idea is far from dead.

"Superpowers like China are always looking for ways to maintain capabilities that allow them to project power into areas they deem strategically important — like the South China Sea," former CIA officer and Navy SEAL Jeff Butler told Popular Mechanics.

Could the AG600 mark the unexpected return of seaplanes?

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