Six decades on from the arrival of the jet age, aviation is looking back to the future as niche business demands and infrastructure gaps pave the way for a revival of seaplane production.
Seaplanes were prominent around the world in the first half of the 20th century, and are a key feature of Australia’s aviation history. The country’s first international airport, Sydney’s Rose Bay, opened in 1938 and served as a base for flights to Europe.
Qantas’s first passenger services to the UK, operated in conjunction with Imperial Airways, departed Rose Bay airport and arrived at Southampton 10 days and 35 refuelling stops later – much faster than the more than 40 days the journey took by ship at the time. The frequent “hopping” along the route made for the nickname the “kangaroo route” which continued to be used for Australia-London flights.
Qantas operated flying boats on the route, a distinct category of larger seaplane where the fuselage serves as a ship hull when in the water, as opposed to the often smaller floatplanes that have floats mounted underneath the fuselage, keeping it above water as it lands.
The Qantas Empire Aircraft – as the joint venture was known – were first class only, carrying up to 14 passengers who could enjoy a promenade cabin, galley, wine cellar and socialising areas.
The second world war marked a key turning point in commercial aviation, largely bringing to a halt the glamorous age for flying boat-based travel. The war brought about the mass proliferation of runways built around the world for military aircraft.
By the end of the war there were runways in most destinations and propeller and jet engine technology had advanced. Seaplanes – which were slower, less direct, more susceptible to bad weather and less economical – struggled to stay competitive.
“People thought seaplanes weren’t needed any more and that was probably true back then,” says Dan Webster, chief executive officer of Amphibian Aerospace Industries (AAI).
The Darwin-based company is among a handful of manufacturers seeking to revive production of seaplanes for a new age in aviation.
There are several startups – including plans for zero-emission “sea gliders” and electric variations on delivery seaplanes in Norway – as well as existing producers working on various types of seaplanes. AAI is reviving the Albatross G111T – a flying boat first flown in the late 1940s by the US air force and navy.
As an amphibious aircraft it can take off on water and land on a runway, and vice versa.
More than 400 were built by the American manufacturer Grumman, but the planes have been out of production for 60 years.
Originally a radial engine aircraft, the new generation will feature turboprop engines. Some owners of Albatrosses have retrofitted turboprop engines, but on an individual basis only. No company can do it en masse, as AAI now owns the certificate to produce the aircraft.
The 19m-long fuselage will seat up to 28 passengers as well as crew, or can be fitted out to carry cargo or as a medical aircraft, when the first of the new-age Albatrosses rolls off the production line in about four years.
Wave of new technology
Aviation finds itself in the grip of “a dynamic and disruptive phase”, according to Prof Tim Ryley, head of aviation at Griffith University.
Commercial airlines are pinning their hopes on sustainable aviation fuel, as well as more efficient aircraft from manufacturers, as ways to meet looming emissions reductions targets as well as save on their fuel bills.
Electric aviation is in its infancy. The technology appears most viable initially for smaller planes used for short-haul, regional services.
In Australia, Rex Airlines is grappling with the question of how to replace the ageing fleet of Saab 340 aircraft it relies on for regional flights, as they are no longer in production. It has a partnership with the electric plane startup Dovetail, and hopes to run test flights soon.
Elsewhere, small electric aircraft are being explored for mail runs in New Zealand.
In another nod to aviation’s past, there is a global race to build and fly airships, both for passengers and to haul cargo to hard-to-reach locations, almost nine decades after the Hindenburg disaster.
Interest in seaplanes waned throughout the 20th century, but they never disappeared entirely, especially in harbour cities.
Ryley notes that in Vancouver Harbour Air operates scheduled services around the city and Victoria Harbour using smaller float planes.
“They do high-demand, short trips and it’s commercially viable,” Ryley says, adding that for tourist-oriented seaplane services, customers can expect to pay more because the aircraft are not put to use constantly to maximise returns, as they are in scheduled services.
In Sydney, seaplanes still operate out of Rose Bay, where they fly mostly on tourist runs to places such as Palm Beach.
This convenience factor is a big part of the revival in interest and race to bring new seaplanes to market, Webster says.
Operators of resorts on remote islands, who struggle to convince “weekend travellers” to forfeit almost a day in travelling on multiple planes and boats to reach them, are one such niche market crying out for an amphibious aircraft, Webster says.
“For the people who run island resorts, our aircraft can fly from an international airport and land on the water right at their resort, so it opens up the short-stay market that wouldn’t be possible.
“As the world has grown, and islands are developed around the Pacific and north of Darwin, the equation for seaplanes has changed again.”
Webster says the planes could also be used to provide medical care for hard-to-reach areas north of Darwin, including several Indigenous communities. “It opens up a whole new range of possibilities for treatment centres for casualty evacuation – we can land on water and come up a boat ramp to park,” he says.
“Imagine doing a milk run around the Whitsundays, or to islands in Indonesia where most are serviced by very slow ferries or helicopters. This is a game-changer.
“There are also people in New York looking at this sort of thing, wanting to fly these off the Hudson [River] because it’s so tough to get to an airport.”
Webster says flying boats are cost-effective compared with helicopters, which are more expensive and complicated to operate.
“The niche we fill is where there’s water at one end. If there’s not water at one end, we’re probably not the right aircraft,” he says.
Ryley also believes seaplanes could find a renewed business case amid the current upheaval of aviation innovation.
“The economics and pricing depends a lot on what the alternatives are,” he says. “Particularly with pressures on space for modern airports, and the need for good road links on each end,” Ryley says.
AAI already has several firm orders for aircraft, Webster says. One order has been reported as valued at US$20m, though Webster cannot confirm pricing.
“There’s a lot of interest and it’s growing all the time. When we started a lot of people looked at us like we might have two heads, but now they’re much more interested,” Webster says.
