Another form of craft is being developed successfully—the flying boat. This is not merely a land aeroplane with floats instead of wheels; it is a boat with a sea-going hull, which has lifting planes upon it; and it assumes the distinctive form seen in [Fig. 70]. When on the surface of the water the machine floats like a ship; then, when driven rapidly across the surface, its planes raise it into the air and it flies. A closer view of the hull of such a craft is given in [Fig. 71].
Flying boats are at present small and lightly built, and they have difficulty in weathering rough waves when floating upon the water; but already the tendency is to make them larger, and to give them more powerful motors, and such machines for naval work, as developed in the future, may be as large as a torpedo-boat-destroyer and capable of high speeds both on water and in the air.
THE MACHINE SEEN FROM ABOVE,
showing the shape of wings and tail, and the positions of the pilot and passenger within the hull.
A. Hull; B. seats for crew; C.C. Planes; D. Motor; E. Propeller; F. Rudder; G. Elevators.
MACHINE SEEN FROM IN FRONT,
showing the span of the main-planes, and the curve of the boat-shaped hull.