Have you ever wondered just what a seaplane is and what types there are? Seaplanes are aircrafts that can take off from and land on water.  Amphibious seaplanes are seaplanes that can take off from and land on both water and/or land.

Seaplanes fall into two distinct categories, floatplane aircrafts and hull aircrafts or flying boats. Floatplanes are aircrafts that were originally designed as land airplanes that are provided buoyancy on the water by floats that are mounted under the aircraft’s fuselage by a matrix of struts and braces. Many small land aircrafts may be modified to become floatplanes. Float equipped aircrafts can be either straight floats (water operation only) or amphibious floats (water or land operation). In a hull aircraft or flying boat, the main source of buoyancy is the aircraft’s fuselage, which is shaped to act like the hull of a ship. Flying boats may also have small floats mounted on the wings for added stability. Hull aircrafts are by design amphibious aircrafts (water and land operation). Flying boats generally have a lower center of gravity than float aircrafts and therefore have greater stability when operating on the water and lacking the matrix of struts, braces and floats are more aerodynamic than floatplanes, therefore faster and more fuel efficient.

The amphibious ME-1A is designed as a hull aircraft or flying boat.The ME-1A will be unique in the marketplace – no light twin turboprop amphibious hull aircrafts are in production today.  As an amphibious aircraft, the ME-1A is without a peer. The size, speed and operating capability of the ME-1A leaves it in a market of its own. Recent announcements of several amphibious aircrafts reentering or being introduced to the market highlight the viable marketplace that exists for a new production manufactured seaplane. All indications point to the market seeking a modernized new production amphibious hull aircraft, based on a known and proven design. The ME-1A, inspired by the legacy Grumman G-73 Mallard, can be this aircraft.