New Plane Hits the Water

Researchers have built the first automated seaplane that can take off and land on water.

Designed to advance the U.S. Department of Defense's "persistent ocean surveillance" program, the aircraft dubbed “Flying fish” sports a 7-foot wingspan and is about the size a pelican.

"We studied sea birds seriously," said Guy Meadows, director of the University of Michigan’s Marine Hydrodynamics Laboratories. "They're all about the same size—about 20 pounds with a 2-meter wingspan. It turns out that, aerodynamically speaking, that's a sweet spot to be flying close to the water.

The plane relies on an onboard Global Positioning System (GPS) to determine when to take off and land, while the flight pattern is primarily a recording of a graduate student's piloting of the plane.

Next, the team plans to outfit the plane with solar power and add more sensors.

--LiveScience Staff

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Credit: University of Michigan