No waves? Get yourself a 1951 Grumman Albatross flying boat!
The last of the great flying boats is the Grumman Albatross, originally designed for open ocean search and rescue, they can take off and land in 8-10 ft seas and travel almost 3000 miles without refuelling. Billabong & Quiksilver purchased Albatrosses and used them for surf expeditions, accessing remote surf locations in Indonesia & around the Hawaiian Islands.
Most of these aircraft were retired and put in permanent storage in Tucson Arizona (The Boneyard). A few people have restored these aircraft and have different reasons and purposes for them. These folks are making (a rather excellent looking) documentary about them.
The full length feature documentary tells the story of flying boats, their influence in the world, and the few who are flying these amazing machines today. The themes are the desires of conquering the unexplored and the synergy of man and machine. Here’s the teaser:
