If It Can Fly, It Can Float!!!

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rochie said:
That's a submarine, must be !
Click to expand...
Actually, would you believe it was designed to do that?

It's a Piaggio P.7 and was built during the years of speed records using floatplanes. The Piaggio tried to use a hydrofoil effect to eliminate the extra weight and drag of floats. So it had a water-prop and clutch system...with the water-prop pushing the plane up on it's hydrafoils, the main-prop was engaged and would (in theory) take off.

While it's speed and ability to rise up on it's hydrofoils proved impressive in the water, it never actually flew.
 

No f####g way !

I honestly thought it was a floatplane racer that had just sunk !

Thanks Dave.
 
Elmas shared some great shots of the P.7, and here's one that shows the propellor/rudder assembly aft of the fuselage.

Also, if you look closely, you can see the hydrofoils, although they seem small in this photo, they were fairly large. They had to make the hydrofoils effective enough in the water and remain aerodynamic at the same time, so the radius was inward, 90° to the centerline.

 
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