A seaplane is an aircraft equipped with floats so that it can take off from, and land on, water. On many seaplanes, the floats hold the aircraft's fuselage clear of the water. On others, called "flying boats", the fuselage is shaped like the hull of a boat and rests on the water's surface/ Seaplanes are most useful in places where there are small islands, with little space to build proper runways.
Seaplanes can also take part in rescue missions, because they can carry more people than a helicopter and fly longer distances. However, they cannot fly in rough weather, because big waves make take-off and landing too dangerous for the aircraft. Their use gradually tailed off after World War II, partially because of the investments in airports during the war but surprisingly some of the ww1 airplanes still exist. In the 21st century, seaplanes maintain a few niche uses, such as for dropping water on forest fires, air transport around archipelagos etc.
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