Three Canadair CL-215 amphibious flying boats

The following is a list of seaplanes, which includes floatplanes and flying boats. A seaplane is any airplane that has the capability of landing and taking off from water, while an amphibian is a seaplane which can also operate from land. (They do not include rotorcraft, or ground-effect vehicles which can only skim along close to the water)

A flying boat relies on its main hull for buoyancy, while a floatplane has a conventional aircraft fuselage fitted with external floats. In some locales, the term "seaplane" is used as a synonym for floatplane.

List

A small number of seaplanes have retractable beaching gear, which is not capable of being used for landings and takeoffs, but these remain flying boats or floatplanes and are not amphibians.

Many floatplanes, especially those since 1945, can have either conventional floats for operating just from water, or amphibious floats, which have retractable undercarriage built into them.

Some experimental flying boats have used skis or hydrofoils to supplement their buoyancy when in motion, however they still rely on the buoyancy of a hull when they are not moving fast enough to lift out of the water.