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In 1952, the first jet airliner began carrying passengers, ushering in a new era.
But it was also the same year this took to the skies.
An enormous flying boat.
Both of these planes were trying to predict the future of air travel.
And one company was convinced that its flying boat would win out in the end.
Because it would be a more comfortable way to fly, where passengers could relax in a
lounge, dine in a restaurant, even sleep in their own private suites.
Flying boats were already the giants of the skies.
And there seemed to be no limit to how big and luxurious they could get.
The world just needed to be convinced that flying boats really did have a future.
By the 1930s, two distinct kinds of airplanes had emerged land planes and seaplanes.
The obvious difference was one landed on water, and the other on a runway.
But in the 1930s, that was an important distinction.
Because many cities didn't even have airports.
And runways were often little more than dirt or grass fields.
On the other hand, the world is covered in water.
So flying boats could land just about anywhere.
Onto the Hudson River at New York came a mighty German Dornier flying boat on its first transatlantic
crossing.
Another milestone in the rapid advance of commercial aviation.
While the development of land planes was constrained by a lack of suitable runways, flying boats
could grow larger, heavier, and more capable.
And because they could reach parts of the world inaccessible to other planes, flying
boats opened up air travel to far flung exotic destinations.
For the lucky few who could afford it, flying boats became the preferred way to travel earning
a reputation for comfort.
And even safety.
Because over the middle of the ocean, the ability to land in case something went wrong,
was a reason why many thought flying boats were superior.
And it helped calm the nerves of uneasy passengers.
The rapid development of flying boats lled many to believe that they were the future
of long-range air travel.
And in 1943, one iconic British Aircraft builder began designing the next generation of
flying boats.
An enormous plane that would redefine air travel.
But the plan would have to wait.
1943 was the middle of the Second World War.
New airliners weren't a priority.
But after the War, air travel would certainly boom again.
And Saunders-Roe was going to be ready with an all-new flying boat that would put them
at the forefront.
And this is what they came up with.
The largest, most advanced flying boat airliner ever built.
They called it the the Princess, a fitting name for an airliner with a luxurious two-level
cabin featuring lounges, an actual restaurant, sleeper cabins, even a promenade for its 100
lucky passengers.
The Princess was an odd looking bird, but it’s unique shape helped reduce drag.
Also aiding with efficiency was a new innovation.
Turboprop engines.
Some of the first ever on an airliner.
And this plane was packed with them, eight turboprops driving contra-rotating propellers
through a gearbox and another two powering single propellers.
It was a complex design.
But it meant the princess could reach speeds of over 600 kilometres per hour, climb to
39,000 feet, and travel over 9,000 kilometres.
Practically doubling the performance of earlier flying boats.
With the Princess, Saunders-Roe brought flying boats into a new era.
Just in time for the 1950s boom in air travel.
And the company was already designing the next generation to follow the Princess.
A sleek flying boat with swept wings and turbojets.
And for Saunders-Roe, it was flying boats all the way down.
They were even developing the world’s first flying boat fighter jet.
But while the company seemed confident in the future of flying boats, the rest of the
world wasn’t.
In 1952, the Princess took its maiden flight.
And the enormous plane was a main attraction at the Farnborough airshow.
But airlines weren't interested.
Because a lot had changed during the Second World War.
For starters, the War hadn’t been fought with flying boats, but enormous land-based
bombers.
Proving the long-range capabilities of land planes.
And over the course of the War, thousands of new airports were constructed around the
world with long concrete runways.
After the War, many of these new airports and military aircraft using them were converted
to civilian use.
By 1950, all of the world’s major airlines had abandoned their flying boats, switching
to land-based airliners.
It was simply a matter of economics.
To land on water, flying boats need stronger, bulkier fuselages, so they were naturally
heavier, less aerodynamic, and difficult to pressurize.
And flying boats were more challenging to fly, requiring additional training for pilots.
And the plane’s exposure to corrosive salt water meant more maintenance.
All factors which made flying boats, less profitable for airlines.
Still, Saunders-Roe remained committed to flying boats.
Convinced that their advantage in size, safety, and their ability to operate on natural stretches
of water without much infrastructure, would soon spark their resurgence..All they had
to do was convince everyone else.
So the company went on an all-out marketing offensive, asserting that flying boats could
still match the performance of land planes.
And boasting that the Princess would mark the beginning of a resurgence in flying boat
air travel.
But desperation also seemed to be creeping in, as the company tried to argue that the
switch to land-based aircraft had been driven by false assumptions, outdated figures, or
even plain prejudice against flying boats.
But the marketing seemed to fall on deaf ears.
even BOAC, Britain's leading airline had no interest in the Princess.
Instead they made a bet on the world’s first jet-powered airliner.
Ordering a fleet of de Havilland Comets.
And by 1954, it was clear that all the marketing in the world wasn’t going to bring back
the era of flying boats.
Because Sounders-Roe hadn't sold a single plane.
After two years without a buyer, the company was forced to put the Princess and two half-finished
airframes into long term storage.
The age of the flying boat was over.
But not before Saunder-Roe engineers got the chance to dream up the ultimate flying boat.
Flying boats couldn't compete with modern airliners, but maybe they didn't have to.
Because in 1956, Saunder-Roe engineers came up with this.
A design for a truly colossal one thousand passenger flying boat, Aimed squarely ocean
liners, which in the 1950s were still carrying passengers throughout the world.
Over a dozen were in service between Britain and Australia alone.
And one shipping company was looking for a better way to move a huge amount of people.
It was an idea every bit as crazy as it sounds.
A flying ocean liner the length of a football field with five decks and a crew of 47.
Just to get this million and a half pound flying boat airborne, Saunders-Roe envisioned
twenty-four jet engines integrated into the enormous wings.
And this plane would’ve been so big, there would be enough room inside the wings for
engineers to walk around.
Even service all those jets in mid-flight.
Of course, this enormous flying boat never made it off the drawing board.
Even more outrageous than its design, would’ve been the cost to get it built.
And it would be the last flying boat for Saunders-Roe.
By the 1960’s they shifted to other emerging fields.
And soon Saunders-Roe disappeared altogether, merging with another British aircraft builder.
Meanwhile, the Princess Flying Boats sat in storage for over a decade.
Proposals to convert them into cargo planes, troop transports, even experimental nuclear-powered
aircraft never panned out.
And by 1967, all three airframes had corroded.
And the enormous planes were broken up and sold for scrap.
It was the largest and most advanced flying boat airliner ever built.
Strangely futuristic but also archaic at the same time.
A plane designed for a future that never existed.
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