The amphibious plane to which you refer is a modern re-creation of the
Sikorsky S-38, which was known as the "Air Yacht."
"The Sikorsky S-38 was sometimes called 'The Explorer's Air Yacht'.
Indeed, the S-38 was Sikorsky's first widely produced amphibious
flying boat which in addition to serving successfully for Pan American
Airways and the U. S. Army, also had numerous private owners who
received notoriety for their exploits... Howard Hughes purchased one
for a flight around the world. The aircraft appears in the movie The
Aviator.
A total of 90 aircraft were built, manufactured by the Sikorsky
Aircraft Company in Stratford, Connecticut. Sikorsky was acquired by
United Aircraft Corporation in mid-production. The aircraft first flew
in May 1928."
Wikipedia: Sikorsky S-38
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikorsky_S-38
From an interesting article about the plane and "The Aviator":
"Move over Kermit. Hollywood has a new star amphibian--the 'Air Yacht'
in which Howard Hughes (in The Aviator) takes Kate Hepburn skylarking
over Beverly Hills at night. While Kate holds the wheel, Howard
rummages around for a bottle of cold milk in the craft's cozy
ship-like cabin, outfitted with a couch, skylight windows, curtains
and all the comforts of home. The lovebirds land at dawn on a green
lawn. Later, the very same airplane alights on water, delivering
Hughes up onto a California beach with all the pomp and circumstance
of General MacArthur coming ashore in the Philippines. So versatile
and charming is the little plane that to see it is to want it.
How hard is it to find? Pretty hard. The plane in the movie--a
Sikorsky S-38--is one of exactly two in the world. The price tag, if
either came up for sale, would likely be between $1.5 million and $2
million...
By the 1990s, these planes--despite their durability and
versatility--had become extinct. Of the 101 originally made, none
survived. All had been destroyed or lost. How comes it, then, that
audiences see one flying in The Aviator?
In 1994... Samuel Johnson, who by then had become fourth-generation
head of SC Johnson, decided to retrace his father's famous flight,
accompanied by his own sons Fisk and Curt... Wanting everything to be
authentic, he had a new S-38 built from scratch by master craftsmen
working from Sikorsky's archival drawings. The job took three years.
Cost was not disclosed; but an educated guess says $1.7 million.
Johnson made his flight in 1998, and the plane today resides in a
Wisconsin museum. There are plans to move it someday to SC Johnson
headquarters in Racine, so that it can be displayed as a memorial to
Sam Johnson, who died in 2004.
Johnson's re-created S-38 was one of two built in the 1990s. The
other--the plane seen in The Aviator--belongs to real estate developer
Tom Schrade, who flew for the movie."
Forbes: The Aviator's Air Yacht
http://www.forbes.com/collecting/2005/03/08/cz_af_0308conn.html
My Google search strategy:
Google Web Search: "the aviator" sikorsky
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22the+aviator%22+sikorsky
I hope this is helpful! If anything is unclear or incomplete, please
request clarification; I'll be glad to offer further assistance with
this question before you rate my answer.
Best regards,
pinkfreud |
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