On Mon, 1 Oct 2007 18:51:14 -0500, "TMOliver"
wrote:

The awful truth....

Them dannable Tscherman N*zis and the Hirohito's aggressive pursuit of the
East Asian Coprosperity Sphere sealed the doom of the flying boat and sea
plane by causing we Merkins to pave or at worst lay steel mat over the
majority of the Western World's (and some Eastern's too) long flat places.
When there were runways everywhere, planes that floated were relegated to
niche market status, quaint curiosites in the midst of a dynamic world.

Yup, what he said.

Floatplanes are romantic as all get out, but lack economic
practicality.

Maybe someday somebody will figure out how to make money on them the
way some folks make big cruise ships pay. Until then they are just a
chapter in Naval Aviation (and aviation) history.