Catalina PBY-5A flight from Lelystad including splash-and-go July 13, 2005

The Catalina PBY-5A is an amphibious derivative of the Consolidated Catalina flying boat. For almost 20 years the oldest airworthy PBY-5A was stationed in the Netherlands and it was regularly used for flights with passengers.
On most flights take-off and landing was on wheels, from Lelystad airport, but usually on an inner lake called Markermeer a splash-and-go or two was performed. At that speed it is completely obvious that water is not soft or benign: you can hear and feel the water pounding hard on the metal hull and there is a short but unmistakable lurch forward the moment you are free of the water's friction.
The other attraction of these flights was the pair of blisters where during cruise you could stand and enjoy the tremendous view in almost all directions, including looking at the aircraft itself from a point of view that in other aircraft is reserved for specially mounted cameras.