I’ve got the very same dream.
I didn’t see this one mentioned in my quick scan of the post. Almost new, only flown once for a very short period. And it may actually be available.
There’s a PBY-5A Catalina on eBay right now. It’s a project plane that hasn’t flown since 2000. And it’s in Puerto Rico.
You haven’t left yet? 
Are there any Dornier DO-X seaplanes flying? They were uber-cool!
Back in the day, flying boats replaced or at least suplemented non-flying boats (ships) as transportation. You might take one to Cuba, the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, the various Pacific Islands, and of course back to the mainland cities of SF, Miami, etc. For those who were previously accustomed to taking a ship to the various overseas (literally) locations, a flying boat was a huge improvement in terms of speed. It made sense to fly to the port of Honolulu or Havana or whevever, because that’s where you went anyway if you had chosen to take a ship; everything was at those ports, the hotels, connectins to inland, etc.
Flying anywhere was pretty expensve and quite a luxury in the early days, as you can imagine. Sort of like going first-class on a ship.
A big drawback of flying boats was/is collisions with floating objects like logs. These often are hard to see when you’re on the water, but can have disasatrous consequences if you hit one at high speed.
If you paid no mind to their cost or their performance or their reliability, maybe.
No, only three were built, and all were destroyed in the war.
No chance of a supersonic seaplane (improvement over the Martin Seamaster)? Or maybe a spruce goose that really flies?
A hull does not lend itself to supersonic flight. Jet engines operate more efficiently at high altitudes. Seawater ingestion is probably not a good thing. There’s no viable market for supersonic transports, and really no shortage of runways. Considering the limitations and added expense, I’d say no chance.
It’s still the only 12-engined plane I’m aware of. (Got all the numbers up to 12 covered, except 9 and 11.)
The DO-X is a fascinating what-might-have-been airplane. They were so huge and heavy and underpowered that they operated best in ground effect, and had a service ceiling of only 1,650 ft, with a blistering cruising speed of 105 mph. But what a show it must have been to see one of them taking off or landing. I’d have loved to hear those twelve engines at full throttle!
An really excellent article on the DO-X is here:
OOOOHHH! I’ve always wanted one of those! Let’s pool our money and buyit! I know someone we could stay with in San Juan (as long as you’re willing to sleep with the pigs)!!!
I’ve got $12.82 of discretionary money in my pockets… errr… never mind.
There’s a lot of temptation to romanticism in aviation history, but very little room for it.
Only one made it even that far. Italy took delivery of two in the early 1930s, and only flew them a handful of times before the (probably deeply embarrassed) government sold them for scrap.
I want the blue and yellow one.
It belongs to Richard.
The one in the background? That looks like an original, with the radial engines.
I’m a bit surprised how far forward the props are on the turboprop model. I imagine the engineering is sound, but it almost looks awkward compared to the old ones.
Can I paint the new one like the old one?
Yeah, it looks like the entire engine is forward of the wing on the new model.
Apparently, yes. (Actually, I’m not sure if that’s a new airframe or just a refurbed and modded old one. But it’ll be your plane, so paint it however you want.)
I think the engine was probably always forward of the wing, but radials are short, stumpy things so they didn’t extend as far as the long, skinny turbines. The turbo and piston versions of the de Haviland Beaver are the same way.
I’m trying to determine if the engines are moved closer inboard on the new Gooses, or if it’s just an illusion of the long nacelles and larger props.
Wasn’t there a British jet powered seaplane? Something like Saunders-Roe?
Here’s another approach that should never have gotten that far, but hey, in the Cold War you could get funding for anything.
Off-topic, but the greatest thing about float planes was that bush pilots were required to carry iron rations in case of emergency landings that would leave them stranded for prolonged periods. In response to this was developed Sailor Boy Pilot Bread, packing 90-calories per cracker!