An amphibious aircraft or amphibian is an aircraft that can take off on both land and water. This type of aircraft is equipped with retractable wheels. After takeoff from a hard surface the pilot retracts the wheels to get a bit more speed. An occasional problem with amphibians is with ensuring the wheels are in the correct position for landing. In normal operation, the pilot uses a checklist, verifying each time he takes off: wheels up for water landing, wheels down for runways. If he should land on a runway with wheels up it would harm the floats significantly but if he should land on water with wheels down the aircraft would flip and it would be a total loss of the aircraft and possible life. There is no room for error. Amphibious aircraft are particularly useful as “bush planes” engaging in…
