Did you hear the one about Bob Hope and the Queen of the Netherlands going to N.B. in a flying boat?

The term "flying boat" might remind you of a fantastical pirate ship from Peter Pan, but in the 1930s and '40s, it meant something entirely different and quite real in the Shediac area, where a group of locals is determined to see a commemorative project cleared for take-off.

"Everyone who sees it says, 'Wow! This is fantastic! I didn't realize we had this history," said Wade Short, president of Shediac's new Flying Boats Historical Society, which has made presentations to a number of groups in the Shediac and Moncton areas.

Short would like to see a replica of a large type of flying boat, also called a "superplane," built on Shediac's Ohio Road near the traffic light. People would see it as they enter town from the east, he said, as they see the giant lobster when arriving from the west.

"Flying boats" were actually sea planes, explained Short, including the type that land on pontoons and the type that land on their bellies, such as water bombers.

In the early 1900s, when aviation began, many aspects of it were described in sailing terms, he said.

Shediac was a well suited refuelling stop for some of the earliest trips across the Atlantic, thanks to its large, calm harbour, low hills and lack of fog, said Short.

In 1933, for example, the Italian general, Italo Balbo — nicknamed "the Columbus of the air" — landed in Shediac Bay as one of six stops en route to the World's Fair in Chicago.

About 30,000 visitors turned out for the spectacle, said Short.

To that point, there had been fewer than 30 successful crossings of the Atlantic by plane and more than 40 failed ones, he said.

"Here this gentleman comes with 24 airplanes in one armada."

"It was meant to demonstrate Italian air supremacy and capability — which he did in a very big way," said Short.

Before the 1930s were out, the American airline Pan American also made history in Shediac with its maiden voyage over the North Atlantic.

The Boeing 314 Clipper started flying in 1939, billed as "the superplane of tomorrow," said Short.

It could carry 74 passengers on short hauls or 36 on overnight flights, for which seats were folded down into bunks.