I bought a new Sea Dancer 60 at auction today, and am looking for anyone who knows about the model and its flying characteristics. It has a Saito 80 engine, brand new. The plane is set up for flying on land, as it has landing gear (taildragger). Flying on water will not be possible until next season, but I hope to get it up off our field here in Iowa before snow. (Thinking it might do well on snow too.)

I have several questions of immediate concern: 1) is this model the 60 size version of the Ace Seamaster 40?, 2) are sturdy main landing gear available for this model, or do I have to custom rig some [the present landing gear and wheels are "light-duty", and I want to replace], 3) should I take the wings floats off? - they are wide, and I read under a Seamaster listing that they help slow the plane down and prevent stall... is this sound advice, or best taken off if I am flying from land?, 4) with the Saito engine and having all the power I will need, are basic/intermediate aerobatics acheivable... or should I fly it gentle (the block connecting the engine to the top of the wing seems very firm and rigid, but I wonder if it might rip off if exposed to high g-loads).

Any information or recommendations concerning this model and its flying characteristics would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

David Pyles
[email protected]

Hey David:
The Sea Dancer is definitely not a revised Seamaster. It's a Fred Reese seaplane based on his Cloud Dancer series. RCM has the plans for it and Ace kitted it for a while. Do a google search in the rec.models.rc.air group for it, you'll find a couple threads about it. Some reports of tip stalling but overall a well thought of plane.
Rich