fozjared

Not sure what forum topic to post DIY stuff in, but hopefully i can find help here or someone can kindly direct me where to take this question. anyway, like the title suggests has anyone made homemade floats for a .40 size trainer? I checked out some hard styrofoam at hobby lobby earlier today, but they didnt have any one piece big enough to cut a float from. if anyone has made homemade floats and can give me a list of materials that i could easily obtain i sure would appreciate it, thanks so much!

Newc

Foam pieces can be epoxied together to get the proper size and then cover with balsa and monokote. See the attached info and have fun! I also suggest you check out the seaplane forum.

fishgod

My Feedback: (13)

I made a set out of blue construction foam. I followed these instructions.

http://flyinglindy.homestead.com/skisandfloats.html

I did not cover them just flew them. The worked great.

fledermaus

You can also build floats the old-fashioned way, with a built-up framework and a balsa skin. My LT-40 is on floats that I built from scratch in this way, and from what I have seen my built-up floats are a good bit lighter than most foam floats people have described.

fozjared

as it says in red, please resist the urge to flame, but maybe i need flamed for asking this... i will ask it anyway, what would be wrong with something like 4" pvc with a cap on one end and a curved L on the front? do you have to have the little step behind the cg for turning purposes or why? thanks for everyones help and the wealth of info you guys have provided me with! i will probably build a foam float because it is most common, i just dont know where to find the right type of foam, do you need the really dense, hard styrofoam or will any do as long as you cover it? i really think that the pvc float would be simplest but just dont know if it would work.

skeeter_ca

I'm sure the PVC thing would not work. It would be way too heavy and not near the correct shape. The step in the middle is actually a very important. If there was no step the plane could not brake the friction of the water and rotate on takeoff. Look around. I have seen free plans on the web before that are very basic and simple to build. There are the foam floats or balsa and ply built up floats, and a combination of both. I would think a light weight foam would be best if you went the foam route. It would then be strenghtened with braces and covered. I personally like the idea of balsa and ply built up then cover with resin to seal. Maybe even some fiberglass cloth for added strenght. Remember those floats will take alot of beating during takeoff and landings and have to be strong but light. Looking for a set of proven plans would have the best possibility for success. Then of course there are the ones you can buy that are already made up. Just my nickels worth (inflation).

Newc

Any foam is useable and there's no need to go for extremely dense foam. The real purpose of the foam is for a lightweight structure for the balsa sheeting so that the floats have rigidity as per the Chuck Cunningham instructions I posted previously. With the foam and balsa combination there's no need for any braces or fiberglass (which adds weight). The only thing that is needed other than the foam and balsa is the plywood spine for added lengthwise rigidity and for mounting the music wire gear struts.

OzMo

My Feedback: (3)

white and light foam works well so don't reinvent the wheel,
the designs shown are fine. way back in the day the club i was in made a bunch of floats for a winter project. they look a lot like the plans you have but here are some tips.

#1 build light
#2 we put the spline (hard wood or ply top piece) set into the foam by cutting a slot with thick copper wire and a solding gun and balsa sheeted over it...we used a 1/2" x 1/2" x 75% of length of hard wood this was nice and stiff and let us stay light every where else.
#3 sheet it so you get a shingle effect. do the top first with 1/16 or 1/32 balsa then do the bottom from the back forward.the bottom pieces should cover the side sheeting, balsa the back-bottom, epoxy in hard ply for the small piece that makes the step then thin (same thickness as other sheeting) ply for the front bottom this is need for wear and tear and be sure to go just past the step piece. cover with covoring of choice.

we used epoxy but i think carefully applied polyurathane would work well today... use the saddles to glue everything up in with plenty of wieght and have fun