I am a newbie to flying off water. NEVER done it before.. I bought a 41 inch Tidewater and took it out for the first time last Wednesday. First time for me flying off water and first time flying the Tidewater. It was great. Ran straight, got on step and lifted right off. Little up trim and left aileron and flew straight as an arrow. Landed with a small hop. The ailerons were a little quick so cut them back on the second flight. The second flight was also great and landed very smooth. The third flight I got brave and did left and right rolls, loops and inverted flight. Again it did great in all attitudes. The loops took a little effort because the motor on a pylon on top of the wing was fighting the loop. Anyway I am all smiles and highly recommend the Tidewater to everyone who wants to give seaplanes a try, even newbies.

DGM

I don't know why this plane isn't seen more often on forums. We have four in our local group and all agree they are a real delight to fly. In fact, It is one of my most enjoyable models of any - land or sea. They got this one right.

The one complaint I have heard repeated is that the prop chuck it comes with isn't very good and tends to let go. Blue Locktite helps. I put a DuBro 32mm spinner on mine that has the 3mm collet built right in and have had no problems. An APC 9x4.5 E prop is also a worthwhile upgrade.

Great flyer indeed and lots of fun. Always a crowd pleaser as I fly it on a lake at our subdivision often.
Mine though cuts out/ sputters during flight.. any thoughts? I suspect the 30ma esc has something to do with it.

The replacement esc is a 35ma.

Your input pl.

Here's a picture of mine on step at 6:15 AM on the Florida intercoastal south of Clearwater.
Great flying boat!! NEED a BIGGER one!!!

Has anyone had trouble with overheating of the ESC and battery due to the fuselage not being vented. I can only fly mine for 4-5 minutes due to the overheating problem.

Haven't noticed any heat problem.. I am using a 3 cell 2200 lipo for flight, but throttled back for just "cruising" . But , no water here now (west coast drought) so haven't flown it for 6 months or so.

I noticed TEAM SCALE PILOT said we need a "bigger one". My instruction manual covers a 71 inch version with a fly sheet covering the 40 inch one. Did they make a 71 inch Tidewater???

I suspect the problem as described to me has to do with the setup of the ESC. Now if I only can find that link I will post it. see my post #3 above.

i have taken the tidewater and blew it up to 64" wingspan.
stay tuned, pictures next week..