rhklenke

My Feedback: (24)

That's too bad. I have the GP Seawind and I love it. We fly ours at the Joe Nall every year (the only real pond I have access to), and I always look forward to it. I get at least a dozen flights per year. Its a challenge to get off the water, but its very doable and once in the air it is a dream to fly, no kidding...

Bob

micboy

Hi... All

I am just about ready to test flight hope this will be some time next week and also hope the weather will calm down...... I just wanted to ask a question...

I am currently practicing on my sim (real flight) flying the GP seawind do you think it quite close to the real one... as I managed to take off quite well..... and from what I read take off are quite tricky

Thanks
Michael

Bob93447

The simulator is much, much easier than the real thing. I found it hard, in my few minutes on the LOHS simulator, to get it to behave as badly as the real thing does on the lake. And my Seawind is light, 9 lbs, and electrically powered so the problem of the tips digging in is much reduced from the nitro version. The best advice I have had is to advance the throttle very slowly and terminate the takeoff quickly if the beast starts to propoise. That said, go through your checklists, approach the problem methodically, and be very gentle with your control inputs, and the Seawind will fly, quite nicely. Others will have good feedback to offer, so listen closely.


Good luck,

Bob

ALO 111

Hi
Just received my Nitro Seawind , have a 60 2 stroke lying around. Would it be enough?

micboy

Hi.. Alo

Good luck in the building process hope to see some nice photos... I think with a 60 size engine would be Ok but a bigger size engine will help a lot especially in taking off the plane need some additional nose weight in order to balance this of....

Mine is nearly ready all I need to finish this is install the receiver and set up the transmitter..... I have still the water rudder to fix as this is not working properly and it’s loading the servo.... I will see into this and will let you know how she balanced off.... I am using a TT 91FS.

Also can you check if you wing servos are located on top or bottom mine are on top I emailed the factory as I own a hobby store and get these directly from them and said that this is on purpose in order to reduce water spray

Let us know how things are going..

Michael

micboy

Hi.. All

I test flew my Seawind on Sunday.....WOW...

First I was taxied the plan a bit just to have a slight felling with regard to water handling… then I just powered up the TT 91 four Stroke and the plane had a good run…. She lifted nicely (BTW Flaps where ON) I continue to climb and maintained both wings levelled, turned OFF the Flap and trimmed it out… just a few clicks on the Ailerons and Elevator and she tracked straight and level..

I made a few low passes just to have some nice photos … and decided to land I switched on the Flaps and she was lifting the nose too high and was nearly going in a stall… however I applied power and aborted the landing… I switched Off the Flap and she landed nicely with only one small bounce when hitting the water and then she finally settled down ..

Till now I am quite happy with the first flight… Second flight was not this good…

I tried to have a second flight I did notice that the wind has picked up a bit and changed direction a little… which I think this is the reason the second fly was not successful I applied power and she lifted (2metes +/-) and dropped in nose first in the water.. What I noticed that I pulled back the entire elevator (which did not help at all)
Anyway I taxied back to shore and removed the canopy and found a few drops of water running inside the Ailerons servos and the flaps where glitching (The first flight no water noting not even the smallest drop) as I have removed the canopy to check this.. Maybe when the nose hit the water the Tape moved a bit and allowed water to get in..

Till now that’s it I will try to give this another try and will let you know how she goes…

Sure one thing I will try is to let her run…… so she will pick up speed…. And then I will pull … I thought I have pulled quite early in the second flight that’s why she stalled…

Thanks
Michel

micboy

OHH... Sorry missed a take OFF Pic...

SON OF PALEFACE

My Feedback: (1)

I hope your not flying on sea water ???

micboy

Yes....... [] unfortunately......

SushiSeeker

I just started building mine and noticed the same thing! I double checked and sure enough, the opening for the servos is on the TOP of the wing. The hard point for the landing gear is in the bottom however. I am in the process of fixing this by making a servo template and cutting mounting holes in the bottom and reinforcing the hole with plywood inserted through the hole and epoxied to the inside. What a pain. Could this be an intentional manufacturing change designed to keep the servos dryer? If so, externally mounted servos are ugly enough, but on top of the wings against the sleek lines of this plane, it is criminal.

SON OF PALEFACE

My Feedback: (1)

Thats just bad ...or NO qualiy control , mine has the servo mounting plates in the bottom [sm=thumbs_down.gif]

nilsreinert123

Hello

Have anyone tried a saito 72 fourstroke on this plane ? I happen to have one and want to use it on this plane

SushiSeeker

No, but I think that engine will be a little small for that plane.

The plane is considered to be a 60 sized plane. Using the the OS Max website as a reference (they publish HP ratings):

An OS Max 61FX two-stroke produces 1.90 hp - this is your reference
OS Max 72FS four-stroke produces 1.2 hp - so you are only going to have 63% of the HP of the "correct" sized engine
The OS Max 120 Surpass four-stroke produces 1.9 hp so you need to be somewhere in this range

Note: This is somewhat of a cruse analysis because I am only considering HP and not torque, but as a general seat-of-the-pants analysis, it's good enough. I plan to power mine with a OS Max 90 Surpass four-stroke and probably would not go any lower.

nilsreinert123

Thanks for the answer . Since i have the 72 i will try it and see how it propell the Seawind . I am curious to try this plane , it is my first seaplane

Fast Freddy

Hello,
I started this thread and have since bought a GP EP Seawind. This is the smaller, foam version. I now have this plane dialed in and it's a joy to fly. Here's what I learned form others. On takeoff from water, hold full up elevator and go to full power quickly. This will stop the bouncing effect. It works for me every time. Perhaps this method will work on the larger Nitro and GP Seawinds as well. Has anyone tried to do an electric conversion on the larger Nitro Seawind? The reason I ask is that electric motors produce far less vibration. The motor pylons in these large Seawinds seem to weaken over time due to extreme glow, motor vibration. Any thoughts, opinions?[8D]

bigguyplanes

My Feedback: (1)

Does anyone have a scale 3 view of the " Seawind " ?

SushiSeeker

I saw a video of a GP electric conversion on youtube. Seemed to fly pretty well. Unfortunately I can't search for the link here as my company blocks that site with our firewall.

I plan to fly mine from my boat, while I am anchored of course! I find the idea of an electric very convienent as I would not have to take a field box out with me and stand on the swim platform to start my motor. However I don't like the idea of using LiPo batteries near water as you have the potential for catastrophic failure when the interior becomes wet. Further there is no way in heck I am putting a battery with the tendency of bursting into flames on the same boat with 300 gals of fuel. But if you are flying from land, on a body of fresh water, electric should be fine. I plan on using an OS .91 4-stroke. Good luck!

nilsreinert123

i tested my np seawind today for the first time , but it jumped on a wave and surprisingly headed straght into the water again , had to take my boat and retrieve a semi-submersibled seawind !!

Are there any tricks to avoid this bouncing? CG adjustments ? elevator sensitivity ? What must i do to get it flying?

SushiSeeker

Get sufficient airspeed to generate enough lift to overcome the weight of the plane. [8D]

Seriously, it sounds like the wave may have taken you airborne before you had enough airspeed to fly.

nilsreinert123

thank you for replying fast ! Yes i will try to hold it longer next time to gain more speed , also i will install the water rudder or a fixed fin , have any one experience , will a fixed fin or waterrudder be best , any thoughts?

SushiSeeker

A fixed fin does not help with turning (only tracking). A water rudder will help with both. I would recommend the water rudder.

Fast Freddy

Sushi,
On my Great Planes electric powered Seawind (foam version) I hold full up elevator for the entire take off from water. Works every time. Try it on the NP Seawind and see what happens. Have you waterproofed all your on board electronics: RX, servos, electrical connections?

SushiSeeker

Freddy,

I suspect that the reason your small electric jumps out of the water (unlike either glow version) is that you have a better thrust/weight ratio. If you ever come to Florida on vacation, bring your plane and we can run some comparisons in the name of science. [sm=shades_smile.gif]

nilsreinert123

Have anyone flow this plane ..?? Mine wont fly , starts bouncing , its probably due to engine location and wing loading , needs a lot of weight in the nose.

Should have bought the Neptune instead.

jrf

My Feedback: (551)

Nils:

I have no experience with the Nitroplanes version, but the Great Planes version has the same problems unless the take off procedure is just right.

This is what works for the GP Seawind 60 size:
Use 50% flaps on takeoff
Take off directly into the wind. That huge sail in the rear catches any crosswind and you will be blown off course.
Accelerate SLOWLY. If you hit the throttle too fast, the engine pushes the nose down into the water. That is what starts it bouncing.
Level the wings as soon as the ailerons become effective.
Do not add up elevator until you have reached flying speed and then only a little is needed. On slightly choppy water, the GP Seawind will take off by itself, with no elevator input.
Do NOT use the rudder during the takeoff. The water rudder is way too sensitive and will cause a water-loop.

Try that technique with the Nitro, and let us know if it works.

Jim