Lt 40 float plane
 

post some pic of your Lt 40 on floats and talk about what brand and type they are. thanks Tim

RE: Lt 40 float plane
 

Ray Smith is the Brother of Ralph Smith:"Seaplane" here and the proprietor of Plane FunFloats.
http://www.skymasters.org/events/spr.../1998/lt40.jpg
Mark Smith is he proprietor of Saaplane Supply.



http://www.seacommander.com/images/LT40.jpg
This is from the SeaCommander floats website. This was just the first picture I came up with. If you google "LT-40 on Floats" you'll get MANY images.

RE: Lt 40 float plane
 

Looks Like you have to be a "Smith" to make good floats!
These are 39" Flat Bottom floats, one of the first set I made.
Mark
(Jim How do you like Florida?)

RE: Lt 40 float plane
 

>>(Jim How do you like Florida?) <<

I have rejoined and am a member in good standing o the Florida Float Flyers. 

Probably the greatest float-flying site on the entire planet and parts of Georgia. 
Happy to be back with my Float Buds, i haven't even bothered to try dry-flying since I arrived in May. 

We had a fly-in/membership drive last spring.  Can't understand why there is not a waiting list to get in the club. 

RE: Lt 40 float plane
 

Here is my brother in laws lt40 with Plane Fun Floats, they are slim and I think 38 inch, foam core balsa covered.


Steve

RE: Lt 40 float plane
 

Here's mine flying over Utah Lake this earlier this year. Flat bottom custom cut 36" foam cores with balsa sheeting and glass. They work great!.

RE: Lt 40 float plane
 

Here is my LT40 on floats. The floats are a little small in displacement for the plane weight, but the Tower .75 doesn't seem to care.

RE: Lt 40 float plane
 

Here's my latest float plane project - LT 40 kit project with 36" Plane Fun Floats, glassed and painted. Plane covered with transparent ultra coat and modified with dual ailerons and built as a tail dragger with 55 ax. Can convert from floats to landing gear in minutes. Very satisfying project but due to hurricane damage at the River, I have not maidened on water yet. Hope to do so before plane fetcher (sea doo jet ski) is up for the winter. Cheers..Hutch..

RE: Lt 40 float plane
 

I scratch-built floats for the LT-40 I learned to fly on. They are based on the "40-size" float design from Great Planes, but I scaled them up a bit because the GP floats sit too deep in the water. Balsa and a bit of ply construction, covered with 1.5 oz fiberglass on the bottoms and 0.75 oz on the sides and tops, sprayed with silver aluminum engine paint. Ernst water rudders driven from the stock nosewheel system on the plane.

RE: Lt 40 float plane
 

Maybe it's because of that big old "Alligator" on the West bank. ENJOY !!! RED

RE: Lt 40 float plane
 

Cool! Ray and Ralph were my instructors and taught me to fly!!

RE: Lt 40 float plane
 

Considering an LT 40 with floats but I'm getting some mixed signals here. Everywhere I've read, suggest that floats be 75% of length of the fuse measured from the engine prop plate to the trailing edge of the stab. Yet I see here that 36" and 38" floats are being used. So it seems that if I went with the suggested float size they would be too long.
Obviously the foam core floats seem to do a better job than hollow.
BTW I plan to power the LT 40 with electric.

RE: Lt 40 float plane
 

I have always used 39" to 40" floats on the LT40, with the high wing it needs the stability of the longer float.
Mark
seaplanesupply.com

RE: Lt 40 float plane
 

Well, I thought that a longer float would add extra stability, maybe some people are used to flying with a shorter float. I tried a set of Gee Bee milk carton floats and they weren't worth a tinkers damn. That was ten years ago and never tried it again. I'm not so sure about using the G.P. or Goldberg floats as they are hollow and not too crash resistant in case the plane runs into an obstruction in the water.
Sea Commander site is still up and running so they are still offering product but as nice as those floats are, they're a bit pricey for what I need.
Now I need to find an LT 40 kit somewhere, hopefully on RC Universe classified , or elsewhere.
What the heck....I need start another kit while I've got three or four yet waiting to be finished.
Situation normal.

RE: Lt 40 float plane
 

Jollyroger:
Go all the way and do a Kadet Senior. 
THe greatest floatplane ever. 
Build the wing FLAT.  Add Ailerons and Flaps.  
It'll  be so good Your face will hurt when your grinning muscles develop cramps. 

RE: Lt 40 float plane
 

Jim, that is another plane I considered, in fact, I had been considering that one before I decided on the LT-40, but not for floats. Yes, I like the idea of ailerons and flaps as I built a Seniorita with flaps. The only downside to the Senior is that it takes a lot of film covering, unless you use Koverall or similar covering, but then you gotta dope the covering which is quite odorous. The LT-40 is a smaller plane but quicker build and already has ailerons. The Senior is not that much larger than the LT-40 as far as wingspan goes and the flying weight is pretty much the same with the wing loading of the Senior being an estimated 12 oz./sq.ft while the LT-40 has a wing loading of 14 to 15.5 oz./sq.ft. The Senior has a bit more wing area + 27% . All in all it would be a toss up as to which one I would choose. The Senior would definitely look more majestic floating around the sky.
I guess it will all come down to which I can get first.
cheers

RE: Lt 40 float plane
 

Like Jim said go with the senior the bigger they are the easier they fly. Jim, I got to get down to your club and lake one of these days maybe one weekend when the winds slow down but before it gets hot-hot-hot!!!!!

RE: Lt 40 float plane
 

Jim,
I forgot to ask: is your club doing a fly-in this April similar to last year?

RE: Lt 40 float plane
 

FLFLFL club fly-in will be on a not-yet-decidedSaturday in April. Otherwise you are welcome every saturday morning.Better call ahead, tho' . It was too windy this weekend and everybody pooped out. The retirees (everybody but me) also go out on Friidays. One day they all ran out of BS at the same time -looked at each other blankly, and packed up to go home.

I have an electric Kadet Senior almost ready-tweaked to look like a Cub. $60. worth of ultracote so far, and $20 worth of Thin CA holding it together. Flaps and spoilers.