Float Length
 

Hey, guys,

What's the rule of thumb for length of floats. I have a buddy who lives on a bayou and we might try a seaplane out of his back yard. I have an unused Sig Fazer and a Tower .46 I can put on it. It's light and the servos openings are on top.

RE: Float Length
 

I think this link might help you......

http://www.geocities.com/planefunfloats/

RE: Float Length
 

Huh?

Try This one:

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

RE: Float Length
 

Thanks, guys. That's what I needed.

RE: Float Length
 

Hey Ed,
The common rule is 75-80% of the length from the rudder post to the prop washer.(for dual floats)
This always seemed arbitrary to me.

Ed Westwood published an article in MAN in 1991 where he showed that the step should be at 40% of the MAC, the nose of the float should be 1/3 of the prop diameter ahead of the prop, and the step is in the center of the float. The float length would then be 2(d/3+prop to .4MAC). In most cases, this makes the floats a bit longer than 80%

If you're buying floats and the 75% rule lands between two sizes, pick the larger size.