My First Floatplane!
 

Aint she a beauty! :D The Hangar 9 Ultra Stick with an OS 46AX on the nose. Super Flying Models Floats. Futaba standard gear throughout. Unfortunately until Hurricane Dennis passes there whon't be a maiden flight. I'll have to settle for the float test in the kiddie pool. [:o]

RE: My First Floatplane!
 

Looks great primo,it looks like it will be a great flyer,my stick is one of my favorite flyers its the one i push to the limits. i never thought too put floats on my stick........I took the easy way out... I just purchased the falcon cessna on floats, it's been fun to fly from the water, ultra smooth landings and i still have my landing gear! good luck with it

RE: My First Floatplane!
 

Oh Hell your in big trouble now Primodus. Your going to love that thing. I think most guys that have had U.S.'s of any kind.. the 40, 60, 1.20 have flown the be-geezes out of them. I know I did to my 40. I'm working on my second float plane ....a 60 US the first was a 40 like yours.
Jeez man, have fun with that thing. :DI bet by the end of the year I have more float planes then land. ;)

There are a few setup do's and don't with the floats. Once it's setup rite...........Sky's the Limit !!!!

RE: My First Floatplane!
 

Care to illuminate?

RE: My First Floatplane!
 

Boy there are way better guys then me to do any setup help. But I'll give ya what I do know.......
1. Try to keep the float step no more than a 1/2" behind the CG to rite on it. (My floats step on the U.S. 40 was 1/4" behind the CG, on the U.S. 60 they are 5/8" behind.)
2. I had a 1/8" - 1/4" pos. wing incedence on the U.S. 40. work great like that. I had a 1/2" - 3/4" when I started and it was way squirrelly once it got on the step. the change made a big dif....for me. The U.S. 60 is setup with rite at 1/4" and it's perfect for my style of takeoff and landing.
3. keep the floats parralle to the fuse.
4. keep the floats flat , no toe-down.
5. If you use a water rudder...dont let it stick more than about a 1/2' in the water while at step.( not a problem for me yet, I don't use one. I have kind of learned to steer by air over the rud. and thottle.
6. Don't get heavy / krazy.... on the elevator on takeoff... just hold a little back pressure... let it get up on step at speed. then pull lightly back.
7. Use a "slight" amount of power on landing, to help....Grease it in... You'll see what I mean.
8. Don't pee into the wind, dont pull the cape off the old long ranger, and don't mess around with Jim.........Something like that.

Good Luck
Joe

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_2930933/tm.htm

RE: My First Floatplane!
 

Thanks for the compliments guys. And thanks for the great information Joe. I must be living right because I have that setup almost to a T. Only difference is the water rudder. Mine sticks down full depth of 2" on the bottom of the float. (see pics) It does not retract like some. I will keep the rudder input to a minimum on takeoffs and landings. I will also do some practice taxi runs before I try to lift off if possible.

RE: My First Floatplane!
 

Got a chance to do taxi tests today on the pond at the back of the local park. (a VERY secluded area) The Stick was like a slug in the water. I found out the hard way I mounted the float step too far aft of the CG. The front of the floats was jsut barely staying above water. I will remove them and adjust for another try when the rain passes in a few days.

RE: My First Floatplane!
 

i hope that pool isnt gonna be your run way i dont think you have enough power to pull that off :D

RE: My First Floatplane!
 

Primodus, It's hard to really tell from your first pic's the complete setup. Here's a few of how my 40 US was setup. Looking at your pics in the pool the floats don't seem to hold it up out of the water the way mine was. My 60 sets the same way in the water as the 40 did. Both of mine are / (were) setup with Ralph Smith floats.
The way I setup my CG vs. Step was ........... I marked both sides of the fuse in the wing saddle with the wing off. Then I took a stright edge about 1.5' long and set it over both CG marks then drop at plumb bob. (sting line with nut tied to it) down to the floats, I made a mark behind the step at 1/2" back, and "NAILED" scewed them down to the float mounts when the string fell inbetween the step and the 1/2" mark. Am I makeing any sence ???? Well at least thats the way I did it. I'm sure these guys here can help more with EZ'er ways. ( Oh one thing make sure the float tops are level) I screwed that one up and the string was'nt a 90 deg angle down. (boy was I a dumm ***** for that one).

But any how....... To me your floats look shorter then the one's I used and don't look like they keep it a float as much. ??? But Hey what the Hell do I know I'm a rookie still finding my way too.............LOL.

Jump in here guys and throw us a bone, this guy wants to fly this Damm thing... :D

I do know this, once the bugs are worked out. You'll be hooked on Float Planes !!!!!!!

RE: My First Floatplane!
 

Primodus, One other thing, my floats stick out about 2"-3" from the Prop line.

RE: My First Floatplane!
 

I just looked at my float setup again (this is after the adjustment last night) and I have almost exactly 2" in front of the prop line now. I set the step up at 3/8" behind the CG with the change last night. As for the bouyancy of these floats, I dont see much difference in mine and yours. The submerged area looks about the same depth.

RE: My First Floatplane!
 

Thats great then it should be ready for another try...... More than likely just not enough in front of the prop.

Keep me post on how it go's. Good Luck

RE: My First Floatplane!
 

Will do! :D