****please HELP****Floats on a Nexstar
 

I have the nexstar and and have the GP 40 floats KIT on order. Was wondering how the GP attach to the nexstar since it is a trike style. Is there any mods needed or what nots. Do I need to buy anything else or is that all (other than building material) I don't know what exactly I got myself into with this Idea. Any help on this would be greatly appriciated.[/size]

RE: ****please HELP****Floats on a Nexstar
 

Your float kit will have directions for an "N" style wire mount and the wire will be included. You will find that the GP floats mounting positions are fixed and not positioned for trike style mounting. You may be able to move the mounts, so look over the plans with this in mind before starting construction. Also, there is a trike gear mounting system available from Falcon Trading Co. maker of the "Ready-on-Floats" and "Cessna-on-Floats".....Seaplane

RE: ****please HELP****Floats on a Nexstar
 

As usual, Mr. Seaplane nails it. Take a look at where your landing gear attaches to the plane and be sure the hard points ar in the floats and sufficiently reinforced to accept the loads.

Another landing gear block just in front of the windscreen bulkhead is a good place to attach struts, as is a block just aft of the bulkhead at the rear of the cabin. Get a 1/4" thick plywood strip about 3/4" wide and epoxy it inside the bottom of the fuselage, especially being careful to bond it to the sides and to the adjcaent bulkhead. The standard factory-installed block will be just behind the CG, as that is the appropriate place for tri-gear mains. One option, it's not pretty but you CAN make a T-shaped strut and install it in the existing nose-gear block. Just remember to disable the nose-gear steering. The advantage of this is that it does provide for easy experimentation with the incidence of the floats: Loosening the nose gear attach collars and sliding the strut up and down makes incidence adjustment very easy.

The GP floats are larger and heavier than other floats. They perform beautifully on the water, but you may find your plane laboring to haul them around the sky. You can get some really efficient (light and durable) foam-core floats that will give better performance then the GP floats. Mr. Seaplane even makes floats that have become the standard by which others are compared.

In an unrelated note: I find that this post is number 1000 for me in this forum. Everybody run aou into the front yard and yell WooHoo!

RE: ****please HELP****Floats on a Nexstar
 

JIM--- Less talk more flying!!!!!! WooHooo!!!!! ENJOY !!!! RED

RE: ****please HELP****Floats on a Nexstar
 

I had the GP floats kit and got most of the way into building them. I was going to put them on a Superstar. I kind of lost interest in the project and I was worried that the floats would leak unless I glassed them so I ended up giving them away. It's a year later now and I've gotten bitten by the bug again. I've actually stripped and recovered the plane and ordered the Falcon floats with the trike gear mounting option. I'm just about to the point of installing the floats. I really like these floats and I can't say enough about the service I got in getting them. Very quick delivery. I've heard nothing but praise for these floats. I'm no expert, these guys know way more than me about float planes but I just thought I'd chime in a give you a perspective from a relative float plane newbie. I'd send the GP float kit back and get the Falcon's if it were me. They are a bit more money but I think they are worth it.