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Float Flyin' Fun (Part 2)

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Newsletter space is very tight this month, so the rest of this article will spill over into next month's edition. But for now, let's ask the questions ``What kind of planes make good float fliers?'', and ``how do they fly differently compared to their land-based counterparts?''

The first question has an easy answer - just about any plane can be readily converted to floats. High-wing trainers are especially popular for conversion, as they get up on the step quickly and have modest wing loadings even with heavy, draggy floats. Float flying requires plenty of power however. If you're the sort who tends to install the smallest engine recommended for a plane, break that habit before trying it on the water. If it calls for a .35 or .40, install a .46. Same for electrics - if a landplane calls for a 100 watt motor - use 200 watts. As for flying techniques, most advice can be summed up by two basic rules:

Lots more next month...



Craig Kulesa
Fri Dec 4 19:26:59 MST 1998