[Hawk]

went out on the lake ....floats work well little heavier so some getting used to............... it performs well in flight and have tried mild aerobatics.......... the only part I found a little hairy was once it was on step it wants to skid around.I spun it on the wing a couple times.any suggestions on how I canget it to track alittle better..... I thought maybe a fin on the bottom of the fuse. but I don't know if thats what I need or just need to set it up better. I can get it to track better if I hold the elevator up but then it wants to lift off too soon.
all in all what an excellent afternoon
Hawk

[nony]

Congratulations on your first float flight.....

The floats appear to be mounted a little to far aft. The step is where the main wheels would be, which is quite aways behind the cg. (I saw that the instructions say to put the step 1/2" behind the cg...which is a bit strange, but they should know what they are talking about, right? )
Most installations I have seen have the step at, or within a 10 degree vertical angle ahead of the cg. Looks like it may be a major operation to move them, so what you could do is to epoxy a little skeg (keel) on the center of the float just infront on the step. You have to be careful when beaching it though, as it would be pretty vulnerable to damage.

If the plane is lifting off too early, you can try reducing the incidence some more, so it will ride the floats until it has built up enough speed to lift off. Just try a little at a time..if you go to far, you will turn your floatplane into a speedboat (don't ask how I know..!)

[scaleguy]

Wayne,

That speedboat you were talking about, that would not happen to have been a Seamaster 20 would it?

I built one once and it made one heluva good speedboat but every time you lifted it off the water it would snap and become a submarine!

I tried fooling around with the incedence but could never get it to work right. Finally sold it to a guy who was looking for an airboat. I just cun the wings off at the fuse sides!

[nony]

not quite, it was a Global Great Lakes on floats ... a terrible little plane with a lot wrong with it - even on wheels. We figured about a minimum of a quarter mile to get it up in the air........

[Hawk]

Hi again guys
Had the Kavilier in the shop....reduced the wing incidence by 1/4".
that keeps a little more of the front of the float in the water. Now I can open the throttle for take offs. Small wing for such large floats ...But it still floats in for very nice landings...Its going to be fun plane
Hawk

[JimMcIntyre]

Great news! Enjoy!

[JimMoss]

Originally Posted by Hawk

Hi again guys
Had the Kavilier in the shop....reduced the wing incidence by 1/4".
that keeps a little more of the front of the float in the water. Now I can open the throttle for take offs. Small wing for such large floats ...But it still floats in for very nice landings...Its going to be fun plane
Hawk

So Hawk, does that mean you are at 0 incidence on the floats now?

Jim Moss

[Hawk]

Hi Jim

Not quite 0 incidence but very close ....just a bit positive.
After reading the instructions again ...the only thing I can think of is the translation is wrong ....near as I can figure it should probably say 1to 2 degrees plus incidence instead of 1/2" plus incidence.
Thanks for the suggestions, they all help one way or another
Hawk