Float Rigging

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mr157ifhz
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Joined: Sun Sep 05, 2004 10:33 am
Location: Ontario, Canada

Float Rigging

Post by mr157ifhz »

A few questions on float rigging. I've a Rans S7s with Rotax 912s, to go on Full-Lotus 1450 floats. Pretty much have only settled on a couple things - Float angle to fuselage, and step distance from CG.
There are two things that I am undecided on:
Float stance - I am leaning towards a more narrow spacing center to center - say, 66" vs 72". Have read (was on this forum somewhere..AV8er?) that closer spacing will give better t/o performance than wider from the action of the bow waves ......is this just theory or did someone actually try a narrower stance vs wider?
Rigging Height - I'm thinking lower would be better. As long as good prop clearance from the water, a lower height, say 20~22", from the top of the floats to the fuselage would work better than 24 or higher (Murphy Rebels on floats seem to be almost 3ft!) Less pendulum effect, closer to water so more ground effect, lower CG increasing stability somewhat to offset the stability lost by going narrower on the stance, shorter rigging would = lighter weight too. Oh, and maybe no step needed to climb aboard.
Thoughts?
-Matt
mr157ifhz
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Posts: 28
Joined: Sun Sep 05, 2004 10:33 am
Location: Ontario, Canada

Re: Float Rigging

Post by mr157ifhz »

Pretty much have the info I need now after reading about float installation trials and tribulations on this and various other forums. Going to go 66" c to c, 22" Height and a 3* throat angle - will start there and see how its goes.
Retter
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Joined: Thu May 03, 2018 2:14 am

Re: Float Rigging

Post by Retter »

Sounds like you are heading in the right direction for the float rigging. A buddy of mine will be working on the Rotax 912s project right after we finished installing the new tires and rotiform wheels on his current truck project. Would appreciate any more info from your project.
mr157ifhz
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Posts: 28
Joined: Sun Sep 05, 2004 10:33 am
Location: Ontario, Canada

Re: Float Rigging

Post by mr157ifhz »

Also Going to have the step quite further aft than typical - This is because of the design of the FL1450s. Unlike most floats, the step is well aft of halfway, where most others are. If I mount the step in a conventional position, it would move the CG quite a bit foreword. The fellow I bought the floats from has lots of float experience and is willing to think outside the box. He had suggested forgetting where the step was, and instead hang the floats so that the overall CG of the plane empty on floats is the same as it would be on wheels.
I just read an article where a fellow with a Glasair Sportsman on floats did just that. He moved the floats back on the airframe several inches (when compared with other Sportsman installs) Glasair had been recommending shollower throat angles for higher cruise speeds, 2.5 degrees or so, at the expense of takeoff performance. This fellow increased the throat angle to nearly 4 degrees, resulting in much better takeoff characteristics (35knt t/o vs 45) and was surprised to see his cruise was also up 5% over his old setup.
mr157ifhz
Forum Regular
Posts: 28
Joined: Sun Sep 05, 2004 10:33 am
Location: Ontario, Canada

Re: Float Rigging

Post by mr157ifhz »

Finally have flown with the FL1450s on Rans S7 . Not off the water though, from snow. CG of floats are still ahead of the empty cg of plane (1"), even then the step is way further aft than with floats that have the step closer to center of the float. Float angle is 3.5* for start, but the rear struts are adjustable so I can change that. 66" float width and the plane is 22" above the float tops. Takeoff slide was about a third more than on wheels and climb was around 700fpm, compared to 1000+ on wheels. Cruise a tad slower, but not much. 95mph@5100rpm. Plane handles very much the same in the air, hard to tell the floats are there but I was taking it pretty easy too - I'm sure if I was goofing around some they would be noticeable. Landing with these on snow was a real treat. Because they are so wide and flat I'm thinking there is a nice cushion of air there just before touchdown, makes things real smooth. Overall, pretty happy with the setup. Hope they work as well off the water as they do the snow.
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