Shark Floats

[trav5384]

I have a Kitfox IV 1200 and a set of used shark amphibs. I was thinking about installing them but I need to get them rigged for a kitfox. Anyone have any experience with these floats

[SkyPirate]

Hey Neighbor,..have you tried contacting the manufacturer to see if they have a solution? have you weighed the floats? found CG of the floats?

puma aircraft now own the rights for lsa shark floats

[SkyPirate]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=zJjrIH3vEDE

[SkyPirate]

these floats look like they could be flown off powder snow too :)

[ken nougaret]

nice looking floats. has anyone put them on an ss7 yet? video say they have them for up to 1600 lbs.

[SkyPirate]

I wonder what the older models weigh since he states they are changing the composite material because of weight

[trav5384]

I have been trying to get info from Puma but not having much luck. They are the series 3 1350 I have not weighed them yet but I was wondering the same thing about new series being different. I was hoping there was someone with a set in service that had all the specs on the rigging and performance. This is my first seaplane so any help or advice would be greatly appreciated

[SkyPirate]

I have made my own riggings in the past,..I weighed the floats ..found CG,.then found center buoyancy ,..like anything that is suspended in air or water..you have to get CG and buoyancy with in the envelope of each components limits ( the payload for the float inert and the CG of the load ie airplane),..usually it ends up with the step of the float very close to where the rear main gear would be in trike configuration,..now the angle of the wing to float,..in my installations, plane at level flight position the floats are at about 2 degrees high on the nose,..this does 2 things,,while in the air,,the floats will "fly" and help carry their weight,..when landing on water you fly to the surface ..you don't flare like on wheels,and with amphibs your mains will touch the surface first when landing on pavement..these floats being relatively flat on the bottom,,I wouldn't want to land on anything bigger then a 6" swell ,.the flatter the bottom of the float the more it will beat the crap out of you in rougher water,...anyways,..when you touch down the surface from the step forward touches first,..about half way to the bow of the floats,. with the floats at 2 degree's and what little flare you have at touch down its the same config as a boat on step at this point,..you slow down gradually and the floats settle onto the water,..like a boat,..too quick deceleration and you get a swell that smacks you from behind

[SkyPirate]

what type mechanism for the retracts? and are they hydraulic brakes? do you have the cross braces that go from float to float? and flying wires? rudder cables etc?

[SkyPirate]

if you are going to make your own ..Shapiro's in STL has the aerodynamic extruded aluminum for the rigging ,...they will also have the 6061 for making your connection blocks

[trav5384]

They currently have all the rigging for a Rans S7. they have two water rudders and air actuated gear with hyd brakes.

[SkyPirate]

when downwind had the rights building the shark floats ..kitfox was on the list of aircraft they had riggings for,so puma should have the set up for at least up to the model 4,..I think I see the list was dated for 1999 ,.

..the rans 7 being a tandem.. I wonder if the cross braces would be too short, narrow,. for a side by side set up,..but the legs would be long enough,..possibly too long,..so you could use them and shorten them

[DesertFox4]

Here is Downwind floats on a model 5 with Jabiru 3300 engine.


6026

[SkyPirate]

That looks pretty good Steve :D thanks for the photo, almost makes me think i should put mine on floats :D

[trav5384]

They look good on that V, and gives me a good picture of how they should look rigged on the plane. I'm in the final stages of my IV project, are there any modifications to the plane to make it a better seaplane or more stable on floats? Once it is finished I will fly it on wheels for a short while to get used to the plane and make sure the flight controls are rigged properly. Then I hope to put it right on floats hopefully before the end of summer.

[SkyPirate]

I've seen some put the tail fin under the vertical stab, it connects to the towbar points , but i wouldnt do it, the floats alone are going to add allot of drag as it is, make your plane as clean as possible and aerodynamical as possible, as light as possible,..

Are you using the 912ULS? HP will be the advantage

[SkyPirate]

You havent mentioned the type of trim your using on the tail, that , if your not too far along on your build, could make a difference

[trav5384]

Unfortunately I bought this plane out of Sikeston off of Barnstormers. It is about 90% built and I just have to do the finishing touches. At the time I thought it would work out great, I could still customize a plane to look and be exactly how I want it without spending 2 years building one. The workmanship on the plane is great and by the book no issues there. The problem is it has a brand new NSI Subaru Engine installed on it that I thought would be fine since it was supported by Kitfox and it is rated at 100HP. After reading many forums, I have learned I got the worst possible engine I could get, for reliablity and for floats. From what I have learned there is no resale on the engine so my current plan is to finish the project keeping it as light as possible and use the NSI for a couple years until I can get enough money saved up to swap it out for a Rotax 912ULS. I think I can still do something with the trim I will have to study it a bit and see what my options are.

[SkyPirate]

Ok I think I remember the plane from Barn Dreamers,..it has the aerodynamic tail surfaces if I remember right,..the differences on your plane is how the counter balance for the added weight on the nose was addressed,..either the wing gets swept forward or a counter weight in the tail somewhere,..if it's the plane that I think it is,. it has the BRS in it mounted way back behind the cargo pod,..most likely that is the counter weight ,.. I think it was mentioned in a previous post when that plane was listed,..the question came up,..not sure if it was answered by the seller,..

this doesn't make it a bad plane :) all kitfox aircraft are awesome ,.I'm on my 2nd now,..

down the road when you /if you change out for a 912ULS ..you will either have to move the BRS forward or remove it completely or add weight to the nose..,..that's 27 lbs to 32 lbs of weight depending on the model of the BRS..my first kitfox model 2 had a 750 model..BRS ..my model 5 doesn't have one,..if it did,,I wouldn't hesitate to remove it

[trav5384]

Yes it has the BRS but I was going to remove it, I think it is due to be repacked anyway. You mentioned moving the wings vs adding weight is that a big undertaking . I planned on moving the battery to the tail but was not sure on how much more would be required.

[SkyPirate]

I would leave it,..chances are the BRS being set back as far as it is ,,it's there for weight and balance instead of a lead weight on the tail,..I would do a weight and balance before removing it,.. if your weight and balance comes out true with the BRS installed,..then that's probably why it is as far back as it is,..you could remove it,,but you will have to replace the weight,,it can be less weight but it will have to go back further in the tail,..I sent you a private messege,, top right under your name is the private messege tab