Hangar 9 40-Size Floats, Assembly Manual, Page: 12 / 16

1
Float Flying
Flying from floats can be great fun . There are a few things
to remember when you hit the lake . First, make sure you
pick a location where you can take off and land parallel to
the shore line with no obstructions . You will want to make
sure you are taking off and landing into the wind .
Verify your water rudder is down and the engine is
running . Set the plane into the water and begin to taxi out .
It is common to hold full up elevator (back stick) during
all taxi maneuvers . This helps to eliminate prop splash
and keeps the water rudder deep in the water for improved
steering . You may want to use a high rate for your rudder
during this operation as well . You will switch to a low rate
rudder for takeoff .
Taxi slowly to get the hang of the rudder . Once you have
lined up for takeoff, set your rudder dual rate to low . The
water rudder becomes very effective during takeoff . Apply
full up elevator and apply throttle slowly at first . As the
plane picks up speed, you will notice it coming up on
step . At this time, you can relax the elevator input and fly
off the water the same way you take off from hard ground .
Once in the air, you will find the plane to behave slightly
different than before . The added weight below the model
acts similar to a pendulum effect in flight . It will slightly
effect the aerobatic performance as well . You will notice a
higher power setting from normal due to the added drag
and weight of the floats .
Landing on water is very similar to landing on hard
ground . Set up like you normally would and turn onto
final approach . Maintain power during the approach,
as a plane with floats tends to land slightly faster than
when equipped with landing gear . As you come down,
begin to flair and hold it until touchdown . Once you
have touched down on the water, as the plane slows down,
begin to feed in up elevator as the plane settles . Once
you are slowed down, taxi back to shore and get ready for
another day at the lake .