SERVICE MANUAL & ICA
8750 AMPHIBIAN/SEAPLANE FLOATS ON CESSNA 208/208B
P/N 1005723 Doc. No. W8750-24-01
Page 24 of 104
Revision IR
1.2 CLEANING
The outside of the float should be kept clean by
washing with fresh water and soap. Special care
should be taken to remove engine exhaust trails,
water-line marks, and barnacle deposits. After
salt water operations, washing with fresh water
should be done daily with special attention paid
to hard to reach places like:
- skin seams
- wheel well areas
- float attach points
- hardware
Alternatively, water taxiing in fresh water at
step-speed can help flush the floats themselves,
but additional rinsing should be conducted on
struts and fittings. The float interior should be
flushed out, especially if salt water or polluted
water gets inside the compartments. If the floats
are being stored inside a building either installed
on the aircraft or not, it is strongly
recommended to remove the inspection covers
so the interior of the floats can dry out.
Even without direct contact with
saltwater, this hydraulic pump in the
aircraft fuselage has severely corroded
due to being in a saltwater environment
without being kept clean.
OPERATORS IN SALT WATER
ARE STRONGLY CAUTIONED
RINSING THE AIRCRAFT AND
FLOATS WITH FRESH WATER AT
THE END OF EACH DAY IS
CRITICAL. ADHERING TO THESE
CLEANING RECOMMENDATIONS
ARE VITAL FOR KEEPING
CORROSION TO A MINIMUM.
FAILURE TO CLEAN
THOROUGHLY CAN SEVERLY
SHORTEN THE LIFE OF THE
FLOATS.
SALT WATER, POLLUTED WATER
AND THEIR ENVIROMENTS,
ARE STRONGLY AND DIRECTLY
LINKED TO CORROSION AND
MUST BE HANDLED
PRO ACTIVELY.