3
2)
Covering:
a)
I usually don’t bother to cover my floats and just fly them bare. The foam is
entirely waterproof to begin with.
b)
Low-temp iron on covering is the best way to cover your floats for extreme
durability, or scale type color matching.
c)
If you feel the need for a little covering, some packing tape on the bottom should
suffice. The tape won’t stick without some contact cement or polycrylic on it first.
If covering only the bottoms, you can paint/spray the bottoms only by laying the
floats down in the scrap material so that only the bottoms are exposed.
d)
You can also paint the foam with any foam-safe paint, waterproof acrylics, or
Testors for plastic models spray paints.
e)
Test all your covering, glues, etc. on some scrap first just to be safe.
3)
Mount Points:
a)
In order to mount the base plates, you need to know where the floats will go.
You want to position the step of the float to be 1/4” to 1/2: behind the CG. For
planes with high mounted motors, you might put the step right at the CG.
b)
Hopefully this will result in the tips of the floats being just ahead of the prop, in
standard tractor type planes. If not, that’s okay, but if it falls really short you
should consider the next larger floats.
c)
Pin the baseplates in place with the “staples” if the foam is to springy, remove the
baseplates and give the staples a firm push into the holes you’ve already made.
d)
Glue the baseplates in place, using a foam safe waterproof glue.
e)
Cut the crossbars to the length necessary for your plane. If you feel the need to
substitute carbon fiber, now’s the time.
f)
Glue the crossbar against the baseplate and the staple over the crossbar, so that
everything is glued tight to the baseplate, and the staple is glued deep into the
foam.
4)
Mounting:
a)
Use either the landing gear that originally came with the plane, or bend a second
set to match. The mount points are designed for .055-.0625 wire, but a little
larger can be accommodated if you drill the hole.
b)
Make another set of gear to hold the other end of the floats. You want to make
sure that the plane has around 2 degrees of positive angle of attack relative to
the floats. This will make it easier to get off the water.
