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For those of you following float options being developed for the Carbon Cub I thought I'd post a PIREP here having just returned from a visit to Aerocet in Priest River, ID. Jim Richmond and I flew up there yesterday to see how things are coming, what's taking so long, and when we might be able to accept orders. Oh yea, and when do we get our airplane back? We had a productive day and each of us took test hops in it as well. We get lots of inquiries about floats and how the Aerocet project is coming so I though I'd take the time to document my observations below. I'll ask Jim to comment on his impressions here also. I know that "Rowdy" Royce Anderson was scheduled to fly in a couple of days, perhaps he will comment here also as one with more time in a Carbon Cub on Baumann's than anyone except maybe Gary Lickle. Hull Shape - The Aerocet's have a noticeably different hull shape than the Baumann's, a much deeper V with a flute (probably not the right technical term) also. No question they ride different when on the step, much softer as you'd expect. Tom Hamilton (owner of Aerocet) said he'd landed in 18" chop the day before and it handled it fine. With the Carbon Cub being such a light airplane I think a deeper v configuration makes sense allowing the hull to slice the wave rather than pound on top of it.
Flotation - Relative to the Baumann's the Aerocets seem to have noticeably more flotation, especially forward. I don't you'll ever be able to bury the nose of a float when doing a downwind taxi turn, which is of course a good thing. The Baumann's could bury the nose under certain conditions if you weren't careful, I think Aerocet has addressed that nicely. I didn't calculate the weight but with Tom Hamilton and I and half fuel we had plenty of freeboard and could have carried quite a bit more weight. I'll leave all the actual flotation numbers for later, but I think they have just the right amount of flotation for this plane.
On the step - I think these floats have a different feel on the step than the Baumann's. With the deeper v there is more water drag but of course a smoother ride. The Baumann's have a flatter hull profile and seem to glide with a bit less drag. The "sweet spot" seemed adequately wide though I didn't have a chance to play with flaps and trim to see what would happen if you really push the nose down or back or completely let go of the stick. It was no problem to cruise along on the step with just small power and pitch adjustments. (the most fun part of seaplane flying as far as I'm concerned!)
Spray control - Having seen Catto props without the nickel leading edge get eaten in one takeoff on Baumann's if the pilot didn't go from a dead idle to full power, I opened the window and looked up front as I played with various taxi speeds. I couldn't get bow spray up into the prop no matter what speed I tried, cool!
Suspension - These amphibs actually have
real suspension on the mainwheels! With 5.00 wheels/tires, unlike the little 4.00 casters on others, and very effective suspension this bird could actually do some off airport landing work.
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Gear advisory system - The Baumann's had no gear advisory system as you may know, Aerocet has their own proprietary system. We're still debating "arm" and "trigger" speeds, but I think most pilots will like this system.
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A few final comments: the silver gelcoat they chose is a bit too light, will be darker next time to match our silver. Available gelcoat colors will be silver, white, and Cub yellow. Best guess will be 245-250 lbs all up, a bit heavier than hoped but a robust and full featured system. Though most of the development work is now done and rigging has been finalized, there is still some formal flight testing to be done for ASTM certification. We are still not in a position to accept deposits/orders yet but it should be soon.
Jim and Royce?