ATOP THE WATER

At times we all have issues trying to keep our heads above the water. The same happens when you decide to put your RC model atop a set of floats and venture forth on a whole new set of rules of physics and those resulting modifications needed to be successful in flight (and, of course, landing as well). Recovery from a poor flight or landing has a whole new set of skills required in order that the plane (and those extra parts) are not just debris drifting on the surface but can easily be recovered and made whole to fly another day.

This summer our club, The Niagara Regional Model Flying Club (NRMFC), has designated three "float fly" Saturdays. The first was to be held in late June and got cancelled due to extreme weather...higher winds and rain.  The next, in mid-July, was a success with over 50 people in attendance and almost thirty pilots flew a varied concoction of sizes and shapes. A good mix of fixed wing...some foam and electric and some more traditional engines and construction.

The sun and sky played a game of hide and seek...clouds came and went, and the winds changed direction a few times at our site. We have been privileged to have the permission of the owner of this piece of heaven to conduct our float events. Henry Beida, has welcomed us to this former site of recreational winter and summer off road vehicles. While we are onsite, he often visits to gaze, like the rest of us, at all manner of flying objects...much like a caretaker...quietly concerned over these 70 acres and the invasion of this quiet sanctuary.

This particular day he stayed longer than usual.   I think he is developing more than a passing interest. In September, we should get him on a buddy box...he will be hooked. This day, while there were some spectacular flying abilities shown, it was coupled by a few planes that either, almost made it into the air, or the few that would be unable to fly any more that day.  Those pieces were recovered, some on land but most still floating. This was done as their owner/pilot was doing a reconstruction of what had just occurred.

This post mortem usually results in all manner of conversations and sympathy. While pilot error is most common, it's followed by loss of radio control, a sudden gust of cross-wind or an unexpected mechanical event. Once it happens, there is an awful feeling of what you might have done to prevent the catastrophe.  I know, for its happened to me with my land-based Pulse XT25e...it's a terrible feeling of loss of control. Whether your plane has impacted during normal flight or some aerobatic maneuver there is a sudden and eerie quiet after impact. Those present eventually offer some measure of condolence after giving the pilot some personal time. Even the birds, seem to respect the demise of an aircraft...and stay quiet and still...the silence is strange and, in nature, quite unusual.

Most of the planes are repairable...some on site. Others will take only a few hours and they will be whole again. A few may have become a good winter project. My experience in land-based flying has grown since I got my "wings" last September. While nervous, I feel that it's about time I took the bull by the horns and got my Apprentice 15e ready for float flying.

Our Rescue vehicles above AND below !!!

To that end my new floats arrived today from Michigan..the Land of Lakes. A small company called SEAPLANE SUPPLY provides CNC cut foam floats for a variety of planes, the
Apprentice included. They were ordered on Wednesday...they arrived Saturday morning. Customer service like that isn't seen often, but the RC model community seems to have loads of cooperative owners that support the hobby with promptness and efficiency. So thanks, Mark Smith. These floats, as bare weight, are only 69 grams with the 2 carbon fiber separation rods and a nose coupler adding another 30 grams. The rear landing support bracket, and float rudder assembly will all need to be installed.

First though, these floats will be covered with white Ultracote, ironed on for two reasons. first to protect the integrity of the foam on takeoffs and landings (especially harder ones) and to reduce drag while attempting takeoff. They don't need to be waterproofed as they will sit high in the water and unlike some will never develop a leak or water absorption into a frame so they won't get any heavier during a day of float flying. Any decal decorations will have to wait as a winter project as the next float fly on Foss Road is less than a month away.

I've finally made the decision to fly on floats. They have arrived. Now I have to prepare for the day and another bucket list check mark..... Stay Tuned.

A Little History...

My first plane ride, as a kid, was in a yellow float-equipped de Havilland "Beaver" up in

DeHavilland "Beaver" Float Plane 

Temmagami, Ontario in the early 60's. Not yet a teenager, we had talked about this flight for a few days. My dad and I walked down the dock, climbed aboard, and took off just outside of town. Before long, we were landing on a stretch of Lake Temmagami. I had survived this first flight. I had soared above the Canadian Shield...over lakes, across rivers, above the pines and birches...and I had survived.

Climbing from the cockpit onto the dock, the knees still a bit wobbly and the stomach wildly rotating inside, I'm sure my eyes were as wide as the wing span of the Beaver. There had been a slight ripple on the water while taxiing. An increasing roar of the engine, the rush of the air, the sloshing of water on the pontoons, as we bounced along, was gradually diminished as we lifted from the surface and rose above the tree tops. The view was great...the trip, a memory for years to come.

Take-off...eh!

Camping at Finlayson Point across the lake a few miles away, you could hear the distinct sounds of their engines as more "seaplanes" lifted from or settled on those dark waters of that lake. The engines sounded similar as they idled then powered up but the outsides of these planes had various colour schemes.

Fifty years later, having rarely flown since then in small four seaters, it was time for another Beaver. In the past four years an increasing interest in Radio-Controlled (RC) flying meant it was time to consider the next purchase.

I had started with a trainer, E-flite's Apprentice 15e. I had wanted to stay with electric power source and this foam-built seemed like a good place to start. After completing a training program with the Niagara Region Model Flying Club Inc.(NRMFC), I was confirmed to have earned my "wings". It took a while...in fact the better part of two training seasons...for many reasons. The training involved Tuesday and Thursday evenings under the watchful eye of qualified instructors starting in late May and continuing until the first week of September. Inclement weather and high winds had cancelled some of these nights.

My personal schedule allowed mostly one night per week and, of course family vacation for three weeks mid-summer didn't help. I was under no illusion that it would take time...it is a skill with distinct hand-eye coordination. You put considerable pressure on yourself to do well...and avoid all the pitfalls that gravity could inflict. I didn't realize that a three week layoff meant your skills learning started all over again but improved rapidly thereafter. I learned that you really need to hone those skills regularly.

And throughout this time, patience reigned supreme. I was willing to wait and learn the skills but eager to move on my own to bigger and better things. It was a steep learning curve that requires repairs when you take chances or mother nature gives you that little extra puff of air or changes direction without your realization as you concentrate on your pre-landing preparation.

COMING UP NEXT:  Unexpected Windfall