AA.I.H.K2
KnowledgeFloat and hull construction, and its effect on seaplane performance.
From the FAA library
- SEAPLANE REGULATIONS
separate written test is required for pilots who are adding seaplane to an existing pilot certificate. Adding a seaplane rating does not modify the overall limitations and privileges of the pilot certificate. For example, private pilots with a seaplane rating ... authorized to engage in seaplane operations that would require a commercial certificate. Likewise, a pilot with a single-engine seaplane class rating may not fly multiengine seaplanes without further training. However, no regulatory distinction is made between flying boats…
- SEAPLANE CHARACTERISTICS
Many floats also have spray rails along the inboard forward portions of the chines. Since water spray is surprisingly destructive to propellers, especially at high r.p.m., these metal flanges are designed to reduce the amount of spray hitting the propeller ... Floats are rated according to the amount of weight they can support, which is based on the weight of the actual volume of fresh water they displace. Fresh water is the standard because sea water is about 3 percent denser…
- SEAPLANE, SKIPLANE, and FLOAT/SKI EQUIPPED HELICOPTER OPERATIONS HANDBOOK
condition of the surface resulting from both wind waves and swells. PLANING POSITION—The attitude of the seaplane when the entire weight of the aircraft is supported by hydrodynamic and aerodynamic lift, as it is during high-speed taxi ... step.” RATIO—The ratio between the height of a swell to the length between two successive crests (swell length). SEAPLANE — An airplane designed to operate from water. Seaplanes are further divided into flying boats and floatplanes. PLOWING POSITION—A nose…
- TAXIING AND SAILING › SAILING
useful technique for maneuvering in situations where conventional taxiing is undesirable or impossible. Since the seaplane automatically aligns itself so the nose points into the wind, sailing in a seaplane usually means moving backward. In light wind conditions with ... engine idling or off, a seaplane naturally weathervanes into the wind. If the pilot uses the air rudder to swing the tail a few degrees, the seaplane sails backward in the direction the tail is pointed. This…
- SKIPPING › GLASSY WATER TAKEOFFS
GLASSY WATER TAKEOFFS Glassy water makes takeoff more difficult in two ways. The smoothness of the surface has the effect of increasing drag, making acceleration and lift-off more difficult. This can feel as if there is suction between ... water and the floats. A little surface roughness actually helps break the contact between the floats and the water by introducing turbulence and air bubbles between water and the float bottoms. The intermittent contact between floats and water…