Homebuilt Float Plane

[[email protected]]

Got to fly a homebuilt Challenger on floats while up in northern
Minnesota for the crop dusting season. What a kick! I hadn't been on
floats for 35 years and finally got to add one more hour in the SES
column. Also managed to put in over 450 hours in helicopter spraying in
less than 4 months.
Anyone else had any experience with the little Challenger? Like a
little toy and certainly took some adjusting after such intense time in
helicopters.
SelwayKid

[Cub Driver]

There were three Air Creation floatplanes at the Greenville ME fly-in
last weekend. They'd flown up from Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire
with one stop at a marina for autogas.


On 23 Sep 2005 19:04:06 -0700, wrote:

>Got to fly a homebuilt Challenger on floats while up in northern
>Minnesota for the crop dusting season. What a kick! I hadn't been on
>floats for 35 years and finally got to add one more hour in the SES
>column. Also managed to put in over 450 hours in helicopter spraying in
>less than 4 months.
>Anyone else had any experience with the little Challenger? Like a
>little toy and certainly took some adjusting after such intense time in
>helicopters.
>SelwayKid


-- all the best, Dan Ford

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[Mike Rapoport]

My float plane is under construction. I finished riveting a flap and an
aileron today.

Mike
MU-2

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> Got to fly a homebuilt Challenger on floats while up in northern
> Minnesota for the crop dusting season. What a kick! I hadn't been on
> floats for 35 years and finally got to add one more hour in the SES
> column. Also managed to put in over 450 hours in helicopter spraying in
> less than 4 months.
> Anyone else had any experience with the little Challenger? Like a
> little toy and certainly took some adjusting after such intense time in
> helicopters.
> SelwayKid
>

[john smith]

In article t>,
"Mike Rapoport" > wrote:
> My float plane is under construction. I finished riveting a flap and an
> aileron today.


Mike, are you planning on statically balancing your ailerons?

[George Patterson]

Mike Rapoport wrote:
> My float plane is under construction.

That's the Moose, right?

George Patterson
Give a person a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a person to
use the Internet and he won't bother you for weeks.

[Mike Rapoport]

I am building the airplane as close to how Mr. Murphy intended as I can.
The ailerons are over-balanced with the standard weights. Of course they
aren't painted yet but I think that they will be overbalanced after painting
too. Since the weights are in a spade, they aren't very heavy and I will
probably just leave them as-is

Mike
MU-2

"john smith" > wrote in message
...
> In article t>,
> "Mike Rapoport" > wrote:
>> My float plane is under construction. I finished riveting a flap and an
>> aileron today.
>
>
> Mike, are you planning on statically balancing your ailerons?

[Mike Rapoport]

Correct. I am just getting rolling. I have completed the seats, airlerons
and flaps. Learning new things every day..

Mike
MU-2


"George Patterson" > wrote in message
news:TNoZe.4416$L15.936@trndny01...
> Mike Rapoport wrote:
>> My float plane is under construction.
>
> That's the Moose, right?
>
> George Patterson
> Give a person a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a person to
> use the Internet and he won't bother you for weeks.

[[email protected]]

wrote:
> Got to fly a homebuilt Challenger on floats while up in northern
> Minnesota for the crop dusting season. What a kick! I hadn't been on
> floats for 35 years and finally got to add one more hour in the SES
> column. Also managed to put in over 450 hours in helicopter spraying in
> less than 4 months.
> Anyone else had any experience with the little Challenger? Like a
> little toy and certainly took some adjusting after such intense time in
> helicopters.
> SelwayKid

AOPA pilot had a story on the challenger on floats last year sometime,
IIRC. I've thought about one when the cashflow situation improves a
little. I got my float rating in Moose Pass AK a few years back and it
was great fun but I quickly realized that unless I got seriously loaded
I wouldn't be flying my own floatplane anytime soon in this lifetime.
Lots of great lakes and such up where I am in New England to play with
a machine like this.

Only concern I had was reading about yaw problems (especially with the
full doors on) with so much of the "cabin" out in front of the wing.
Supposedly Challenger addressed that in newer birds with a larger
vertical stab. I also really liked the idea of sticking it on wheelskis
in the Winter and not needing preheat because the Rotax 503 is a
snowmobile engine. 3-5 gallons of mogas per hour and self-maintained
makes it a pretty inexpensive way to fly.

I've also looked at the SeaRey and Czech-built Mermaid which are both
boat-hull amphibs, the Mermaid being manufactured under LSA and costing
about 100k so not quite comparable, but also supposed to do 120kts and
carry a 600# useful load so it's more of a "real airplane." Then if you
really want to go nuts you could always get yourself a "wingy dinghy"
like this:

http://www.medboat.com/watertoys/flyrib_why.shtml

If you can get over the fact that it's a completely preposterous
machine it actually looks like a lot of fun, though at $26k or so it
ought to be.

-cwk.

[Newps]

Thee's a local guy here(6S3) who has two of them, both on wheels. One
has the IO-540 in it and is completed and flying. The other is still
under construction and will have the Russian radial. Neat looking
airplanes, big inside, but slow.



Mike Rapoport wrote:
> Correct. I am just getting rolling. I have completed the seats, airlerons
> and flaps. Learning new things every day..
>
> Mike
> MU-2
>
>
> "George Patterson" > wrote in message
> news:TNoZe.4416$L15.936@trndny01...
>
>>Mike Rapoport wrote:
>>
>>>My float plane is under construction.
>>
>>That's the Moose, right?
>>
>>George Patterson
>> Give a person a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a person to
>> use the Internet and he won't bother you for weeks.
>
>
>

[Gary]

I just read about the Moose in a Flying Mag. Holy Smokes I live only 20
miles from CYCW and I didn't even know the plane was built there. Looks like
it would be a lot of fun building one of those!


"Mike Rapoport" > wrote in message
nk.net...
> Correct. I am just getting rolling. I have completed the seats,
airlerons
> and flaps. Learning new things every day..
>
> Mike
> MU-2
>
>
> "George Patterson" > wrote in message
> news:TNoZe.4416$L15.936@trndny01...
> > Mike Rapoport wrote:
> >> My float plane is under construction.
> >
> > That's the Moose, right?
> >
> > George Patterson
> > Give a person a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a person to
> > use the Internet and he won't bother you for weeks.
>
>