well guys I finally got my M6-235 on floats (edo 2440's) and have put almost 30 hours on it. The first 20 were with an instructor as this was a requirement by my insurance company. at first I thought it was overkill but after flying a few hours I realized that the 7 or 8 hours that is required for the endorsement is not nearly enough. My instructor has over 15,000 hours on floats and about 800 in the Maule so the training ended up being a lot of fun and gained me much needed confidence.
almost all my landings and takeoffs were with 1 notch of flaps (24 deg.) and an approach speed of 80 mph indicated. we did some playing around with different flap settings and speeds but for the most part stuck to those numbers.
anyway, my questions
those of you flying the 235's on 2440's what are your settings and speeds at different weights and conditions? I have started playing with different things but would like to know what others find that works...and doesn't
thanks
Roamer [/img]
There is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing
my M5-235 on aqua 2400's loves 80mph on final. usually with one notch of flaps (15 degrees) but occasionally i'll use 2 notches (30 degrees) if light and playing around coming in short.
the aquas also like pulling full flaps on takeoff while rolling a float out. it will fly off by rolling a float without pulling flaps, but it takes a few seconds longer.
i have also found it nice to roll in too much nose up trim on final. it helps in the flare, and when transitioning to step taxi after landing the trim is already set to hold the step.
i see you are in thunder bay. i have a company otter up at recon air that they are finishing up a turbine conversion and complete rebuild.
UP,
that's good to know because the plane seems really smooth and stable at 80 and 1 notch (24 deg. on mine). your take off technique, I assume you are pulling full flaps and pulling back on the yoke at the same time to get off the water and then pushing the nose over to build speed in ground effect while milking the flaps back to 1 notch or zero? I have been putting in a ton of nose up trim coming in so I almost have to hold the nose down, I find it makes the flare a lot easier as I just need to relax on the yoke and the plane sets itself up.
Thanks for that, it's nice to know I'm doing it almost right, just need to work on consistency now
I have just moved west of thunder bay, but if your coming through when you pick it up I have a good tie down in front of my place if you are on floats and a good private (paved) strip just up the road if you are on wheels. pilots are always welcome at our place (about 1.5 hour flight west of thunder bay)
Roamer
There is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing
when taking off (with the aqua floats), any nose up input will drag the heels of the floats and cause the aircraft to slow down. so because i cannot get much, if any , angle of attack on the wings, i use aileron to roll a float out causing drag to be cut in half and further acceleration can happen. or if i am heavy or need to get out shorter, i use a brief pull of full flaps in conjunction with rolling in the aileron, but with absolutely no pitch change. it will usually leap off the water if i have 50 mph (or a little more if at 2750 lbs). once airborne you can feel the acceleration, lower the nose, flaps back to first notch for climb out, power reduction for noise abatement, clean up the flaps, set up for cruise or climb as required.
80 mph on final works great, but i dont ever let it get any faster than that. slower is fine, as pitch angle at flare will only increase. you never want to land fast and/or flat. that's how they stub a toe and go over. speed at splashdown is probably around 50mph give or take a bit, i've never really looked. also always make sure your left arm is RIGID on the pitch control. especially when the rear seats are empty. our 540 birds are nose heavy and a sudden forward pitch at splashdown that is not anticipated will leave you upside down.
other than that, you have one of the best performing float planes ever made! enjoy it before the ice comes back!
[/img]
