Aerobatic seaplane

jnmeade

jnmeade

Cleared for Takeoff
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Jim Meade
Curious to know if any of you have done the loop, the roll, the hammerhead, etc. in your ASES? Anything you found to be different? Yes, I know how it feels to get the floats going one way when I am going another.
 
I'd think seaplanes get enough abuse from being seaplanes.
 
Pretty sure I've seen some RV-Vans aircraft on floats, but I don't know how aerobatic they'd be with the floats on the bottom.
 
The question would be, why would you want to? It's gonna stink at acro; clearly isn't designed or tested for it; and it wouldn't take a long stroll through the NTSB archives to come across all manner of inflight breakups and other accidents resulting from pilots who thought they could be Sean Tucker in a non-aerobatic craft. But if you try it, you should definitely video it so that future attempts might be discouraged by watching the accident on youtube.
 
I'm gonna put an acro-seaplane in the same category as the Beech Sierra: A plane I would never want to fly.
 
PittsDriver said:
The question would be, why would you want to? It's gonna stink at acro; clearly isn't designed or tested for it; and it wouldn't take a long stroll through the NTSB archives to come across all manner of inflight breakups and other accidents resulting from pilots who thought they could be Sean Tucker in a non-aerobatic craft. But if you try it, you should definitely video it so that future attempts might be discouraged by watching the accident on youtube.
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Something to be said about a learners acro a/c that does not build up speed to quickly on the downline. . .
 
jhausch said:
Something to be said about a learners acro a/c that does not build up speed to quickly on the downline. . .
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I kinda like when they don't chuck off parts while recovering from the vertical as well - especially when I still need them for flying. :)
 
To my knowledge it's never been certified for acro, but only one ASES (short of the Schneider Cup racers of yore) comes to mind as something for which acro might be interesting, if not fun. It's the SIAI-Marchetti FN-333 Riviera. It had slick handling and performance for a seaplane, as you might expect from something from Marchetti. 26 were built, only about half a dozen are left. I was fortunate enough to get some stick time in one in 1971.
 
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PittsDriver said:
It's gonna stink at acro
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Every floatplane I've flown handled in the air badly enough during non-acrobatic maneuvers that I couldn't imagine anyone being foolish enough to try any acrobatics.
 
But one day I was at a friends house in Edmonds. One of Kenmore Air Harbor's 172s was doing all sorts of aerobatics above us. Loops and rolls in any case. I couldn't believe my eyes.
 
kgruber said:
But one day I was at a friends house in Edmonds. One of Kenmore Air Harbor's 172s was doing all sorts of aerobatics above us. Loops and rolls in any case. I couldn't believe my eyes.
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Perhaps they had a failed bilge pump and needed to shake all the water out of the floats.
 
The ICON A5 is hinting at being aerobatic, I shall let you know when mine is delivered.
 
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