...just weeding out problems Yesterday was the first opportunity to get the Canadair 415onto the water but unfortunately things didn't go well, to the degree that the Canadair didn't even come close to getting into the air, which was rather unfortunate as it was a spectacular afternoon for flying.
The first issue was the rudder, which proved almost immediately to be bordering on useless. It appears the thin wire mechanism, incorporated into the tail assembly, is much too lightweight for the job, so the Canadair ended up drifting rather aimlessly around the lake and ending up having to power it through the water weeds as steering it back wasn't an option.
Fortunately, as we know, the Canadair has a surfeit of power which saved it from the indignity of being marooned on the water. This was all the more impressive when one saw the amount of marine foliage that the fixed rudder had gathered as the plane trawled through the weeds.
The second issue was that one wing was heavier than the other so that, despite the plane accelerating on the water, I was unable to get the wings levelled. As a corollary, with the float stuck on the water, the Canadair was progressing in slow circles. I eventually gave up and ploughed it back to shore. The wing balance is a relatively easy fix, however the rudder function is a more taxing issue altogether, and something I'll have to do some research on...
...don't try too hard Conditions today were idyllic, a beautiful warm afternoon with a light easterly blowing, and the lake deserted as usual except for a flock of moorhens and the odd duck. With the Trainstar now fully sorted, I was looking forward to a leisurely afternoon flying the floatplane around and enjoying the gorgeous weather. With the rudder servo keeping things straight on launch I could concentrate on managing the liftoffs; this takes a little doing as one needs to ease off the up-elevator required during the takeoff run, however the liftoff is quite sudden and tricky to anticipate. Anyhow, the launches were a little better but still need some work.
The landings, however, were atrocious, with the first attempt off an awkward approach being all over the place and ending with the Trainstar nosing into the lake. Fortunately it was close to the shore and the breeze assisted in bringing it back without the need to haul out the dinghy. The flights were otherwise very pleasant, with the 2700mAh battery giving good power on launch and surprising endurance in flight. The controls are still a bit sensitive, and with the weight of the floats the Trainstar is quite sensitive, however I think I just need to dial up teh expo a bit to calm things down. My last landing, by default, was off a nice long approach after my initial botched effort, and I greased the floats in on what I thought to be my best landing so far, when suddenly the float dug in and the Trainstar was suddenly nose-down in the lake, again. I have made lots of bad landings, but never has the the Trainstar actually gone in. I think I was trying to get it too smooth and was lacking up-elevator to keep things on an even keel...
...more than a nice-to-have Subsequent to the issues I'd experienced with the cable-operated water rudder on my Trainstar seaplane, I have retrofitted the float with a direct-acting rudder servo. I chose a 40g gram servo, rather oversized but the smallest waterproof servo that was available. I mounted this directly to the float in a cutout I made, the simplest and easiest method.
Today I had the first opportunity of trying this out at the resident lake, and the result was nothing short of a remarkable improvement. The Trainstar, which previously zigzagged around the lake at will, now tracked remarkably straight and true, the oversized servo making sure that the rudder didn't deviate a millimetre, a far cry from the now-evident lack of control with the cable system rigged off the plane's rudder.
I had originally thought a servo-operated system would be preferable, but hadn't wanted to cut into the floats. Now, having experienced the amazing improvement in stability and likely improved reliability, I would suggest a float-mounted rudder servo to be an absolute necessity...
...almost there I have assembled the seaplane floats to my Trainstar, and this afternoon finished connecting the tail rudder to the float rudder using the supplied cable and sleeve. The rudder operation is better than I expected, although it will need to be tested in the water to check whether operation with more force involved still works OK. However, before then, I need to seal all the mounts for the struts, rudder and cable to make sure the floats stay floating. Then we can take the Trainstar out for some water testing at the local duck pond...
