Originally Posted by Grejen

I also dug a battery shaped hole in the foam inside the very nose. This allowed getting a 1000mah Turnigy forward enough to not require any deadweight.

Wow Grejen, I'm surprised you needed to push weight to the nose. I didn't need any added weight to get the CG right, and in fact usually place the pack (1300 and 1500mah) as far aft as possible in the nose area, right against the servo tray.

Glad you had a good experience with the plane! Still my favourite flyer. Try it with nav lights!

Dave

I am using a 2200mah pack pushed as far aft in the battery tray as it will go and it works for me (15+ Min of flight time). Seemed to balance fine pushed back. For T/O I simply hold full up elevator as it accelerates and it simple lifts off smooth and then climbs sharply until I relax back pressure. On landing I just have to ensure that I do not relax the full up elevator until the aircraft has stopped to avoid submarining (which I did slightly once). If I had a 1500-1800mah pack it might be a tad lighter and maybe less prone to submarine, but not sure. Love the plane though!

Originally Posted by Grejen

It's taken on water but the ESC and Rx (mounted on the wall behind the canopy above the ESC) have so far stayed dry. Need to get some corrX on them before more water flying. Also gotta get a gasket of some type made for the wing/fuse join.

My only mods were to feed the aileron servo wire forward through the front of the wing cover then through the wall behind the canopy rather than under the wing and around. No extension is needed. I also dug a battery shaped hole in the foam inside the very nose. This allowed getting a 1000mah Turnigy forward enough to not require any deadweight.

You may find that a conformal coating is better than Corrosion X. You can use Corrosion Block for all the servos. I've seen that in a pump can in most Canadian hobby stores.

You can get this in Sayal in Toronto http://www.mgchemicals.com/products/protcoat.html, although I am not sure if they ship or not. I'm lucky enough to have a story near where I live.

I had to add a few grams of weight for a 1000mah Rhino battery for CofG, and I think I need a bit more as it climbs out of a dive.

I also added a drain hole near the rear step. No water comes in when it is parked as it floats too high for that. But, that really helps to drain in flight should you get some on a hard landing on a nose into wave take off.

Mike

Lots to choose from. Which did you use specifically. Looks interesting!

Originally Posted by dghutt

Wow Grejen, I'm surprised you needed to push weight to the nose. I didn't need any added weight to get the CG right, and in fact usually place the pack (1300 and 1500mah) as far aft as possible in the nose area, right against the servo tray.

Glad you had a good experience with the plane! Still my favourite flyer. Try it with nav lights!

Dave

The 1000mah is light and I didn't get the stab all the way forward when I glued it in. Probably a 1cm gap between the stab LE and the front of the slot in the fin. Also this positions my CG pretty near the forward limit. I'm not comfortable enough to move it back much yet. ah... btw http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1478717

Hi, I have bought my Seawind recently. It looks like a great plane... now I wait for the electronics.

One question: When you taking-off from grass do you remove the water rudder?

Yes

I know OrionPax does, but you would think GP would say in the manual and oddly they don't. Better to take it off then have it get scrapped down and then possibly unusable in the water.

I am new to SeaWind flying. 4 flights so far with only 1 rough landing. That one I was trying to get down before I hit my own pontoon boat and forced a nose in. This plane can glide in almost deadstick, I think, as long as you have enough speed to flair at the end.

see a newbie SeaWind flyer onboard video here

Seaplane 002 (4 min 26 sec)

Hope to do better in the future.

John in Merrill

Originally Posted by eroeder

I know OrionPax does, but you would think GP would say in the manual and oddly they don't. Better to take it off then have it get scrapped down and then possibly unusable in the water.

Yes, there is no info in the manual about removing it for grass take-off. So I was a little confused... about how all you start without breaking it Thanks.

I have taken off from grass twice without breaking it,, though I think if I was using a lighter 1300mah battery (not the 2200mah I use), it would have gotten of the deck quicker. It seem to use more yardage than I expected. The rudder dragging didn't help but luckily didn't get hurt. Over time I bet it would wear down.

With this component hanging down below the fuselage an inch or so, not only does it touch ground first, it creates unwanted drag on take off, and being that it is bolted through foam, it will more than likely rip itself out of the foam on a hard landing, a snag in the grass or prolonged use. They made it bolt on for this reason. 1+1 still equals 2 for this equation.

As for landing, I typically fly heavier planes, which means I land with power on. This plane actually lands better dead stick. With power on she tends to be a bit hoppy on the water. Its easier to cut throttle once on final and glide it in. You will be surprised at how much better your landings will be.

Just for fun I put my new 808 cam in my Seawind and took to the skies with my buddy flying his Super Cub. Check it out.

EP Seawind Chasing the Super Cub.wmv (7 min 36 sec)

Look for the pink flamingos in this one.

Port Wing View in my Seawind (7 min 31 sec)

Orion

Nice! Is it inside the cockpit? Looks like it is shooting through a windshield.

It is. Had to get rid of those pilots.

Have to admit they look goofy...