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Comment by Daniel Niendorff on August 21, 2014 at 2:31pm

It seems the 701s and 750s outnumber the 801s greatly : ) But I've got 3 boys, and they all want to fly with me. So 4 seats is the way to go. Now to just finish it......

Comment by Ari Hulkkonen on August 21, 2014 at 1:49pm

Ok, I did not take a look at you profile and thought you're building a 701 or 750 :)   I'm sure the Zenair 2200 floats are the right choice for you! 

Comment by Daniel Niendorff on August 21, 2014 at 3:25am

I'm working on a 801, so the heavier floats would be the ones to use.  The design gross weight of the 801 is 2200 lbs.  It is a much bigger airplane. 

Comment by Ari Hulkkonen on August 20, 2014 at 11:57pm

Are you building the 750?  These are 1150s and seem to work with the 701 just fine. In theory 1150 lbs floating capacity is just on the limit considering the practical weight of the plane but we've had absolutely no problem with stability and water handling. The extremely low rigging helps for sure, too.  Our club's plane has Fillinger floats rated 1200 or 1250 and they are approximately half a meter longer than mine. 

I'd rather look at the 1450s for the UL or LSA, the 2200s are double as heavy as the 1150s and sound like they're designed for much heavier aircraft. However, could not find the specs at Zenair's site with a quick glance so hard to say...

Comment by Daniel Niendorff on August 20, 2014 at 5:36pm

Glad to hear they are working well for you.  I've got a set of Zenair 2200s in mind, but I've got to finish the airplane first…..  all in good time.

Comment by Ari Hulkkonen on August 19, 2014 at 3:51pm

These are CZAW floats, they are not manufactured any more. But the Zenair floats are in principle the same as far as I know. The latest models use more conventional rigging and different mounting, however. 

I have two other sets of floats, one complete set with rigging but that set needed a rebuild and the other set is only half complete so I decided to look for other choices too. I found these floats with rigging, they've never been used and I got them at less than half the price of a Zenair straight float kit, so the decision was easy. 

We installed the floats in 2012 so this is the 3rd season. They work just perfectly as would the Zenair floats too. 

Comment by Daniel Niendorff on August 19, 2014 at 11:11am

Are you using the zenair floats? Did you build them?

Comment by Ari Hulkkonen on August 19, 2014 at 10:42am

About the cap - yes, I'm a hockey fan and play 3-4 times a week myself. Hockey is the number one game in Finland, good sports and way to burn all those beers and burgers :)

However, I'm not an Islanders fan, my son got the cap somewhere and I just wear it occasionally :)  They're a good team though! Many Finns play in the NHL and we follow the league all the time as well as our national Finnish League. Our home town's team won the trophy this year, by the way. 

Comment by Ari Hulkkonen on August 19, 2014 at 10:37am

I have to admit I do not find too comfortable when landing to spots like this with the glassy water in front of you, but you've gotta live with it. Being scared is not the correct term describing the feeling but it's always a bit scary to land to glassy water with absolutely no reference anyway ;)

However, thanks to our 701s low rigging and the smoothly riding floats with a lot of error margin with proper technique and proper respect on what you're going to do, it has always gone just fine. 

I've flown other UL aeroplanes too with Full Lotus floats and a glassy water landing with those is really a nightmare. Nose a bit low and the float sticks into water like glue and there you go... 

This is a nice spot to practice, though :)  The lake is surrounded by hills and the trees must be 20 meters above the water at the shore line - so it's not the easiest place. More narrow rivers and lakes in the swamps where you can approach low are easier in my opinion.

Comment by Daniel Niendorff on August 18, 2014 at 4:29pm

Looks like a good time for some glassy water technique…...

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