Random Floatplanes

[GTX_Admin]

 

[kitnut617]

I wonder if Khee Kha has a set of floats to do that in 1/72  -----

[apophenia]

I wonder if Khee Kha has a set of floats to do that in 1/72  -----

If they do, such floats aren't shown on the Khee Kha website.

I know that the floats on the Ju-52/3m weren't by Edo, but they might serve for an 'in water' pose like dogsbody's images of 'WZ'.

[kitnut617]

I wonder if Khee Kha has a set of floats to do that in 1/72  -----

If they do, such floats aren't shown on the Khee Kha website.

I know that the floats on the Ju-52/3m weren't by Edo, but they might serve for an 'in water' pose like dogsbody's images of 'WZ'.

I've sent them an enquiry to see if they have something compatible.  Although I did have a 1/48 DHC Beaver vacuform with floats until it got moved on --- that might be an option.

[kitnut617]

I wonder if Khee Kha has a set of floats to do that in 1/72  -----

If they do, such floats aren't shown on the Khee Kha website.

I know that the floats on the Ju-52/3m weren't by Edo, but they might serve for an 'in water' pose like dogsbody's images of 'WZ'.

I've sent them an enquiry to see if they have something compatible.  Although I did have a 1/48 DHC Beaver vacuform with floats until it got moved on --- that might be an option.

Update:

I just got a reply from Lars of Khee Kha, and what a reply he gave me too.

While he does a resin conversion to do the engines on the RCAF Trimotor, he says he doesn't have any floats for it.

However, the rest of the reply was a lesson on Trimotor floatplanes -- he attached about twenty photos of them with an explanation for each one. First thing he said was the floats were not Edo floats on the RCAF example, although civilian Trimotors did get Edo floats.  Lars said the floats are more like Hamilton or Fairchild floats as they have a rounded top of a constant cross-section. He showed me how to go about making floats like that with photos of his method.

An option he gave me was the Aeroclub float set sheet they did. Specifically -- the 1/48 Fairey Swordfish floats on the sheet.  And I think Kerick here can maybe help out ---- if I asked him really nicely that is   

[GTX_Admin]

They do look a bit like those on the Ju-52

[kitnut617]

Not sure, the empty weight of a Ju-52 is 12,610 lbs, the empty weight of a Tri-Motor is half that -- 6,500 lbs. But they're not Junkers W 34 floats either, that aircraft's empty weight is half the empty weight of the Tri-Motor at 3,748 lbs.

Mind you some 1/144 Ju-52 floats might be right ---

[jcf]

4A-T is 6,500 lbs., 5A-T is 7,800lbs.

The Fairey floats in the 1/48th Tamiya Swordfish floatplane are about 6.75" long and just
under an inch wide at the widest point.

The old Smer 1/48th* Swordfish is also a floatplane version and much cheaper.

*The Swordfish and the Walrus are sometimes listed as 1/50th but this is evidently
incorrect as people have assumed they're 1/50th like other old Artiplast kits.

[kitnut617]

Lars suggested the Smer kit as an option.

I've received two more emails from Lars, just loaded with photos, a lot of them from his personal collection. I'll ask him if I can post some of them here ----

He says he's almost 100% sure the Tri-Motor floats are Hamilton built ones, but I need to ask him some extra questions about that.

[robunos]

Okay, so I've done a bit of digging, and it appears that the Canadian Trimotor was fitted with Brewster floats.
From 'Ford Tri-Motor, 1926-1992', William Larkins.


 '6-AT-1 was built as a seaplane and was licensed by the
Department of Commerce under Memo 2-80. It was first
flown on May 14, 1929, purchased by the Royal Canadian
Air Force for $92,650 and delivered in June as G-CYWZ.
 At that time Canadian government airplane, including
military aircraft, carried a civil registration in the early
Canadian series G (Great Britain) - C (Canada). Only the
last two letters were painted on the RCAF plane, however,
 and thus the Ford was known as "Old WZ."
It was initially used by the Civil Government Air
Operations Division for experiments in forest dusting, and
for this purpose operated from rivers and lake on large
twin Brewster floats.
 The first of several Ford Tri-Motors to be modified with
tanks for agricultural use was 6-AT-I in June 1929.
Although "WZ" (short for G-CYWZ) was owned by the
Royal Canadian Air Force it was used by the Civil
Government Air Operations Division for experiments in
forest dusting. For this purpose it was operated on Brewster
floats from lakes and rivers. Operations stared on June 17,
1929, on the shore of Duchibany Lake in Canada.'












cheers,
Robin.


 

[kitnut617]

I've copied that and sent it to Lars Robin, he said he had been pondering the Brewster story angle. It'll be interesting what he comes back with, he's been researching the Tri-Motors for 20+ years (among others), he's a member of the World of Peace association which discuss pre-WWII aviation.

[apophenia]

Okay, so I've done a bit of digging, and it appears that the Canadian Trimotor was fitted with Brewster floats...

Well done Robin! I wasn't even aware that Brewster made floats! But once you know what to look for ...

Attached from Flying Magazine, Sept 1935, page 172.

The following accompanied an old stock certificate offered on Amazon (not sure what the original source was):

"It started existence as an , a company that originally sold carriages and had branched into automobile bodies and airplane parts. In 1932, James Work, an aeronautical engineer, bought the [aircraft division of Brewster & Co.] for US$30,000 and created the Brewster Aeronautical Corporation. Brewster started out making seaplane floats and wing panels, but with the hire of chief engineer Dayton Brown it embarked on its own designs."

And from an 04 May 1942 Time magazine article:

"[Brewster's] plant at Newark Airport (where it makes wingtip floats and other gear for Consolidated Catalina Flying Boats)."

Who knew?

[robunos]

OT, but there really is a need for a decent, comprehensive history of Brewster Aeronautical Corporation . . .


cheers,
Robin.

[kitnut617]

Lars says thanks Robin, he has a number of scans from the book your mentioned, but didn't have this particular page. Now he knows ----

[jcf]

Brewster manufactured the floats used by Vought on the O2U, amongst others, and the floats
used on the Boeing F3B.

Interestingly in regards to Fairchild floats, the engineer in charge of float design and production
at Fairchild had formerly held the same position at Brewster.
 

[kitnut617]

Funny you should mention that, I was wondering if Vought made their own floats.  Being not sure what O2U was, I google for images, and seeing that it used a single main float arrangement got me wondering if the main float on the OS2U Kingfisher was the same. Interestingly, the Kingfisher is 3335 lbs empty, and the float looks similar to the float on the O2U but more importantly, the Tri-Motor. So two of the Kingfisher floats and bobs yer uncle --- 

[kitnut617]

Funny you should mention that, I was wondering if Vought made their own floats.  Being not sure what O2U was, I google for images, and seeing that it used a single main float arrangement got me wondering if the main float on the OS2U Kingfisher was the same. Interestingly, the Kingfisher is 3335 lbs empty, and the float looks similar to the float on the O2U but more importantly, the Tri-Motor. So two of the Kingfisher floats and bobs yer uncle --- 

Actually no ---- I ran the idea past Lars, he said he's been down this road before and that the O2U floats (Kingfisher floats) are too small when you scale the floats on the Tri-Motor against them.  Oh well! back to Plan A  --- find 1/48 Swordfish floats