Floatplane OPS

[MikeEcho8]

Hi all - I just for the first time ever flew the A2A Cub floatplane around at Juneau SPB to give it a whirl (I've flown the regular version a pretty good bit). The first takoff was a near disaster - I kept too much backpressure as I got on 'step' and all of a sudden the plane jumped up before it was really ready then quickly settled back on the water. I finally got it up in the air then did a few patterns and touch n goes around the water airstrip. The takeoffs are definitely a finess thing for sure.

I'm getting ready to start checking out some of the cabins and had just a few questions regarding floatplane operations - I'm assuming you're supposed to fly a standard pattern at airports like Juneau w/ a floatplane RW, but what do floatplane pilots do when they are going to land at a cabin or some other spot? Do they just sort of circle around to line the plane up w/ the wind and then just set it down and taxi to the shore/dock? Also, in FSX what's the best way to figure out what the wind is doing if your not sure? Can you actually see waves and patterns on the water in FSX that give you an idea or is that only real world? I've noticed some of the cabins and places have smoke which of course helps.

One final question, are X-wind landings about the same when you are landing on water runways or narrow lakes/rivers and can't just line up w/ the wind? Do you side slip it and dip the upwind float in first?

thanks in advance for any insights from the more experienced float plane operators out there (& happy Thanksgiving)!

Mike

[SkipperMac]

Welcome to the wonderful world of waterplanes :-)

I'm no expert, and have ZERO real world experience of floatplane operations (that's my disclaimer out of the way lol), but so far as I understand it, float pilots generally make a low pass beside their intended landing channel to inspect it for debris like logs or other obstructions, before circling round and landing.
Checking the wind in FSX ... I don't think it's possible to have the water textures lined up with the wind, so I 'cheat' by using Shift-z to look at the wind. Smoke from cabins, as you note, can also help, although it can be really hard to see.
Its a good question about cross-winds on rivers or narrow channels. My thinking is that dipping the upwind float isn't going to work as landing on water is like landing with the brakes already on. The massive drag on one side of the aircraft is going to lead you into a whole heap of problems.

Just my amateur tuppenceworth.

[Bradallen43]

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

When I've made scenery, especially cabins by lakes, etc. I usually put a smoke effect in place just for that purpose. I will find the location upon arrival and the first thing I do is look for that smoking chimney or campfire as I fly by then try to determine the direction I should try to line up for landing. It helps a lot.

Like SkipperMac said though, it's trial and error and as sim pilots, we have that luxury to make a mistake and learn from it. FSX is forgiving. Real world, not so much. But we learn this way and you will with more experience.

Welcome to RTMM and enjoy the ride. There's lot's more coming from us.

Brad

[MikeEcho8]

Thanks for the tips - I guess between the smoke and the shift-z trick (doesn't seem too much like cheating since the waves don't apparently really show the wind direction anyway like in real life) that should get me able to line up properly. I also agree it does seem like dipping just one float down would be like hitting tarmac or ground one wheel down w/ the brakes on hard - i.e. not good. I'll have to do a bit of research to see about X-wind landings w/ floats when absolutely necessary.

Mike

[jeff3163]

For floatplane practice, you might like flying the dispatch missions.  They are loaded with a wide variety of landing situations. 

[MikeEcho8]

Dispatch missions - I'll go check those out.

thanks!

Mike

[jsapair]

Mike, missions are great. You can fly as high or low as you want to. As per the Misty's mission statement, low and slow is the way to go. Some of them can give you quite the adrenaline rush if you follow that credo. Anybody can fly at 10,000 feet from point A to Z. Fly the terrain my friend and enjoy.

[Bradallen43]

Well some of the missions that I have made use activation boxes that might not be that high up. They go to 5000 or 6000 feet up in height, and are about the same distance for length and width. If you fly higher than that, you could miss them. I know there are others that are lower than that and some you actually have to taxi through at the airports and destinations to pass through them.

Best advice is to hug the terrain as best you can and you'll usually make it through all the mission points.

Brad

[MikeEcho8]

Cool - thanks for the advice. I agree low & slow is good. I've tried both the low & slow and high and fast (and high & slow) and definitely prefer the former. I've been reading an interesting book about an Alaska bush pilot from the 1950's ('Arctic Bush Pilot - From Navy Combat to Flying Alaska's Northern Wilderness' - Andy Anderson). At one point he even describes flying a floatplane in fog so low that he had to get down onto the river and taxi along at 40-50 mph on the water for a while until the fog lifted a bit and he could get back into the air! I guess the key is knowing where you can go low and where you need to get up high enough (and quickly enough) to avoid steeply rising terrain.

[Brian_]

Mike,

I would also recommend getting a sectional for the area. The add-on scenery available for FSX now is good enough that its fun to turn your gps off and just follow along with your index finger.