{"id":17732,"date":"2019-02-01T13:31:27","date_gmt":"2019-02-01T17:31:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/?p=17732"},"modified":"2019-02-05T10:32:22","modified_gmt":"2019-02-05T14:32:22","slug":"how-do-seaplane-floats-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/how-do-seaplane-floats-work\/","title":{"rendered":"How Do Seaplane Floats Work?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"normal\"><span lang=\"EN\">If you\u2019re like many pilots, learning to fly a seaplane is at or near the top of your aviation bucket list. The seaplane rating is considered one of the most fun ratings to earn because it opens the door to rewarding opportunities to explore areas of the world that are otherwise inaccessible by land-based aircraft. In fact, runways are no longer required in a seaplane; adventure awaits at any body of water including lakes, rivers, and even oceans. You may already have an interest in earning your seaplane rating. But have you ever wondered how exactly a seaplane stays above water? Here\u2019s a closer look at how seaplane floats work:<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"normal\"><span lang=\"EN\">There are two different types of floats for aircraft: amphibious and straight floats. Amphibious floats have retractable landing gear, which permits the aircraft to operate on both hard-surface runways and on the water. Straight floats, on the other hand, restrict the airplane to the water. Floats must be able to displace enough water to support the weight of the aircraft on the water and create buoyancy. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"normal\"><span lang=\"EN\">Seaplane floats come in all shapes and sizes, and many general aviation aircraft can be converted to floatplanes. Floats are popular additions on airplanes like the Cessna 185, Aviat Husky, American Champion Scout, and de Havilland Beaver and Twin Otter. Most floats are constructed from either aluminum or composite materials, which make them lightweight and easy to repair. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"normal\"><span lang=\"EN\">Contrary to popular belief, the interior of a seaplane float is not completely hollow. The float is engineered with separate watertight compartments that prevent the float from filling up with water if it gets punctured. Pumps at the top of each compartment make it easy for water to be drained out. It\u2019s very important for pilots to pump out water from the floats during preflight, as water can add weight and impact the aircraft\u2019s center of gravity. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"normal\"><span lang=\"EN\">Pilots maneuver a seaplane on the water by taxiing or sailing. The floats have a water rudder which is attached to the rudder pedals inside the plane and allows the pilot to steer the airplane in the water. Floats also feature a keel, a support structure which runs down the centerline on the bottom of the float. The keel keeps the aircraft going straight in the water and prevents it from tipping sideways. Located aft of the keel is a structure called the skeg, which prevents the aircraft from tipping backward on the rear portion of the float. Between the keel and the skeg is the step. When the pilot accelerates and puts the seaplane \u201con the step,\u201d the rear portion of the float is lifted out of the water to reduce drag. Flying Magazine provides a great <a href=\"mailto:https:\/\/www.flyingmag.com\/aircraft\/what-makes-seaplane-float%23page-2\">diagram<\/a> of all the components found on a standard float. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"normal\"><span lang=\"EN\">Many land-based aircraft that are converted to floats often require a propeller performance conversion to help overcome drag and produce more thrust at takeoff. Designed for optimal takeoff and climb performance, Hartzell\u2019s lightweight, all carbon fiber <a href=\"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/products\/top-prop\/\"><span style=\"color: #1155cc;\">Trailblazer propeller<\/span><\/a> is an ideal choice for pilots looking to modify an aircraft for bush flying and floatplane adventures. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"normal\"><span lang=\"EN\">\u00a0<\/span><span lang=\"EN\">Are you interested in earning your seaplane rating? The Seaplane Pilot Association has plenty of information on water flying opportunities and activities. Our friends at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wipaire.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #1155cc;\">Wipaire<\/span><\/a>, the manufacturer of Wipline floats, also provide a great list of flight schools that provide seaplane instruction on their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wipaire.com\/seaplane-schools\/\"><span style=\"color: #1155cc;\">website<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><span lang=\"EN\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re like many pilots, learning to fly a seaplane is at or near the top of your aviation bucket list. The seaplane rating is considered one of the most fun ratings to earn because it opens the door to rewarding opportunities to explore areas of the world that are otherwise inaccessible by land-based aircraft. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":15958,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[119,326,142,336,333,230,335,337],"class_list":["post-17732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-aviation","tag-backcountry-flying","tag-flying","tag-flying-foats","tag-hartzell-trailblazer-propeller","tag-seaplane","tag-seaplane-floats","tag-trailblazer-propeller"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How Do Seaplane Floats Work? - Hartzell Propeller<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Flying a seaplane is at the top of many pilots&#039; bucket lists. Here&#039;s a closer look at how seaplane floats actually work.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/how-do-seaplane-floats-work\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Do Seaplane Floats Work? - Hartzell Propeller\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Flying a seaplane is at the top of many pilots&#039; bucket lists. Here&#039;s a closer look at how seaplane floats actually work.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/how-do-seaplane-floats-work\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hartzell Propeller\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/HartzellProp\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-02-01T17:31:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-02-05T14:32:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/626DB-Float-Plane-Blake-21-Months-052-1024x683.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"683\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kern Patton\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@HartzellProp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@HartzellProp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kern Patton\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/how-do-seaplane-floats-work\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/how-do-seaplane-floats-work\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kern Patton\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/deef57ef7cfc97dda2ae76f3caa1cd05\"},\"headline\":\"How Do Seaplane Floats Work?\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-02-01T17:31:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-02-05T14:32:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/how-do-seaplane-floats-work\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":569,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/how-do-seaplane-floats-work\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/626DB-Float-Plane-Blake-21-Months-052.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"aviation\",\"backcountry flying\",\"flying\",\"flying foats\",\"hartzell trailblazer propeller\",\"seaplane\",\"seaplane floats\",\"trailblazer propeller\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Blog\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/how-do-seaplane-floats-work\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/how-do-seaplane-floats-work\\\/\",\"name\":\"How Do Seaplane Floats Work? - Hartzell Propeller\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/how-do-seaplane-floats-work\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/how-do-seaplane-floats-work\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/626DB-Float-Plane-Blake-21-Months-052.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-02-01T17:31:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-02-05T14:32:22+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/deef57ef7cfc97dda2ae76f3caa1cd05\"},\"description\":\"Flying a seaplane is at the top of many pilots' bucket lists. 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