Floats for my 85 HP T-Craft

[Dano"T"]

I am looking at purchasing some floats for my Taylorcraft and I was looking for some pointers on what to look for. My plane already has float fittings, but what types of floats are certified on taylorcrafts? I am looking at a set of edo 1320's with Taylorcraft rigging for $7000. They are a little dinged up but look okay otherwise. What is a good pricerange to be looking at? This all new to me, so any pointers are welcome. Also, how much do EDO 1320's weigh?

Dan Gervae

[Jim Hartley]

Re: Floats for my 85 HP T-Craft

Hi Dan!
Edo 1320's with rigging weigh 165#. I have a set with hatches that have some dings but I know I could get 8K in short order. The hatches are a great mod. I can put a five of fuel in each float.

Something else of interest to note Dan,my aircraft weighed in at 801# on wheels and 885# on floats...a difference of 84#. So subtracting the 84# from 165#,I come up with a wheel gear weight of 81# with 850-6 tires.

Jim

[Dano"T"]

Re: Floats for my 85 HP T-Craft

Thanks for the reply. I am very grateful for the weight info. I didn't realize the difference was only 85#. If I do the math correctly at 1351 gross on floats and 1280 land I only lose 14lbs of useful load. Is this correct? I think I am going to call the guy with the floats to get some more info...but it sounds like a good deal so far. Thanks again.

Dan Gervae
Iron Mountain, MI

[Jim Hartley]

Re: Floats for my 85 HP T-Craft

Your number is within a pound of what I show.

Jim

If I do the math correctly at 1351 gross on floats and 1280 land I only lose 14lbs of useful load. Is this correct?
Dan Gervae
Iron Mountain, MI

[Dano"T"]

Re: Floats for my 85 HP T-Craft

Jim,

Once I have the floats, how big of a deal is the installation. where do you lift the plane from. I'm not sure my float fittings on my plane are ready to receive the floats (see picture. if you zoom in you can see the fittings). I need to research what else is involved. Thanks so much for your input. I really appreciate it. P.S. MATH, I'm good at math.

[Jim Hartley]

Re: Floats for my 85 HP T-Craft

Dan,

My Tcraft has lifting hooks on top of the cabin. Float fittings are Edo 1400 bolt-on fittings,welded 27 inches behind rear gear fittings. I also have refueling steps installed on the float struts on both sides...you really need them! I have one water rudder which is adequate. All this is documented on form 337 and approved by FSDO. Float installation time for my plane is about 2.5 hours

Jim

[matsuthunder200]

Re: Floats for my 85 HP T-Craft

Dan i think that is a good price for 1320 with all the rigging. mine are 1320 also. I have the oldest set of 1320s i have ever seen the date on the tag says they are 1939s they were rebuilt in 1970 they are warer tight. mine are bear bones the wt is 148 lbs. I would love to have the hatches like jims to put fuel in and all the fish im going to catch this summer lol.