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Hi Guys,
Well soon Baumann Floats in New Richmond, WI will have full certification of the BF-1500 model floats on Taylorcrafts. I agreed to let Joe Birkemeyer of Baumann use my plane for the certification process of their floats on Taylorcrafts because I was looking for floats and he gave me a break in price in exchange for the use of my plane. Joe flew it using several different angles by adjusting the length of the rear strut and we have a winning combination. I flew it Friday and I was very satisfied. The floats are almost identical to EDO 1320's, but they are 1" wider and 1 1/2" deeper giving a bouyency of 1536# per float. The total Installed weight with all the rigging and up to 2 storage hatches per float is 197#. My plane's empty weight was 960 with the new floats...I had E.W. of 824 on wheels. The plane performs very well and even loaded to 1474# we still got off in 23 seconds with light winds @65 degrees F. Solo it really jumps off especially if you roll 1 float ( 8 to 10 seconds with technique). I know the gross weight on floats is only 1351...but the plane is in experimental r & d until the FAA approves the flight test so we were able to EXPERIMENT. We had a TAS of 95 Mph (with a new calibrated airspeed indicator) also checked with GPS. I have a McCauley 72-42 prop as near as I can tell...I didn't pull it to check. This new float model is a very good thing for Taylorcrafts since the 1536# bouyency will help loaded water performance for all T-Crafts (especially those 1500# gross model 19's) The installed weight is a little heavier than 1320's but the higher floatation is a very desirable trait and it is still 53 # lighter than Aqua 1500's. These also have fluted bottoms like the 1320's which helps you get on the step fast and also transmits less loads to the airframe. Also, we noticed that alsmost no matter where you put the yoke there was no water spray in the prop, even at 1600-1800 rpms and plow taxiing. Joe Birkemeyer at Baumann floats is very knowledgable and he's flown my plane quite a bit so he can give you very accurate first hand information regarding his floats on a Taylorcraft. You may be wondering what the difference is between these BF1500's and the old BF1420's....Joe told me they are 1' shorter than the 1420's eliminating the proble of dragging the tails on takeoff. There may some other differences...but that's the biggest one. By the way...EDO lists the installed weight of 1320's as 165#...anyone ever check that? I was just wondering...because my plane was on 1320's once and the weight and balance seems wrong in the log book from when they were on it in the 1980's.
Dan
Well soon Baumann Floats in New Richmond, WI will have full certification of the BF-1500 model floats on Taylorcrafts. I agreed to let Joe Birkemeyer of Baumann use my plane for the certification process of their floats on Taylorcrafts because I was looking for floats and he gave me a break in price in exchange for the use of my plane. Joe flew it using several different angles by adjusting the length of the rear strut and we have a winning combination. I flew it Friday and I was very satisfied. The floats are almost identical to EDO 1320's, but they are 1" wider and 1 1/2" deeper giving a bouyency of 1536# per float. The total Installed weight with all the rigging and up to 2 storage hatches per float is 197#. My plane's empty weight was 960 with the new floats...I had E.W. of 824 on wheels. The plane performs very well and even loaded to 1474# we still got off in 23 seconds with light winds @65 degrees F. Solo it really jumps off especially if you roll 1 float ( 8 to 10 seconds with technique). I know the gross weight on floats is only 1351...but the plane is in experimental r & d until the FAA approves the flight test so we were able to EXPERIMENT. We had a TAS of 95 Mph (with a new calibrated airspeed indicator) also checked with GPS. I have a McCauley 72-42 prop as near as I can tell...I didn't pull it to check. This new float model is a very good thing for Taylorcrafts since the 1536# bouyency will help loaded water performance for all T-Crafts (especially those 1500# gross model 19's) The installed weight is a little heavier than 1320's but the higher floatation is a very desirable trait and it is still 53 # lighter than Aqua 1500's. These also have fluted bottoms like the 1320's which helps you get on the step fast and also transmits less loads to the airframe. Also, we noticed that alsmost no matter where you put the yoke there was no water spray in the prop, even at 1600-1800 rpms and plow taxiing. Joe Birkemeyer at Baumann floats is very knowledgable and he's flown my plane quite a bit so he can give you very accurate first hand information regarding his floats on a Taylorcraft. You may be wondering what the difference is between these BF1500's and the old BF1420's....Joe told me they are 1' shorter than the 1420's eliminating the proble of dragging the tails on takeoff. There may some other differences...but that's the biggest one. By the way...EDO lists the installed weight of 1320's as 165#...anyone ever check that? I was just wondering...because my plane was on 1320's once and the weight and balance seems wrong in the log book from when they were on it in the 1980's.
Dan
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