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to steer as you rely completely on rudder and differential braking. It might take many hours to get back into the busi- ness of float flying. Yet, I had the set of Aerocet 3400 amphibs I ordered last year stored in the hangar, and in spite of the warnings, I recently had them installed.
It turned out that most of the warn-
ings were without much justification.
I found when leading the turn with a
little power, full rudder and a touch of
brake, I was taxiing the airplane like a
pro within 10 minutes. It is very simi-
lar to a Lake I used to own, which also
had a free-castering nosewheel – and
oddly enough to a Lear 35, which has
a hydraulically controlled nosewheel.
Takeoffs, however, are a bit different
and required some practice. First, the
torque and P-factor tend to pull the airplane to the left as you start the takeoff run, with the little two nosewheels obediently following. This can be compensated for by starting with the right rudder pedal buried, then gradu- ally adding power and easing off the pedal as the rudder becomes more effective.
The next thing is that the airplane in tailwheel configu- ration has a positive pitch attitude throughout the takeoff
run and therefore tends to become airborne all by itself. But, on amphibs, the airplane is sitting level. And with the main gear behind the center of gravity, the airplane wants to stay in that attitude even when well past rotation speed unless a substantial pull on the control wheel occurs. The problem with this is that as soon as the main gear comes off the runway, you instantly become over-pitched, and need to promptly lower the nose to maintain a decent climb
Covington
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18 • TWIN & TURBINE / February 2023