COMP AIR 8: "Heavy-Hauler Floatplane" - Aerocomp Inc.
COMP AIR 8: "Heavy-Hauler Floatplane" - Aerocomp Inc.
COMP AIR 8: "Heavy-Hauler Floatplane" - Aerocomp Inc.
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
RIGHT HERE AND now I willingly<br />
admit that my favorite aircraft are<br />
seaplanes and amphibious airplanes.<br />
I'll go up in just about anything that<br />
flies, but seaplanes have a certain<br />
something that appeals to me. By a<br />
stroke of good luck, while on<br />
assignment in Florida recently, I was<br />
invited to fly a beautiful new seaplane<br />
called a Cornp Air 8, produced by<br />
<strong>Aerocomp</strong>, <strong>Inc</strong>. It was powered with<br />
a 650-hp Walter 601 turbine engine,<br />
swinging a three-blade prop with beta<br />
control. (Beta control means that the<br />
prop is capable of being put into<br />
reverse pitch to allow the plane to<br />
back up.)<br />
As soon as I found out I'd be flying<br />
a seaplane, I dug out my stack of old<br />
logbooks and pored over them to<br />
refresh my memory about what kinds<br />
of seaplanes I've flown over the years.<br />
There was a 40-hp Piper J-2, many<br />
65-hp J-3s, a 150-hp Super Cub, a<br />
150-hp Colonial Skimmer, a 225-hp<br />
Republic Sea Bee, a 300-hp Cessna<br />
195, a 200-hp Lake Buccaneer, a<br />
Fairchild 24 with a 165-hp Warner<br />
engine, a Stinson 108 with a 190-hp<br />
Lycoming, a 65-hp Taylorcraft, a<br />
Cessna 172 with a 180-hp Lycoming,<br />
a 200-hp Adventurer Amphibian, as<br />
well as a dozen or more ultralights,<br />
BELOW LEFT: To evaluate another configuration of the Comp Air 8, the aircraft was 17tted with <strong>Aerocomp</strong>'s excellent<br />
composite Super Floats BELOW RIGHT: The rugged composite floats allow the plane to be nosed onto the shore for easy<br />
loading and unloading of passengers and baggage.
including Quicksilvers, Drifters, a<br />
Kitfox, an Avid Flyer and a Lazair.<br />
This is quite a list, but I had never<br />
flown a seaplane with a turbine<br />
engine. When we arrived for our<br />
flight, the Comp Air 8 was tied up at<br />
a small makeshift dock (more suited<br />
for a canoe than a seaplane). I began<br />
to check out the aircraft in preparation<br />
for its first flight of the day. As I<br />
waded around the nose, untying the<br />
plane's huge prop, I sank up to my<br />
ankles in the Florida mud. A common<br />
problem with seaplanes is that they<br />
are difficult to pre- flight thoroughly.<br />
And it's even difficult to climb into<br />
one without getting your feet wet,<br />
especially if you're to sit in the seat<br />
away from the dock. You must be<br />
agile to wiggle and squirm under the<br />
fuselage and along narrow struts to<br />
open the door and climb into your<br />
seat. (The company pilot had already<br />
claimed the seat closest to the dock.)<br />
But all this was a small price - one I<br />
was more than willing to pay - for the<br />
privilege of flying the Comp Air 8 on<br />
floats.<br />
I finally settled into my seat in the<br />
large, 46.5-inch-wide cabin. And this<br />
plane's fuselage was 2 feet longer<br />
than the Comp Air 7's that I had<br />
flown earlier. When we untied the<br />
plane's lines (sailors never call them<br />
ropes), the big floatplane immediately<br />
began to drift toward the middle of<br />
the little inlet. To get us facing into<br />
the wind for takeoff, the pilot had to<br />
jump out on the float and maneuver<br />
the plane with what looked like a<br />
cheap, little, 99-cent paddlesomething<br />
quite amusing considering<br />
we were in a $180,000 airplane. He<br />
finally got the big airplane to swing<br />
into the wind, and we were almost<br />
ready to start the engine.<br />
The Walter engine and controls are<br />
exactly the same as those in the other<br />
two <strong>Aerocomp</strong> models. The pilot<br />
started the big turbine engine, and it<br />
was soon purring away. Now came<br />
the tricky part. He used the beta prop<br />
to try to get the plane turned around<br />
and headed out to sea. But the lagoon<br />
was so small, it would have been hard<br />
to do that without disturbing the birds,<br />
fish and other wildlife in the cove. So<br />
the pilot shut down the engine. As the<br />
plane was pushed by the light breeze<br />
out toward the ocean, I saw herons,<br />
fish eagles and even a couple of<br />
alligators - all of which blissfully<br />
ignored us.<br />
Arriving on open water, the pilot<br />
was about to start the engine but<br />
stopped when I pointed to a large fin<br />
protruding from the water alongside<br />
the aircraft. When it surfaced, I saw<br />
that the fin belonged to a beautiful,<br />
big dolphin that was swimming along,<br />
playing games with a couple of<br />
seagulls. The seagulls would swoop<br />
down to the water's surface, and the<br />
dolphin would leap up and splash,<br />
then settle down on the surface. The<br />
seagulls would hitch a ride on his<br />
back until he dove again. What a treat.<br />
This is just one example of the kind of<br />
pleasure you can't find in a wheeled<br />
airplane on a hard runway. Seaplanes<br />
are the essence of unbridled fun and<br />
enjoyment on and over the water.<br />
We'd had our fun, but now it was<br />
time to test an airplane. Earlier in the<br />
day, Editorial Director Bill Fedorko<br />
and I had coordinated arrangements<br />
for the photo shoot. Using the Comp<br />
Monster as a camera plane, he would<br />
photograph the takeoff of the Comp<br />
Air 8 by passing alongside us at about<br />
JANUARY 2000 - CUSTOM PLANES 43
NORM GOYER<br />
NORM GOYER<br />
ABOVE LEFT: With an extra long nose enclosing its powerful turbine engine, this Comp Air<br />
8 on floats is the ideal aircraft to use for a fishing or hunting trip to a big lake in a remote<br />
wilderness area. ABOVE RIGHT: There's one large water rudder on this <strong>Aerocomp</strong><br />
prototype. Once testing has been completed, should results warrant a change, another<br />
water rudder may be added to production models of the aircraft.<br />
50 feet. Right on cue, the company<br />
pilot in our aircraft fired up the<br />
Walter, then chatted for a while on the<br />
radio with the pilot of the other plane.<br />
It was time to go, so the pilot<br />
applied power and pulled back on the<br />
stick. I braced myself, expecting that<br />
with all that power, the Comp Air 8<br />
would make an almost vertical<br />
takeoff. The plane did accelerate<br />
rapidly, but each time the pilot<br />
attempted to rotate, the back end of<br />
the float would bounce the plane's<br />
nose down again, and the wing never<br />
achieved the angle of attack it needed<br />
for the plane to be able to take off. As<br />
the pilot repeated the maneuver<br />
several times, each one without<br />
success, he began to sweat. But<br />
Fedorko loved seeing the Comp Air 8<br />
splash along the water over and over<br />
again, because it made for great<br />
pictures. Our pilot finally realized the<br />
floats probably hadn't been set up<br />
correctly, so he just relaxed and let<br />
the plane fly itself off-which it did<br />
very nicely.<br />
It turned out that the floats had<br />
been installed only a few hours before<br />
the flight to test their 'kick up,' which,<br />
unfortunately for us, proved to be<br />
insufficient for this aircraft. The 'kick<br />
up" refers to the angle that the bottom<br />
of the float makes from the step to the<br />
rear of the float. If that angle is too<br />
shallow, the plane can't rotate. If the<br />
angle is too great, the plane can overrotate,<br />
but the drag will be so great,<br />
the plane still won't take off. At one<br />
point, while our pilot was<br />
44 CUSTOM PLANES - JANUARY 2000<br />
experiencing difficulties, Fedorko<br />
called him on the radio and asked,<br />
"Are you guys planning to surfacesail<br />
to New York?' It had been a<br />
really long takeoff run, but it was<br />
finally over, and we were up in the<br />
air. Arriving at the same altitude as<br />
the photo plane, our pilot formed up<br />
with it, and both pilots proceeded to<br />
fly the previously planned formations.<br />
Time for a Test<br />
Using a prearranged signal,<br />
Fedorko notified us he was satisfied<br />
with the photo session and that the<br />
pilot of the Comp Monster was break-<br />
ing away from our formation to head<br />
back to base. Finally, it was my turn<br />
to fly. Because of the weight of the<br />
floats, the controls of the aircraft felt<br />
somewhat heavier than I'd expected,<br />
but the plane was very stable. I rolled<br />
it to the left and then to the right. I<br />
made slow-flight 360-degree turns,<br />
and then I stalled it. No problem. Like<br />
its predecessor (the Comp Air 7) the<br />
Comp Air 8 flew as if it were on rails,<br />
and anybody who is lucky enough to<br />
own one would be sure to get from<br />
Point A to Point B quickly and in<br />
comfort. The manual says that the<br />
plane's true airspeed (when on<br />
wheels) is 250 mph at 21,000 feet.<br />
And once the mechanic gets the floats<br />
on this version tweaked correctly, I<br />
have no doubt the plane will reach<br />
speeds of 200 mph - maybe more.<br />
By the time I had all the flying fun<br />
I was allowed, the plane had used<br />
BELOW LEFT: The cockpit of the Comp Air 8 is quite big and roomy, making it very<br />
comfortable on those long cross-country flights. BELOW RIGHT: Engine instruments are<br />
conveniently installed on the right side of the Comp Air 8's cockpit. That's because<br />
instruments needed to operate a turbine vary somewhat from those used for a piston<br />
engine.
quite a bit of fuel, so it was time to<br />
head back and see if the dolphins,<br />
gulls, herons, fish eagles and alligators<br />
were still playing in our lagoon. But<br />
there was one more thrill left for us.<br />
After the formation flight was over,<br />
the pilot noticed that the plane's<br />
airspeed indicator and altimeter had<br />
ceased to function, and these were<br />
certified instruments. (Maybe the fish<br />
eagle had built a nest in the pitot tube<br />
and blocked it?) But not to worry. We<br />
called the pilot of the Comp Monster<br />
and explained our dilemma. He<br />
rejoined us, then flew alongside our<br />
aircraft as it made its descent back to<br />
the water's surface, calling out the<br />
altitude and airspeed periodically until<br />
we landed, making the Comp Monster<br />
one of the most expensive airspeed<br />
indicators ever. Our pilot made a<br />
perfect landing - one I guess you<br />
might call a no-splasher. (If it had<br />
been on land, we would have called it<br />
a greaser.)<br />
When it came time to head toward<br />
shore, our pilot picked out a spot on<br />
the perimeter of the airport and easily<br />
steered the Comp Air 8 right in. I'd<br />
finally realized my dreams of flying a<br />
turbine-powered seaplane. The floats<br />
on the aircraft were excellent. Because<br />
they're of composite construction,<br />
they're not adversely affected by salt<br />
water, as aluminum ones might be, so<br />
they're particularly suited for<br />
installation on an aircraft that flies off<br />
the ocean. And because of their huge<br />
hauling capabilities, they're also good<br />
for flying in and out of brackish lakes<br />
in remote areas. So far, I'd flown two<br />
<strong>Aerocomp</strong> aircraft; my feet were still<br />
wet; and I was still eagerly looking<br />
forward to flying yet another<br />
<strong>Aerocomp</strong> plane.<br />
PHOTOS BY BILL FEDORKO<br />
JANUARY 2000 - CUSTOM PLANES 45