COMP AIR 8 - Heavy Hauler Floatplane, page 4

Norm Goyer ABOVE LEFT: With an extra long nose enclosing its powerful turbine engine, this Comp Air 8 on floats is the ideal aircraft to use for a fishing or hunting trip to a big lake in a remote wilderness area. ABOVE RIGHT: There's one large water rudder on this Aerocomp prototype. Once testing has been completed, should results warrant a change, another water rudder may be added to production models of the aircraft.		been a really long takeoff run, but it was finally over, and we were up in the air. Arriving at the same altitude as the photo plane, our pilot formed up with it, and both pilots proceeded to fly the previously planned formations. Time for a Test Using a prearranged signal, Fedorko notified us he was satisfied with the photo session and that the pilot of the Comp Monster was breaking away from our formation to head back to base. Finally, it was my turn to fly. Because of the weight of the floats, the controls of the aircraft felt somewhat heavier than I'd expected, but the plane was very stable. I rolled it to the left and then to the right. I made slow-flight 360-degree turns, and then I stalled it. No problem. Like its predecessor (the Comp Air 7) the Comp Air 8 flew as if it were on rails, and anybody who is lucky enough to own one would be sure to get from Point A to Point B quickly and in comfort. The manual says that the plane's true airspeed (when on wheels) is 250 mph at 21,000 feet.

It was time to go, so the pilot applied power and pulled back on the stick. I braced myself, expecting that with all that power, the Comp Air 8 would make an almost vertical takeoff. The plane did accelerate rapidly, but each time the pilot attempted to rotate, the back end of the float would bounce the plane's nose down again, and the wing never achieved the angle of attack it needed for the plane to be able to take off. As the pilot repeated the maneuver several times, each one without success, he began to sweat. But Fedorko loved seeing the Comp Air 8 splash along the water over and over again, because it made for great pictures. Our pilot finally realized the floats probably hadn't been set up correctly, so he just relaxed and let the plane fly itself off - which it did very nicely. It turned out that the floats had been installed only a few hours before the flight to test their 'kick up,' which, unfortunately for us, proved to be insufficient for this aircraft. The 'kick up" refers to the angle that the bottom of the float makes from the step to the rear of the float. If that angle is too shallow, the plane can't rotate. If the angle is too great, the plane can over-rotate, but the 44 CUSTOM PLANES - JANUARY 2000	drag will be so great, the plane still won't take off. At one point, while our pilot was experiencing difficulties, Fedorko called him on the radio and asked, "Are you guys planning to surface-sail to New York?' It had	And once the mechanic gets the floats on this version tweaked correctly, I have no doubt the plane will reach speeds of 200 mph - maybe more. By the time I had all the flying fun I was allowed, the plane had used quite a
	ABOVE LEFT: The cockpit of the Comp Air 8 is quite big and roomy, making it very comfortable on those long cross-country flights. ABOVE RIGHT: Engine instruments are conveniently installed on the right side of the Comp Air 8's cockpit. That's because instruments needed to operate a turbine vary somewhat from those used for a piston engine.


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