COMP AIR 8: "Heavy-Hauler Floatplane"

RIGHT HERE AND now I willingly
admit that my favorite aircraft are
seaplanes and amphibious airplanes.
I'll go up in just about anything that
flies, but seaplanes have a certain
something that appeals to me. By a
stroke of good luck, while on
assignment in Florida recently, I was
invited to fly a beautiful new seaplane
called a Cornp Air 8, produced by
Aerocomp, Inc. It was powered with
a 650-hp Walter 601 turbine engine,
swinging a three-blade prop with beta
control. (Beta control means that the
prop is capable of being put into
reverse pitch to allow the plane to
back up.)
As soon as I found out I'd be flying
a seaplane, I dug out my stack of old
logbooks and pored over them to
refresh my memory about what kinds
of seaplanes I've flown over the years.
There was a 40-hp Piper J-2, many
65-hp J-3s, a 150-hp Super Cub, a
150-hp Colonial Skimmer, a 225-hp
Republic Sea Bee, a 300-hp Cessna
195, a 200-hp Lake Buccaneer, a
Fairchild 24 with a 165-hp Warner
engine, a Stinson 108 with a 190-hp
Lycoming, a 65-hp Taylorcraft, a
Cessna 172 with a 180-hp Lycoming,
a 200-hp Adventurer Amphibian, as
well as a dozen or more ultralights,
BELOW LEFT: To evaluate another configuration of the Comp Air 8, the aircraft was 17tted with Aerocomp's excellent
composite Super Floats BELOW RIGHT: The rugged composite floats allow the plane to be nosed onto the shore for easy
loading and unloading of passengers and baggage.
including Quicksilvers, Drifters, a
Kitfox, an Avid Flyer and a Lazair.
This is quite a list, but I had never
flown a seaplane with a turbine
engine. When we arrived for our
flight, the Comp Air 8 was tied up at
a small makeshift dock (more suited
for a canoe than a seaplane). I began
to check out the aircraft in preparation
for its first flight of the day. As I
waded around the nose, untying the
plane's huge prop, I sank up to my
ankles in the Florida mud. A common
problem with seaplanes is that they
are difficult to pre- flight thoroughly.
And it's even difficult to climb into
one without getting your feet wet,
especially if you're to sit in the seat
away from the dock. You must be
agile to wiggle and squirm under the
fuselage and along narrow struts to
open the door and climb into your
seat. (The company pilot had already
claimed the seat closest to the dock.)
But all this was a small price - one I
was more than willing to pay - for the
privilege of flying the Comp Air 8 on
floats.
I finally settled into my seat in the
large, 46.5-inch-wide cabin. And this
plane's fuselage was 2 feet longer
than the Comp Air 7's that I had
flown earlier. When we untied the
plane's lines (sailors never call them
ropes), the big floatplane immediately
began to drift toward the middle of
the little inlet. To get us facing into
the wind for takeoff, the pilot had to
jump out on the float and maneuver
the plane with what looked like a
cheap,
little,
99-cent
paddlesomething quite amusing considering
we were in a $180,000 airplane. He
finally got the big airplane to swing
into the wind, and we were almost
ready to start the engine.
The Walter engine and controls are
exactly the same as those in the other
two Aerocomp models. The pilot
started the big turbine engine, and it
was soon purring away. Now came
the tricky part. He used the beta prop
to try to get the plane turned around
and headed out to sea. But the lagoon
was so small, it would have been hard
to do that without disturbing the birds,
fish and other wildlife in the cove. So
the pilot shut down the engine. As the
plane was pushed by the light breeze
out toward the ocean, I saw herons,
fish eagles and even a couple of
alligators - all of which blissfully
ignored us.
Arriving on open water, the pilot
was about to start the engine but
stopped when I pointed to a large fin
protruding from the water alongside
the aircraft. When it surfaced, I saw
that the fin belonged to a beautiful,
big dolphin that was swimming along,
playing games with a couple of
seagulls. The seagulls would swoop
down to the water's surface, and the
dolphin would leap up and splash,
then settle down on the surface. The
seagulls would hitch a ride on his
back until he dove again. What a treat.
This is just one example of the kind of
pleasure you can't find in a wheeled
airplane on a hard runway. Seaplanes
are the essence of unbridled fun and
enjoyment on and over the water.
We'd had our fun, but now it was
time to test an airplane. Earlier in the
day, Editorial Director Bill Fedorko
and I had coordinated arrangements
for the photo shoot. Using the Comp
Monster as a camera plane, he would
photograph the takeoff of the Comp
Air 8 by passing alongside us at about
JANUARY 2000 - CUSTOM PLANES 43
NORM GOYER
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.
50 feet. Right on cue, the company
pilot in our aircraft fired up the
Walter, then chatted for a while on the
radio with the pilot of the other plane.
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 overrotate, but the drag will be so great,
the plane still won't take off. At one
point, while our pilot was
44 CUSTOM PLANES - JANUARY 2000
experiencing difficulties, Fedorko
called him on the radio and asked,
"Are you guys planning to surfacesail to New York?' It had 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.
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
BELOW LEFT: The cockpit of the Comp Air 8 is quite big and roomy, making it very
comfortable on those long cross-country flights. BELOW 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.
PHOTOS BY BILL FEDORKO
quite a bit of fuel, so it was time to
head back and see if the dolphins,
gulls, herons, fish eagles and alligators
were still playing in our lagoon. But
there was one more thrill left for us.
After the formation flight was over,
the pilot noticed that the plane's
airspeed indicator and altimeter had
ceased to function, and these were
certified instruments. (Maybe the fish
eagle had built a nest in the pitot tube
and blocked it?) But not to worry. We
called the pilot of the Comp Monster
and explained our dilemma. He
rejoined us, then flew alongside our
aircraft as it made its descent back to
the water's surface, calling out the
altitude and airspeed periodically until
we landed, making the Comp Monster
one of the most expensive airspeed
indicators ever. Our pilot made a
perfect landing - one I guess you
might call a no-splasher. (If it had
been on land, we would have called it
a greaser.)
When it came time to head toward
shore, our pilot picked out a spot on
the perimeter of the airport and easily
steered the Comp Air 8 right in. I'd
finally realized my dreams of flying a
turbine-powered seaplane. The floats
on the aircraft were excellent. Because
they're of composite construction,
they're not adversely affected by salt
water, as aluminum ones might be, so
they're
particularly
suited
for
installation on an aircraft that flies off
the ocean. And because of their huge
hauling capabilities, they're also good
for flying in and out of brackish lakes
in remote areas. So far, I'd flown two
Aerocomp aircraft; my feet were still
wet; and I was still eagerly looking
forward to flying yet another
Aerocomp plane.
JANUARY 2000 - CUSTOM PLANES 45