The plane already had lots of great mods that would make it a strong off-field performer that can haul a lot of gear. Sportsman STOL, Wing-X extensions, IO550, MT 3-blade composite 83" prop, Atlee Dodge bush seats, Selkirk extended baggage, etc.
So, for the first time, I pulled the Aerocet 3400 floats off (I bought this plane in Canada three years ago on floats and didn't even own the wheel gear).
Before
During
I picked up used main gear legs, axles, and nose assembly parts from Faeth aircraft in Sacramento and Beegles Aircraft Service in Colorado (they have an excellent Ebay store with good photos and the parts were always correct). A local shop sandblasted and powder coated old parts to look like new.
Based on good references from this forum, I consulted with and bought all the new aftermarket STC'd gear from Todd Hitchcock of Hitchcock Aviation. He was always responsive and helpful and priced competitively. I selected the Landis (Airglas) nose fork, and new Cleveland wheels with heavy duty double puck brakes.
I originally set it up with 8.50's all around but didn't like the tail-low stance, so I switched to a 7.00 on the nose and that was better. I flew it some in that configuration over the fall and winter.
I enjoyed that set up but still wished for better ground clearance and rough field capability, so I decided to go "all the way" and recently installed 29" Alaska Bush Wheels and went back to the 8.50 on the nose.
Now with this set up and a mid-range amount of air in the nose strut, it has 17" of prop clearance and 29" under the tail skid. This allows for plenty of latitude in the landing/takeoff attitude to hold the nose off without concern for a tail strike.
A couple of days ago I took a 100' tape out to a little-used public airport with a dirt strip and marked off every 100' with little surveyor's flags for 500' and put an old orange traffic cone at the beginning.
For my first efforts, I was not unhappy. At about 2300 lbs. (just me, some gear, ballast, and 40 gallons of fuel) and 5500' DA, light and variable quartering headwind on fairly smooth dirt, the tires leave the ground in about 300', with a good positive ROC by 500'. Thus far, I have my landing roll out at 500', but hope to improve with more practice.
About the ballast. I put two five gallon plastic jugs of water all the way in the back unless I'm carrying rear passenger(s) or lots of other payload like bikes and camping gear. On both floats and wheels, with the big IO550-D and the Seaplanes West heavy duty engine mount, even with the lighter MT prop, the CG is always near the forward limit and requires back pressure on final, even with full aft trim. With the ballast, it trims out nicely. It also just about does a "wheelie" instantly when you shove the throttle to the firewall with the yoke back for soft/rough field takeoff!
All in all, this is shaping up to be a great performing rig with a cavernous interior that can haul two full size mountain bikes, camping gear, or inflatable kayak or SUP's, and/or . . . . Yes, the old-school "purist" in me might prefer an older square tail with a Johnson bar, but I have to admit that the 4" wider cabin with 1" more height of this vintage is nice. And now that I'm used to the electric flaps, I don't mind 'em. I just count "one Mississippi . . ." and usually I'm where I want to be without looking.
Now, instead of mourning the end of summer, I'll be looking forward to crisp fall and winter days exploring the backcountry of northern Nevada and California!
Pierre
