Learned something new yet again from ya MTV, appreciate that and it would explain a good deal. I’ll be back at the planes again today and keep standing there staring rubbing my head and totalling up $ signs anxiously.

People concerned with beaching/docking aerocets more than metal floats have clearly never beached a set of composite floats. Run them along a dock accidentally rough, hit the rock you couldn't see in the glacial silt, whatever. Never a mark. Metal floats dent, scratch, tear, leak anytime you look at them wrong. Just look at Ross's picture, you can see the dents. That's not a unique thing to him, that's every set of metal floats in existence.

Minefield of slightly submerged boulders that make the final 25 feet to the beach a vicious game of glacial pinball, yet the aerocets never have a scratch:


My experience is with 3500L's on 185 and 3500's on 206. Always remote unimproved Alaska beaches.

I think most of our hesitancy here in BC comes from boats. Outfitting I ran lots of aluminum boats on the north coast jusy south of Alaska, river jets and ocean boats, and they got beat up in all sorts of terrible ways. Aluminum definitely dents and looks ugly, but it also doesn’t crack like a fibreglass hull.

This said I suspend myself from composite rotor blades, and a composite rotor head for a living. I’m a believe in composites, and we won’t be jumping gravel bars or logs with the glass floats. Hopefully anyhow. If I can find a set I can afford, I’ll likely grab em.

A1Skinner wrote:If you are wondering how tough Aerocets are, here's a good picture. Flipped over in a cross wind landing. Floats are totally fine. The floats are about 2 years old, 3500Ls very nice floats. Similar operating conditions to what you operate in.

Now that scared me about crosswinds...

Ardent wrote:I think most of our hesitancy here in BC comes from boats. Outfitting I ran lots of aluminum boats on the north coast jusy south of Alaska, river jets and ocean boats, and they got beat up in all sorts of terrible ways. Aluminum definitely dents and looks ugly, but it also doesn’t crack like a fibreglass hull.

This said I suspend myself from composite rotor blades, and a composite rotor head for a living. I’m a believe in composites, and we won’t be jumping gravel bars or logs with the glass floats. Hopefully anyhow. If I can find a set I can afford, I’ll likely grab em.

Those river boats have bottoms that are 1/4” thick or so. At least my Duckworth is.

Float skins are about .050”, one fifth as thick.

My edo floats probably have 5 patches on the bottoms from being torn open. Never head of an Aerocet tearing open.

Ross4289 wrote:

Ardent wrote:I think most of our hesitancy here in BC comes from boats. Outfitting I ran lots of aluminum boats on the north coast jusy south of Alaska, river jets and ocean boats, and they got beat up in all sorts of terrible ways. Aluminum definitely dents and looks ugly, but it also doesn’t crack like a fibreglass hull.

This said I suspend myself from composite rotor blades, and a composite rotor head for a living. I’m a believe in composites, and we won’t be jumping gravel bars or logs with the glass floats. Hopefully anyhow. If I can find a set I can afford, I’ll likely grab em.

Those river boats have bottoms that are 1/4” thick or so. At least my Duckworth is.

Float skins are about .050”, one fifth as thick.

My edo floats probably have 5 patches on the bottoms from being torn open. Never head of an Aerocet tearing open.

I saw a 185 on Aerocets rip holes in both float bottoms in a river. Would have done the same to aluminum floats, though.

MTV

While beaching, every time I have hit a small-midsized rock with Aerocet floats, I feel bad for the rock. They are tough!!

After 6 years & 700 hours on them I think the only real maintenance I've had to do is one chip and repair some scratching from tying to a dock with some exposed metal and chains.

It does take some elbow grease to keep them white though, I have a pretty deep cleaning regimen to avoid staining. Also the float hatches are fantastic and they hold a ton.

Here’s an Aerocet question, looking at an older set locally and curious, have there been any updates in the aerocet design over the years? Or steady Eddy?

Look underneath the floats, if they have a plastic keel strip then they are of the older design, if they have a metal one then its either been restripped or a newer design.

Also older Aerocets are "Duller" they will not have the shine that newer ones have. I am not sure if this shine can be added by adding another coating of wax or clearcoat to them.

I do a big wax job on mine every year. Also it's a lot of work to keep the brown staining off of them you need to clean with simple green aviation [or whatever] to keep the brown stain off the waterline and prevent it from staining underneath. Time/elbow grease well spent.

Ross4289 wrote:My edo floats probably have 5 patches on the bottoms from being torn open. Never head of an Aerocet tearing open.

Happy to take your V card! This was a big rock on takeoff. Not my doing - A Rust's pilot somehow found a rock at Brooks Camp. This was the repair to get it back to another shop to do a full glass repair. Obviously this would have shredded an aluminum float.

No such thing as an indestructible float. And this sort of thing is why Aerocet used plain Fiberglas bottom skins vs the foam core they use in sides and tops: Tough, and easily field repairable.

MTV

Appreciate it nickelb, and good field patch by the looks of it asa. That must have been a hell of a ride. I doubt aluminium would be easier to fix.

Found 3430s thanks to some clinch assistance by knowledgeable locals.

Ardent wrote:

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Found 3430s thanks to some clinch assistance by knowledgeable locals.

You’ll love ‘em……great floats.

MTV

Already loving the flat tops and they’re not even on the plane.

Those look great Angus! My neighbor Ross runs them on his 185 and they're beasts of buoyancy.

Looking forward to a great summer on em.

They're great floats. You did well. Look forward to seeing your rig around Pitt.

Thanks Matt, saw yours and had to find a set.