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Hangar 9’s new Saratoga 40 sport airplane proved to be a very interesting ARF aircraft. Actually designed as an RTF, the Saratoga 40 ARF builds fast without gluing and is rugged, dependable and one of the best sport flyers Sport Aviator has tested to date. While it is fully aerobatic, the Saratoga 40 proved to be a very relaxing and fun airplane to fly. Read the Saratoga 40 Review for yourself and view the videos to see what I mean.

It just happens that my house is in a lake community and I have access to the lake for boating, swimming, fishing, RC float flying, etc. You know what I mean, the usual lake stuff that everybody does, right? Well, maybe not everybody flies RC floatplanes but I can. One of my RC clubs, the Mountain Modelaires, even has 6 float flying events in north central Pennsylvania.

As you probably can tell from the Saratoga 40 land airplane review, this is a very special sport aircraft. So when I read the airplane’s instructions and found out that Hangar 9 offers a float set for the airplane and that the Saratoga 40 already has the rear float mount built into the fuselage, are there any guesses what my next RC item to purchase might be? The float set arrived 5 days later.

While the 36 inch long floats were originally designed for the Hangar 9 J-3 Cub, these floats are a perfect fit for the Saratoga. The floats, (Product number HAN4015) are wood construction covered in UltraCote®. The float bottoms have a layer of fiberglass applied for extra durability and strength. The entire float package is a Ready-To-Fly style product and requires about 1 hour to install on glow powered Saratogas. On Electric-Powered Saratogas, installation takes about two hours as a modification is needed. Everything required for glow installation is included except the 12-15 in. servo extension cord required for control of the water rudder.

The included hardware package is extensive and complete. The featured piece is the light but strong welded chrome metal float mount. This is a very firm mount and, as later “tests” have shown, a very strong one also. Note that there is a plastic bag that contains some wooden parts. One, the adaptor, is also covered with Cub Yellow UltraCote as the floats were originally designed for the Hangar 9 Cub. However, the Saratoga 40 “kit” also includes a float mount adaptor and it is covered in white UltraCote. Obviously, use the white adaptor and put aside the yellow one until your hangar includes a Hangar 9 J-3.

The hardware package includes all the necessary hardware for installing the water rudder. Please, make sure you use a water rudder. While there had been much written about the necessity of a water rudder on model aircraft, at least this airplane needs one. As a test, the water rudder was held out of the water by tightening the retaining bolt with the rudder in the up position. At taxi speeds, water handling and directional control was, well, it was bad. With the rudder employed, water steering was always superb

As it arrives from the factory, the rudder bolt is at just the right tension. At slow taxi speeds, the rudder is fully deployed and steers the airplane well. As speeds increase to nearer takeoff speeds, most of the rudder is pushed back out of the water. Once on the “step”, the water rudder is practically ineffective. This is the proper setup. At high speeds, the airplane’s own rudder and flight dynamics provide all the directional control needed just as they do on a land takeoff. The water rudder is not needed and can actually cause over-control at these high speeds. Good, clever design on the water rudder system there Hangar 9.

The Chrome float mount installs into four nylon bearings that are very similar, if not identical to, those used to mount steerable nose gear. They have proved rugged and light. However, they are a tight fit as is needed for proper float operation. Once tightened into place, the blind nuts are factory installed inside the floats, they can slightly distort. This makes float installation about impossible.

Photo 5

Photo 6

The mount is such a tight fit into the bearings that it is a good idea to file a slight taper to each tip as you might with a wooden wing hold-down dowel. Use some plastic-safe light oil, such as the Labelle 107 Lubricating oil shown in photo 6 to further ease installation. Note that the bolts in photo 6 are not yet tightened down. This is important.

Apply thread locking compound to each bolt and then install each nylon mount onto the floats. Do not push on the bolts during installation; there is no reason to do so, to make sure not to push out one of the installed blind nuts. This did not happen to me but the thought did cross my mind on how would I do a repair if I had knocked out a blind nut. Repair would be difficult. So, I mention it here so it also does not happen to you.

Once all four bushings have been installed onto the floats, install the floats onto the metal float mounts. Use the wide “wheel collars” that lock the floats onto the metal mount but do not tighten the set screw for now. The locking collars are a looser fit anyway and need no special work. Then tighten all 16 bushing bolts. Do not crush the wood but make sure the bolts are tight and thread locked for glow conversions.

As an alternative to using the entire float to prevent bearing distortion, insert the rudder assembly as shown before tightening the bushing bolts in place. This is an OK method and more convenient, but my preference is to use the entire float for complete accuracy.

Once everything it tightened down, remove the floats as they get in the way when installing the float mount to the fuselage. Remove the main landing gear. Save those three bolts. Once the gear is gone, install the mount adaptor that came with the Saratoga 40. Use the same three bolts you just removed.

The adaptor plate performs two functions. Of course, it adapts the fuselage’s three-bolt mounting system, designed to hold a flat plate (the landing gear) in place, to now hold a wire instead. The second, and very important, function is to raise the airplane’s attack angle in relation to the floats. The airplane “sits” at a positive attack angle making taxiing, takeoff and landing easier. This also reduces the chance of digging the float tips into the water during these maneuvers.

Insert the chrome float mount into the adaptor slot and hold in place using the supplied nylon straps and screws. Even the screw holes have been factory drilled for you. Important, make sure the mount is centered, left and right, in the front mount before tightening the screws. If not, the floats will not be centered on the completed airplane.

The Saratoga 40’s fuselage also contains the rear float mount. It is covered but easily found by just running your finger along the fuselage bottom while applying slight pressure. Using a new hobby razor blade, cut a slit in the covering down the middle of the mounting slot. Hangar 9 has even drilled the four mounting screw holes in the rear mount. Use a pin to find one, and then put the nylon strap over the pin in one hole to find the matching screw hole. See photo 9.

If you enlarge photo 9, you will see a few pin dents in the covering made trying to locate the screw holes. Just press lightly until you find one hole. Note that the screw holes are further inboard than might be expected. Once the float mount is in place, put the fuselage aside to work on the right float and its water rudder.

Because the builder can install any one of numerous servos, the factory did not drill the servo mounting holes. Use a pin drill to drill the mounting holes as shown in photo 10. The reason I suggest a hand drill is that it is not a good idea to drill a matching hole in the float bottom as might happen if a power drill was used. The plywood is easy to drill, by hand and takes roughly the same few seconds as would the power drill.

Install the servo, minus the servo output arm as shown. Then install the clevis onto the provided steering control rod along with its keeper. Final adjustment is made at the other end so a reasonable mid-point on the clevis position is all that is needed now. Slide the control rod into the factory installed rod tube and then screw the servo arm onto the servo output shaft. This method is recommended because hooking up the control rod clevis to the output arm is difficult once the rod and servo are in place.

Slide the water rudder post in place on the fifth nylon bushing as shown. Then tighten the bushing mounting screws just as was done with the float bushings. Insure that the rudder turns freely. Make sure to install the control arm with the set screw pointing outwards from the float. Install the adjustable connector as shown. Slide the connector over the steering control rod, put the steering rod in place in the bushing and insert the water rudder post. Center the servo and water rudder, then tighten the set screw.

At this point, the floats can be mounted to your glow-powered Saratoga 40. Tighten the wide wheel collar set screws making sure to use thread locking compound. All the bolts need the locking compound.

If you plan to fly from residential lakes as I do, you probably chose the Electric-powered Saratoga as I did. This means a slight modification must be made to the airplane’s cooling system. The land version of the E-Saratoga requires the removal of the covering from the fuselage bottom just forward of the stabilizer.

That is great for a land plane but a terrible idea for a seaplane. Most seaplanes using floats taxi and takeoff with their “tails” either close to, or sometimes actually in, the water. Note the above photo that shows the Saratoga is no exception. Don’t remove the rear covering as directed and if you had for your land version, re-install some white UltraCote over that lower rear hole. Otherwise the wood fuselage is going to be continually wet and might warp.

Enlarge photo 14 by clicking on it. Look at the fuselage just to the lower left of the black Ernst Charging Outlet. Note the white scoop facing rearward. There is a matching scoop on the other side as well. These are the cooling air exit holes. In both land and sea versions, these exit holes have functioned extremely well. Even after prolonged aerobatics, the battery, ESC and Motor have remained cool to the touch. The battery does not even get warm!