Wed, Sep 15, 2010
There are fewer 'cooler' pursuits than taking a perfectly good
airplane and strapping a set of floats to it... thereby expanding
the envelope of that airframe in amazing ways. It's even better
when that perfectly 'good' airplane is actually a perfectly great
airplane... like Flight Design's hale and hearty CTLS.
Developed by Flight Design distributor Airtime Aviation of
Tulsa, Oklahoma in cooperation with Clamar Floats of Ontario,
Canada, the amphibious CTLS fills another niche in a comprehensive
line of Light-Sport Aircraft. The German company also manufacturers
the carbon fiber CTLS, CTLS Lite, and CTLSHL, plus the all-metal
MC.
Installed price on a customer’s airplane has been set at
$38,000 for the amphibious float option for all component parts,
the mechanical work, and all FAA documents. Airtime Aviation tells
ANN that while the system is presently available only for the CTLS
model, work has been started to add floats to the CTSW model from
Flight Design.
The Clamar float system is constructed from carbon fiber, Kevlar
and S-glass to make the CTLS floats a premier product. The float
manufacturer is able to use aramid fabrics like Kevlar because of
their proprietary infusion process. The composite materials make
the floats substantially lighter in overall weight than aluminum or
composite floats of same displacement, said Clamar. The floats are
14 feet 5 inches log and 22.6 inches wide.
They have four compartments which are all accessible with 6-inch
spin-off covers. Gear movements are produced by an all-electric
12-volt system. A visual notification system for gear
position is standard and audio gear warning is available at extra
cost. With a buoyancy reserve, each float can hold 1,430 pounds,
which is the legal limit for a Light-Sport seaplane.
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