The International Cessna 170 Association

Just wanted to get the word out that the paperwork is complete and flight testing will soon commence. I hope to have an STC in hand by spring for Aerocet 2200 straight floats for the Cessna 170 and early 172 (straight tail) aircraft. Hopefully the slant tail will soon follow. I have no specs yet but if they perform like they do on other aircraft there should be a performance increase as well as they are very tough and require almost no maintenance as compared to aluminum floats. No corrosion, no damage by scraping over rocks...ask anyone who flies them. If you are considering floats you might want to look at the Aerocets.

What is the weight of the 2200s compared with Edo 2000s?

Aerocet flat tops, big hatches, and ease of maintenance is definitely preferrable over Edo but on the 170/172, weight is everything.

Bring on a model "2200A" to compete with Wipline!! Aerocet's are a wonderful product

I will have to get an actual weight with struts fittings etc when it is assembled. I also have my EDO 2000s I can weigh but I was just going to weigh on Aerocets and see the difference. I don't think it is much of a weight difference or the cub guys would not be loving them. I hear they perform much better than 2000s on cubs. I also think they are going for certification on the Husky in the near future. Keep in mind that 170s are underfloated on 2000s and if you put the 180 hp model on 2300 PKs they float better but performance is not so good. Always a sacrifice no matter what you do.

Incidentally, even though you see lots of 180 hp 170s on EDO 2000s, that is not a legal installation. They are only legal with the 145 hp 170s. Not a big deal unless you are denied for any incident from your insurance company for not having approved equipment on your aircraft. They do that on occasion. I actually went through the process of getting my aircraft approved with the 2000s with the 82 inch prop (constant speed) with the 0-360 A1F6 (180 hp). I like that engine because it has counterweighted crankshaft which negates the need for the STC from Hartzell and the added weight to add the 82 inch prop. It is less weight. It also is an awesome performer compared to the 76 incher that went with the orginal STC.

Oh yeah one more thing. An FAA engineer told me that they consider the CHEDOs (Chinese made EDOs ) not only cheap, but inexpensive as well:)

Could you elaborate on that prop? I'm running the Hartzel 76 right now.

With the Hartzell STC you have to add a balancer to your engine which I am told(not having the STC) weighs another 18 pounds in addition to the prop. I have the paperwork from Hartzell which approves the 82 inch prop on the 0-360 A1F6 which has the counterweighted crankshaft. This does not require the balancer and was for me, a very recent and easy 337. I also had to measure clearance to floats as prop vibration can be an issue if too close to the floats, the tips that is. That is another whole ball of worms. When I installed the prop I did not know what to expect. I do not have exact performance values but, I used to take off light on floats out of Lilly Lake in Kodiak Alaska and land in the salt to load up and go. After installing the propeller I was amazed at the increased performance and the very little airspeed loss. Yes you do lose airspeed think of a sheet of plywood in front of your airplane the same area as the arc of the propeller. I kept experimenting and found that I could take off from the lake loaded safely and not have to go to the harbor to load. It made getting loads out of remote lakes with gear and game much easier as well.

I have heard of horse power increases with exhaust systems and have spoken with folks that swear by that as well. I am considering trying a power flow system to see if it helps too. The prop made a huge difference on wheels and floats. If you want to ask any more specific questions you can email me or pm me and I will be happy to talk to you about it.

Ah ok, I've got the A1A motor so the counter weight would be required.

You may want to look into the STC as I am not sure what the actual weight is of the balancer. You can always offset that with survival gear is c.g. is a problem. If you are having the engine overhauled you could see what it would take to convert to the counterweighted crank. I do intend to get that paperwork to the association when I get it back in my possesion. It is with the folks at Aerocet now for the flight testing. Again the improvement in performance is really worth it to me anyway.

Weight of Aerocet floats with all rigging for a Super cub is 265 pounds. That is for the 2200 model. Max buoyancy is 2239 and 2400 max. Length nose to stern with waterrudders on is 18' 10and 3/4" without water rudders it is 17'8and 3/4" 25 inches tall and 15 inches wide with flat tops and large storage. Soon to have forward opening hatches as opposed to the side openers they currently have. Hope this helps

AND FOR THE GRAND FINALLY THEY WILL COST??????????????????????????????????

I have no idea at this time what they will cost. That is something only Aerocet can answer after they get all the parts figured out. I think for cubs they are around 25000 for everything but that is only a guess Aerocet could answer that question as well. If you look at the little maintenance I think you would factor that in. Aluminum is easily bent, torn and corrodes. Ask the operators of Aerocets and they will tell you they are nearly bomb proof...not idiot proof but nno corrosion issues and when they hit something they usually incur little or no damage and it is a quick fibreglas repair.

The dynamic dampener adds very little weight. When you order the prop it comes with the dynamic dampener not yet attached to the spinner backing plate. It just bolts on and doesn't weigh more than a couple pounds. I just looked up the weight and balance on a plane I did recently where I removed the old 76" prop and spinner and installed the new 80" prop, spinner and dampener and it added a total of 4.5 pounds to the plane. It also makes a very noticable difference in vibration and improvement in performance. The A1F6 motor is a nice smoother running motor with the counterweighted crank the bummer is it weighs 7 lbs more than a A1A motor. Ether way works well though.
Shawn

How are you doing with the STC??? I have been contemplating the same thing for some time. Talked to Aerocet a year or two back. They said they were working on a 170/172 approval, but could offer no time line.

Have been busy and not on lately but it is on floats and flies great. Flew it up from Renton Washington to Wasilla with experimental all over it. Wont tell you the exact weight but with full tanks and two people onboard with gear...was off with no wind conditions in less than 13 seconds and that was first take off without trying anything fancy, just letting it fly off. Now in the process of getting things tuned up for the flight tests. HOpe to have it done by mid summer with any luck. Will try to figure out how to post a picture