Great Planes Float Kit 60 - GPMQ1874 - Manual (Page 9)

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1. To provide a good glue joint for the bottom sheeting,
use a sanding block and 150-grit sandpaper to trim the side
sheeting down to the side stringers and to bevel the
forward and aft keel to the same angle as the formers. Be
sure to maintain a smooth curve in the float sides when
sanding. Use the stringers as a guide.
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2. It has been our experience that ballast is required in
order to move the center of gravity forward when the floats
are mounted on the air plane. This can easily be
accomplished by using 6-minute epoxy to glue the weight
inside the floats just behind the front former A. Spread
epoxy over and around the lead weights to prevent them
from coming loose. We suggest 1 oz. inside each 20 float,
1-1/2 oz. inside each 40 float and 2 oz. inside each 60 float.
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1. Trial fit the die-cut 1/8" plywood aft bottom sheets.
Note: The 20 floats use die-cut 1/8" balsa aft bottom
sheets. The straight edge goes toward the center and
should be placed so it covers half of the keel. Make
adjustments if necessary and bevel the edges of the aft
bottom sheets that contact each other in the center.
Note: An embossed arrow is provided on the .40 and .60
aft float bottoms as an aid to alignment.
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2. Working on your flat building board, use thick CA to
glue one aft bottom sheet to the aft side stringer and
formers only. Do not apply CA to the aft keel at this time.
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3. Glue the other aft bottom sheet in position, applying
thick CA to the side stringers, formers and aft keel, gluing
both aft sheets to the keel and each other simultaneously.
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1. To prepare the forward bottom sheets for one float,
cut ten 3-1/2" pieces from a 1/8" x 3" x 30" balsa sheet,
then make two cross-grain sheets by gluing 5 pieces
together.
Carefully sand the sheets flat using a sanding
block and 150-grit sandpaper.
20 Floats Only
If you are building the 20 Sport Floats, follow these
steps first to make the bottom forward sheeting.
Otherwise, skip these three steps and add the
bottom forward sheeting now.
Forward Bottom Sheeting
Aft Bottom Sheeting
Prepare for Sheeting
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