You put it on floats? Really?

[Scott Rose]

Planes on floats.... that were never intended to be on floats.... Lets see what you got.


The Grumman F4F-3S Wildcatfish (or Wild Catfish), BuNo 4083, 1943
[Source: U.S. Navy]


SB2U-3 Vindicator on floats on May 9, 1941.
[Source: National Museum Of Naval Aviation]


Photograph of an XSB2C-2 Helldiver configured as a seaplane taken on September 29, 1942.
[Source: National Museum Of Naval Aviation]


Junkers Ju 52 on floats
[Source: Unknown]


Supermarine Spitfire on floats
[Source: Unknown]

[Dan K]

Definitely got some classics there, Scott!


This pair caught my eye:

[Snake45]

Good stuff!

Anyone got a photo of a Bellanca Airbus/Aircruiser on floats, like Clutch Cargo's?

[Jesse C.]

[L-188]

Good stuff!

Anyone got a photo of a Bellanca Airbus/Aircruiser on floats, like Clutch Cargo's?

God does that bring back memories! I worked at a small cargo airline for a short time and one of the twin beech pilots was nicknamed paddlefoot. I think that one of his sidekicks, that and spinner

[JohnB]

I believe the sole surviving Hamilton Metalplane is on floats in Seattle.
Also for strangeness...
-the WACO biplane in Raiders of the Lost Arc...
-Some foreign military (and one Canadian Bradley air service) Stearmans...
-Grumman AG Cats...


Here's a link to a Ballanca on floats...
https://www.bellanca-championclub.com/m ... links.html

[JohnTerrell]

I believe the sole surviving Hamilton Metalplane is on floats in Seattle.

It was for a while, but I saw some recent photos showing it back on wheels again and at the "Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum" in Hood River, Oregon (though sadly they're some modern type wheels/brakes/tires - it doesn't have the really cool, period-correct, wheels or bush tires with the red/white/blue hub caps as it originally had/was restored with when here in Minnesota with the Lysdales).

[old iron]

I remember seeing the Hamilton on floats, and was very impressed. So what happened to the floats? Were they not original (the video shows this always on wheels)?

[JohnTerrell]

Well the Hamilton was re-sold not that long ago, via RARE Aircraft (this being the second time it has sold since 2010). Part of the deal of the sale was that the floats (which are original to the airframe) would be included in the sale, so even though the aircraft is currently on wheels, they should still be easily at hand to be installed if the current owner desires to do so.

When the aircraft was originally built and delivered in the 1920's, it was fitted with Edo 6400 floats and served with Provincial Air Service in Canada. When it was rescued out of a junkyard in Alaska in the early 1950's, where it had eventually ended up, and then later restored by Jack Lysdale in Minnesota, it was restored, to exacting detail, to match one of the original Northwest Airways Hamilton Metalplane airliners - as it remained from the late 70's, when it was completed, until the Lysdales sold it in 2010 to Howard Wright. Wright took the original Hornet engine off and put a R-1340 on it, and there have been some other changes made to make it a more practical flyer (such as the modern Cleveland wheels/brakes, when it's not on floats). Wright was able to find the Edo floats, original to the airframe, still in Alaska, and had them restored and refitted to the aircraft, for which it flew on for a while in Seattle in recent years.

As I mentioned, the aircraft has more recently been re-sold, according to the RARE Aircraft website, and has been photographed (currently back on wheels) at the WAAAM in Oregon.

The same aircraft, as it looked when in operation on the floats in Canada in the late 20's/early 30's era (there is also a photo of it operating on skis in the winter):

[Michel Lemieux]

Fakes accepted?

[raconnel]

One that almost made it...

[Matt Gunsch]

Originally Matt posted a similar picture but Photobucket happened... and so I have replaced it with one from the WIX_Archive.


The KN-1 floatplane used by the South Korean Navy in August 1951. The Basis was a 6147th T-6F (44-81691) which ran out of fuel at Kwangju in 1950 and after moving it to Chinhae, the Koreans with help from the USAF, installed a locally produced central float and wingtip floats which were F-80 Shooting Star tip tanks. Aircraft crashed November 1951, killing the crew.

[JohnB]

I wonder who they got to fly it?
Not many USAF pilots had float time.

Also, I've seen C-45s, a (civil) UC-78, L-1, and L-19/O-1 on floats.

[Scott Rose]

[raconnel]

Hoth got global warming!