Floating in a Tornado

For a whole lot of fun, consider a Titan Tornado on floats.
By Don Downie

Titan Aircraft President John Williams steers a Titan Tornado a rendezvous with a trio of alligators and a first water landing on Puddle Jumper amphibious floats.

A Titan Tornado on Puddle Jumper amphibious floats was originally shown at Sun 'n Fun '95. Titan President John Williams explained that before this installation, an amphibious hull had been studied, but the concept had to be scrapped because the stabilator was too low and prone to get in the water. Puddle Jumper floats were selected because Titan's Florida dealer, Darryl Shade of Midstate Ultralight Aircraft, had previous experience with them on other aircraft. The floats were matched to a standard two-place Titan kit powered with a Rotax 582. The installation required only one additional bracket welded to the frame for the front struts and float spreader bar. Positive nosewheel steering was achieved by extending the standard nosegear on the Titan and attaching the retractable system directly to it. Five inch plastic wheels installed in the floats were replaced with Azusa aluminum wheels. The floats add slightly over 100 pounds and leave a useful load of some 400 pounds.

On initial flight tests, the shorter 23.5-foot wing was used but subsequent tests used the 26-foot wing. Williams says that the longer wing improved takeoff performance slightly but was more difficult to handle on the water in a wind. Water rudders were required for the long wing and probably would he useful even with the shorter span. Flight testing for the amphibious floats took place at the Pahokee Airport on Lake Okeechohee with John Williams at the controls. Since no suitable ramp was available to put the Titan in the water for taxi tests, the first time the plane was actually in the water was at the onclusion of a test flight."As the possibility of getting wet was real, I was dismayed to find that there were three alligators right in our test area, so we arranged to have a team member with a rifle near my splashdown spot, just in case, Williams said.

I set up a full-flap approach and simply flew the plane right down to the water and stopped in front of the rescue crew. Timed takeoffs were in the 8-second range and distance 300-400 feet. Rate of climb solo with partial fuel was 1200 fpm and more than 600 fpm at full gross weight." The alligators stayed hungry. The photo shoot for the accompanying illustrations by KITPLANES contributing editor Howard Levy took more flying time than anticipated because of haze and problems with the two aircraft finding each without radio contact. After the photo session was completed, Levy returned to Lakeland, unaware that Williams was low on fuel. The Titan president landed on the lake, taxied to shore, and walked to the nearest road where he caught a ride to a gas station. Everyone thinks that the resulting photos were worth the effort.

The amphibious Puddle Jumper float system costs $4000 and is available through Titan Aircraft.