SPECIFICATIONS:
Name: Sea Hawk
Manufacturer: Gee Bee
Wingspan: 50 inches
Length: 42.5 inches
Wing Area: 437 square inches
Weight: 4.5 pounds
Radio Required: 4 channels
Radio Used: Futaba Conquest 4 channel
Engine required: 20 - 40 2-cycle
Engine Used: O.S. 40 LA
CONSTRUCTION:
This kit had only one folded plan and a very small 4 page
instruction book. This kit could have been much more enjoyable
to build if it had more complete plans and instructions. It also
came with minimal hardware.
The wings are built up balsa and are fairly easy to put
together and only took about two nights. The center section only
has a small amount of re-enforcement and it should be replaced
with stronger fiberglass cloth. The biggest problem with the
wing was the servo installation. The instructions don’t give any
help with this part. It is too long and complicated to explain
what I did here, but if you want to know, e-mail me and I’ll
explain it to you.
The fuselage was just two side pieces made of balsa and
were joined with 1/4” square balsa. It was easy to put together
and didn’t take much time. The plans and instructions were
sometimes unclear, but overall it was pretty easy.
Next was the tail surfaces. The fin, rudder, and
elevators are pre-cut sheet balsa and go together quickly. The
stabilizer is built up balsa and is VERY flimsy. Extra time
should be taken to reinforce the whole stabilizer. If you just
follow the plans, the stab will be very weak and could break in
flight.
The best part about the kit was the floats. They aren’t
very good looking, but hey, this is just a fun model. They are
included in the kit and come pre-built out of plastic. They are
joined to the model with aluminum strips (also supplied in the
kit). This takes lots of time to get it set up correctly and
shouldn’t be rushed. Another major fault of the kit was the
water-rudder. Don’t even bother using the one in the kit. Just
throw it away and buy another from the hobby shop. Don’t even
think about flying without a water-rudder because you’ll have
absolutely NO control on the water.
FLYING:
I took the Sea Hawk to the lake (Lake Huron) during a
calm morning for it’s first flight. I slowly added throttle and
the plane SLOWLY accelerated. It took lots of space for it to
finally get airborne. Small waves or ripples greatly reduce the
takeoff length needed. Adding throttle to quickly at the start
sometimes causes it to nose over. Once it’s airborne, it gains a
bit more speed, but not much. For those of you who like planes
that rip holes in the sky, this is definitely not for you. Even
with the large floats, it is capable of basic aerobatics.
Landings are easy because there’s nothing to worry about hitting
and no specific runway to follow. The plane likes to skip across
the water if you bring it in too fast. When it does land, it
wants to nose over. To stop it from nosing over, full elevator
must be applied upon touchdown.
Overall, the Sea Hawk is a great start to float flying.
It’s small instructions and plans may make building difficult to
a beginner. For anybody who has a couple of kits under their
belts, it shouldn’t be a problem. Flying isn’t fast, but isn’t
slow considering the large floats which it hauls around. Anybody
who can fly a trainer can fly this plane, and the plastic floats
can take hard landings. For anybody interested in trying float
flying, this is definitely a good choice to start off with.
