First design publication.

Also my first home built float plane design. Mostly, if not always, dealt with conventional landing gear of Radio Control Planes. After moving from the dessert to the Northwest I found myself with the opportunity to fly off a local lake and began the modification of an original foam GWS Zero kit.

Modified GWS Zero kit as an Nakajima A6M2-N Rufe Float Plane with center and wing floats. The center wing was used from a conventional Horizon Hobby single float. All parts were 3d printed to accomodate the GWS zero design while adhering to the original Rufe as possible.

These parts are made for modification of an original Kit. Some parts such as the landing gear mounts were already included, so I do not have STL files for the wing float pylons. Wing Floats were also made from scratch using Michael's styrofoam blocks cut in a basic float shape. Note: The wing tip floats are angled at 13 degrees up to make up for the hydrodynamics of the water.

Colors are yours to choose. For mine I decided to go in the colors of the 452nd Kokutai late in the Aleutians Campaign of 1943 when the IJN began painting their Rufes in the Green paint scheme over the Grey main color from 1941-42.

Here's a link to see the maiden and 2nd flight https://youtu.be/_LhagCFLIBg

3rd and 4th Flights https://youtu.be/5gefM5qDi50

Edit: A user asked me to include the brushless motor mount for the GWS Zero I made. Nothing special and I would advise to take your time to align the motor shaft to the center of the nose and make dry installations before you commit to glue. I used Gorilla glue on all PLA to foam adhesions to ensure it would bond well. Be generous in time to let the glue sit/ cure to ensure everything is secured. Good luck!