| For a number of years now a small company that has been making waves in the ultralight and lightsport aircraft market has been Downwind Technology. The company has recently changed ownership, and moved it's manufacturing and production facilities to Green Bay Wisconsin. David Cook the new owner has an engineering background in the automotive world, and experience in manufacturing capital equipment. Being a pilot for over 16 years he has always wanted to get into an aviation business so when his close friend Mike Puhl owner of Downwind Technology indicated he was getting ready to retire he decided to purchase the company. David then went about redesigning the structural interior of the float, as well as changing the type of materials used in production. The CAD designed V hull floats feature a durable composite Devinycell foam construction, and a Kevlar keel. While customers may not be able to physically tell the difference between the Shark Series I and Shark Series II float, the redesigning has both strengthened and lightened the float. Working with his composite partners David has spent a lot of time and resources to develop a composite layup procedure, which has enable Downwind to keep the float weight down, minimize drag, while maximizing strength. This procedure utilizes a unique bulkhead design which integrates I beam construction into the bulkhead, which substantially increases the strength in compression. On the amphibious Quad retract Shark Series II float the first bulk head can be found 14" inches back from the nose, and it houses the front nose gear. From there the sealed bulkhead compartments are found every 24" down the float. This type of design prevents an aft CG problem if the float is breached by rocks etc. Downwind also integrates metal hard point mounting plates into the top deck of the floats, directly perpendicular to the I beam. This allows for a variety of aircraft mounting positions. The amphib retract system uses a simple pneumatic air system, powered by a 12 volt battery powered air pump. This system is has proven to be inexpensive, effective, lightweight, reliable, easy to assemble and maintain. For backup purposes incase of electrical failure a CO2 cartridge is installed in the system which is capable of cycling the system 3 times. The water rudders are also retractable. On the Shark Series II floats the rear wheel box size has been increased to allow easier access for tire and wheel maintenance. The floats are available in sizes 850, 1100, 1350 and 1600 which represents the take off weight of the aircraft when equipped with floats. Since the color of the float is imbedded into the float during production a customer can actually supply a paint chip color to have his floats match his aircraft. Total float installation weight runs from 180 to 210 lbs. minus the aircraft's land gear components. The same quad retract system is used on all 4 series of floats. A tri-gear float retract is also available. Downwind currently has approximately 15 different aircraft manufacturers using their float systems, including Challenger, Rans, Kitfox, Highlander, Skyranger, Slipstream Genesis, Revelation, Allegro 2000, and EuroFox. | 
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