SAS, the floats have to be armed before anything can happen. Then, optimally they are inflated by the pilots at low speed before alighting on the water. If the pilots forget or don't have time, they are fired by float switches but only if they have been armed. There are airspeed limits for float inflation (the max speed that the test pilots dared to fly at with the floats inflated) and you can't have a system that could malfunction and inflate the floats when above that speed (which is 150 for a 225, 80 for a 92, and can't remember for an L2 but maybe 130?). That is why the pilots must slow down to below that speed prior to arming the floats.
Last edited by HeliComparator; 26th Aug 2013 at 19:08.