ultimate floatplane...(single)

[Launchpad]

Trying to find the best floatplane really depends on a lot of factors.... What does best mean? Fastest, biggest, fastest off the water, fuel burn, payload? I fly a turbine beaver on amphibs which can be argued as one of the best.... Although, I'd never buy one-

With regards to a C182 or 206 on floats, I'll just say this. They both make a decent floatplane, but any floatplane with electric flaps is straight up gay... no way around it.

 

[Stevebry]

Hey you are the guy who plopped the 182 down by Sample Rd, on your way to FXE? Great job, I'm sure you're happy we gotta lotta lakes round here! I saw the burnt out and wingless hull on the west side of the airport the other day, a sad site. What happened????

Engine Quit about a minute till touch-down at FXE.. tried a restart and notice there was a fire.. so threw the gear up and put her in the water... NTSB ripped our baby apart last week and said it was the power line from the EPU connect to the Battery was rubbing on the Fuel line... disaster in the making... the cable arched and cut the fuel line right in half.... Complete loss.. just waitin for the insurance to cutt a check now for the replacement... putting a bid in on a 2000's model TU206 on wipaires... has a longer t/o roll but we have a big lake...

 

[Frozen Ronin]

Beaver is best, if you don't need much climb/speed but you have a load. Roomy and easy on the get in/get out for pax. The 9 inch extension, while controversial concerning handling, is nice for flightseeing ops.

The 185 climbs much nicer, but it always seems to be working against me... vis sucks, it's pretty unforgiving on the float, small, etc. The difference between sliding in and stubbing the toe in on landing is about 0.0075 degrees of pitch (LOL), especially with two up front and nothing in back. The belly pod rocks, though.

208 was a mistake on floats.

Otter on floats (single or twin) is expensive, but capable machines.

My humble opinion(s) in a nutshell.

Ronin

 

[TrafficInSight]

Engine Quit about a minute till touch-down at FXE.. tried a restart and notice there was a fire.. so threw the gear up and put her in the water... NTSB ripped our baby apart last week and said it was the power line from the EPU connect to the Battery was rubbing on the Fuel line... disaster in the making... the cable arched and cut the fuel line right in half.... Complete loss.. just waitin for the insurance to cutt a check now for the replacement... putting a bid in on a 2000's model TU206 on wipaires... has a longer t/o roll but we have a big lake...

Funny you should mention that because I just got the AD in the mail...

 

[VNugget]

I wonder if that's the original Shvetsov engine or a Pratt... the former are supposed to be notorious for hydraulic locking, and with no way to turn it through...

 

[navigator72]

http://www.seaplanefly-in.org/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

 

[Cpt. Underpants]

Murphy Moose on Montana Amphibs. Use the $200K you'd save from a 985 Beaver or $900K from a Turbine Beaver to fly for a long time...