Model 5 Continental Performance

[Steve-TX]

Hi, Team Kitfox folks. Here’s my story: I wanted an affordable float plane and bought a Kitfox 5 (1550 gw) with a Continental 0-200 (experimental 110-115 hp) that came with Lotus 1450 amphibious floats. I’ve been flying it on wheels to get some tail-wheel time for over a year now and thinking it’s time to get the plane and myself ready for floats. I’m checking out schools for the rating and there are so many to choose from. The part I need advice for is the Lotus 1450 floats. I called a previous owner to learn what he learned and he basically said “forget it, it won’t work”. I was a bit in shock by this advice but nonetheless I was in the listening mode trying to learn from his experiences. He said the plane was too difficult to get off the water and considered it a failed project. He said he believed he hired the right people to rig the floats and that he had lots of float plane time. I think he was operating out of a near sea level location and not sure what the outside temp/humidity was. I didn’t ask him his weight but he mentioned something that made me think he was not that heavy. I’m close to 200 myself. The person I bought the floats from said he installed the floats but never water tested them. My plan is to remove the amphibious hardware and see if it will get off the water at a reduced weight. I can stay under mgw (1500 lb) limit with just myself on board. If that works out, I will be content and may decide later to add the amphibious gear back to the floats. I have heard lots of success stories of the Kitfox 4 on floats but my heavier 5 model seems to feel more like Cessna 150 performance. I rode in a KF 7 and it seemed to have better performance with the more common Rotax 912. I was recently flying with my son on a hot Texas day within 200 lb of mgw with all our gear and the lack of performance made me wonder how it would do with floats installed. Wondering if anyone knows of a success story concerning my plane and floats (or something similar) or has any advice to share before I begin this project. Thanks in advance. Steve J, Texas KF-5, Continental 0-200, Whirlwind 3-blade prop