ASES floatplane in or near Michigan?

I've been eyeballing this Aeronca on Barnstormers, but having a hard time selling it to my wife.
She keeps bringing up the, "we gotta fix the house up and get it sold first" argument.
Before that I was looking at a Kitfox IV with Rotax 912, wheels, skis, and floats for $17k. It's gone now.
Probably won't be able to buy anything until this fall after the house is sold (hopefully) and we settle in to a new place.
Looking to pay with cash, no loans, I hate debt. That's why I'm trying to keep the cost down.

115 HP CHIEF ON EDO 1400S • $28,000 • FOR SALE BY OWNER • Aeronca Super Chief on EDO 1400s with 115 HP Lycoming 0235C-1. 72 inch McCauley Prop. LSA on wheels and floats. Auto Fuel STC. Airframe TT 2467. Engine SMOH 477. In 1995: New rib stitched Ceconite, new horizontal stabilizer, new glass & windshield, new fabric interior and control cables . Floats completely refurbished and tightened in 2005. Latest fuel tank, Lightweight starter, remote oil filter, spray rails and high lift wingtips. Great performer bought in 93. Price includes Floats, Wheels, Federal Skis(1850s), highway capable custom built Trailer and 100 gal. fuel tank with pump and reel. • Contact Steven C. Bernstein, Owner - located Lubbock, TX USA • Telephone: 806-416-2766 • Posted February 23, 2017 • Show all Ads posted by this Advertiser • Recommend This Ad to a Friend • Email Advertiser • Save to Watchlist • Report This Ad • View Larger Pictures
 
z987k said:
Floats, wheels, skis and under 30k.
http://alaskaslist.com/-3/posts/10_Transportation/59_Aircraft/474732_1946_Taylorcraft_BC12_D.html
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No electric kinda freaks me out a little, especially in a float plane. No restart in the air, and hand propping on water sounds tricky and dangerous, especially since I'll probably be on my own 95% of the time.
How quickly will a C-90 get a floatplane off the water when it's hot and humid outside? That concerns me.
Any idea on what it might cost to ferry it to Michigan? Might be cheaper for me to go out there and fly it back.
To be honest, AK is so far away that I haven't even bothered to look there. Maybe I should consider looking there too. I've heard there are a few floatplanes up there. A pre-buy flight might be a little bit tricky to arrange though. I could possibly arrange to have a JC'er up there do a pre-buy flight for me?
The next question is, if I go out there to pick a plane up, can I trust myself to come back to Michigan, or will I just stay there?
 
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BigZ said:
BTW I wouldn't knock Lake out completely either
Doesn't go anywhere in a great hurry, but neither would a seaplane of this class
Same 200hp engine as Arrow, won't do the docks, but in a way better for wilderness. If you remove the rear seats and open the door to the baggage compartment, two sleeping bags fit great.
For where you are, find one with a working heater - engine is on your back, so no warm air from there.
180 hp is ok too if you keep the loads up.
Any questions about Lakes - pm me
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The thing that concerns me about a Lake is how future potential employers will view that time, takeoffs, and landings vs time, takeoffs, and landings on actual floats.
I'm concerned it will be viewed kinda like C-337 multi-engine time is. Technically it's a multi-engine aircraft, but few places accept it as multi-engine time due to it being center thrust, which makes it nearly worthless in terms of building quality, useful multi-engine time.
I'd hate to waste a lot of time and money building SES time to find out that it doesn't count for anything because it was on a hull and not on floats.
 
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Don't get me wrong, I love flying boats. I used to fantasize about flying one when I would watch "Tales of the Golden Monkey" back in the '80s.
I still love Grumman flying boats and think they are beautiful. Would love to fly one someday. My wife and I have even talked about living in one and traveling the country and/or world in it after we retire.
The old Boeing Clippers are very beautiful and amazing too.
My dad used to fly an HU-16 Albatross in the USAF when we were stationed at Goose Bay, Labrador in the early '70s. I've always loved those.
But, I need to do what is most practical and cost effective at this point. There aren't very many single-engine or multi-engine flying boat operators out there. It's a tiny niche I'd eventually love to be a part of someday, but I don't know how realistic that is.
 
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I know a lady with Albatross turned into a yacht and they were doing just that - travelling all over and living in it.
Work wise - can't help there, don't know if flying boat would count for anything.
Light planes on amphib floats are close to useless useful load wise
Straight floats come with logistics problems.
Anything semiuseful on amphibs costs a boatload, no pun intended.
 
modernicarus said:
No electric kinda freaks me out a little, especially in a float plane. No restart in the air, and hand propping on water sounds tricky and dangerous, especially since I'll probably be on my own 95% of the time.
How quickly will a C-90 get a floatplane off the water when it's hot and humid outside? That concerns me.
Any idea on what it might cost to ferry it to Michigan? Might be cheaper for me to go out there and fly it back.
To be honest, AK is so far away that I haven't even bothered to look there. Maybe I should consider looking there too. I've heard there are a few floatplanes up there. A pre-buy flight might be a little bit tricky to arrange though. I could possibly arrange to have a JC'er up there do a pre-buy flight for me?
The next question is, if I go out there to pick a plane up, can I trust myself to come back to Michigan, or will I just stay there?
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Ya, hand proping a float plane isn't the most ideal thing. I've flown a friend's Tcart with a C90-8 in it and I stay behind the prop with one hand on the throttle when I start it. It's a c90 though, not like you have to throw your back into it. The BC-12D came with an A65 on it, so with the extra 25 ponies, it gets off the ground real quick 150-400ft ground rolls depending on weight. I've never flown it on floats, but it's the engine you'd want in it for a float plane unless an O-200 is available.
Honestly ferrying a float plane cross country sounds like a nightmare. Finding places to land and making sure they have fuel. At least boat gas anyways.
 
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