A Kitfox LSA with Full Lotus Floats – Short Interview
The light sport aviation arena is full of passionate aviators and aviatrixes enjoying the benefits of experimental aircraft ownership. Today we had a chance to speak with one of those people and discuss his choice of floats on his Kitfox. Meet Leonard Perry, Owner of Avidfoxflyers.com. Leni is a 4500 hour pilot from Alaska who is also a member of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA).
Speaking about his choice of floats for the Kitfox, the conversation immediately landed on Full Lotus Floats. The manufacturer of inflatable floats and mounting systems for light aircraft and helicopters is a top address for web footed LSA people. The boxy looking floats are the ultimate choice for people who demand reliability, utility and versatility at a reasonable price.
They are tougher than nails and will take you where no other float will take you. There’s nothing to leak and take in water and even if they don’t look extremely beautiful, they make the best snow skis ever. In deep powder snow, nothing beats having a set of 24″ wide 15′ long skis under you for flotation in the snow. When compared to other applications I’ve used, they have reduced drag, despite being boxy looking.
A thing of concern to many seaplane pilots is how deep the floats submerge in shallow water. Problems of the past with a float that resembles a floating air- mattress, rather than an edgy hull. Plenty of demonstrations of these floats capabilities can be found on Youtube but here’s two of the favorite ones we found. The first one shows a Zentith Air playing on snow. The second shows some serious confined water operations, demonstrating just how easy it is to maneuver the aircraft by paddle.
In April of 2014, Full Lotus announced the availability of its first electrically actuated amphibious floats. As of Summer of 2015 the lineup includes 1260A, 1450A and 1650A’s, all equipped with electrically actuated retracting mechanisms providing plenty of flotation. Full Lotus is part of Aircraft Floats Mfg. Inc and located at the Huronia Airport in Midland, Ontario.
