Avid Amphibian? Any on the east coast?

 I'm really disappointed you received no responses.I jumped on board to see the feedback you got as I've coveted the Avid Amphib. since I first saw one.I like you am interested in the ups and downs as well as the hull strength and perhaps how much weight  could be put up on that engine pylon (HKS). best wishes,  Dick

Thanks Dick for your response. I'm very excited about this amphib....Like you, my biggest concern would be what I could upgrade the engine with. I'm not so sure the 582 has enough hp to get you out of a short lake. Acourding to a spec sheet I read...it will lift out of the water about 700 ft. With about 700 fpm climb, it may be close some places. It sure will be an adjustment from the cheetah!

I did a quick pass through my copy of the FAA Registration to find Avid Amphibians and Catalinas in the Eastern US.  Spreadsheet is attached.

I'm also sorry to see that you've had no positive replies yet. The design looks orthodox and I'd like to see one. I have to say that I've been flying seaplanes off and on for about 15 years, been to the Sun-N-Fun splash-in many times, but never seen one of these - it it was a 'winner' you'd think there'd be more around (and in the air, not hangar queens)...?

I did a little research and before you read on, a disclaimer - you can probably find a long list of accidents in any type aircraft - homebuilts are hard to be conclusive about since you can name the thing anything you want. Indeed, some of what I found might not even be Catalinas:

 I found 9 accidents in the NTSB files for "Avid Amphibian", including 2 fatal, going back to 1992. Here are the links (I left out one that was an unexplained engine failure, though now I see that there's another that said no carb heat system installed...):

 http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief2.asp?ev_id=20090930X21219&ntsbno=CEN09LA611&akey=1

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20041124X01869&key=1

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief2.asp?ev_id=20001220X45455&ntsbno=LAX01LA060&akey=1

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief2.asp?ev_id=20001212X21321&ntsbno=NYC00LA176&akey=1

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20001205X00532&key=1

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief2.asp?ev_id=20001211X13670&ntsbno=SEA94LA021&akey=1

 http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20001212X18479&key=1

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20001212X16269&key=1

Anthony,

  Sure makes you think....Thanks for the info, I've only started thinking about going "Sport" recently. There's quite a lot to choose from, however I gave my hanger space up last month because of my cheetah being destroyed by hail. ( my luck, I was refueling when the storm came through) So...I'm thinking of picking up a folding wing so I can keep her in the garage at home. The idea of landing on water really appealed to me, but not a lot to choose from out there. The Kitfox will be my next choice and am also looking.

  Thanks again,

  Cal

I've seen the Kitfox and Glastar perform well enough on floats (sea level), never flown either. I am not up on the engines generally installed on the Kitfox but I think without higher-horsepower option it will be more weight-limited than a Glastar. A friend of mine had a Kitfox on floats and bought another on wheels with a bigger engine to move the floats to (instead of swapping engine). Glastar people got a big thumbs down for business practices from another seaplane friend.

I've sniffed around come Volmers and Coots. Big thing for me would be original build drawings/build book so that I could understand how it's put together and whatever deviations from the original drawings were for upkeep/inspection purposes.

SeaRey seems to have a good thing going but it's just too "ultra-lighty" for me - might change my mind if I flew one! Same for the Lockwood Drifter.

One other suggestion I forgot to mention - you can search the archives of "Sport Pilot" for articles on the various types:

http://www.oshkosh365.org/ok365_SAAMain.aspx?id=1273

   Hi Calvin!

Fancy seeing you here!   I've been an EAA member for over a year but this is my first visit to the forums.  It is like a personal welcome seeing you here.

You knowledge of airplanes is soooo much greater than mine I am unable to make any suggestions but I'm sure you will find something you will love.  Hope to see you again soon,

Joanne and Electric Kool aid

Hey Joanne,

  WOW! It's great to see someone you've actually laid eyes on...This medical problem has had me in a frenzie! I'm so glad they started the Sport Pilot program so us "old" guys can still fly!
 I don't know what I really want, I was just looking at a tandam seat Pup that may fit the bill? I need to get back in the air real soon. If you hear of something...I'd really like to get something that I can land on water though, let me know. Anthony gave me some ideas....maybe I can look for something I haven't heard of? These homebuilts are different though, you have to know what to look for. In most part, they are put together very good. But, some work just isn't up to standards. My life is at stake here & I want to know it was built by the book.

  Anyway, thanks for the shout. See ya soon.

    Cal