Frank,
Excellent points all. It is interesting to note what passes certification, and what sometimes doesn't.
I fully agree with you on the X brace.
A comment was made earlier reference the Husky wing being certificated at 2200 on floats, and is full of Univair/Piper parts. That is partially true, but one of the primary changes made between the A-1 and A-1B was the rear spar, which was manufactured from a different alloy in the A-1B for additional strength.
Amphibs are always forward in CG, and when heavy, don't come out of the water like a straight float airplane, due to the forward weight. That's a fact of life.
But I agree with you fully, if you want something that looks like a Cub, and want to run amphibs, I'd go homebuilt, use the parts that are strongest, and make the most sense, then set a gross weight that makes sense to me.
If I were doing this, I'd pick the Baumann amphibious floats, since frankly, they perform better than the Wips, due to fluted bottoms.
Sounds like a heck of an airplane, if you get there.
As I noted on another thread, a friend is cooking up a homebuilt with the Buccaneer airframe (four seat Tern), a Husky wing, and a 200 hp Lyc. Wants it on floats. It should be a pretty interesting plane if he ever gets it done, and everything is set right.
MTV
