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Has anyone here ever flown a RANS S-7 on floats or amphibs?

Sky wagon: Apparently I could use one as long as it is a factory built version. The Rams 7 factory built are certified under the special light sport category. Just a thought towards the future where affordability and light weight will be an issue.

Alex,

No experience in these aircraft, but if you go this route, you are going to have to do a couple things:

1. Ask for ACTUAL weights of every prospective customer.

2. Turn down a significant percentage of those prospective customers due to limited useful load.

3. Above will be worse if amphib.

4. Have you considered cost of new, factory built and new floats?

5. Insurance for above? Amphib insurance? Customer solo???

6. Have you found a VERY petite DPE?

MTV
 
1. Ask for ACTUAL weights of every prospective customer.
Did that for 12 years with the PA-11 and 3 years with the C172. I only managed to load the 11 because an IA did not know the difference between exchange weight and real weight of EDO-1400s.

2. Turn down a significant percentage of those prospective customers due to limited useful load.
Been doing that for years. But I am loosing more now to to high operating costs. Fatties like the 180, but don't like paying for it. , this is just an idea I am kicking around, particularly if I have to go LSA in the future.

3. Above will be worse if amphib.
That is why I was asking. I can't figure out how it would work, BUT I see them on amphibs in photos....

4. Have you considered cost of new, factory built and new floats?
Yeap... I have already priced out 3 RAN S7 long tail, factory-builts that are used and one new. The used market costs are not bad. Plus I priced out a couple a couple CC11-100 Cub Crafter cubs.

5. Insurance for above? Amphib insurance? Customer solo???
I would not be doing solo, dual only, either tailwheel or straight floats. Not any more shocking than what I pay now.
6. Have you found a VERY petite DPE?
...Old big DPE retired. Have used a couple lighter folks so far. Who knows who I might find down south in the winter months. If I am in a warm dry place in the winters, it might just be tailwheel

If a RANS 7 weighs 780 pounds on wheels, and Alex and Mike remove 80 pounds of gear legs and tailwheel,,,, ( 700 lbs) then add 197 pound Baumann 1500s ( 897 pounds )Yes I know they are like hens teeth, just using the example.. The 1420 pound gross weight on floats would give us 523 pounds of legal load. The same as a PA-12 I did a rating in this summer.
 
Rans S7 Comparison

FWIW this is my experience with the Rans S7 (short and long tails) and S7s (these are all long). I've bought and sold a dozen of them. Most started out on wheels but I added floats. I moved to the S7 from a very snappy homebuilt C 170 with a fabric steel tube fuselage (one of a kind homebuilt with 180hp on 2425s). It was a great performer but my first S7 with a 65hp 582 got off the water with two 180 lb guys a lot quicker and it handled like a real plane.

One 80hp short tail I had was on 1100 Aerocet air operated amphib retracts. It had been built with 4x 9 gal tanks instead of 2. It easily got off with me and a 220lb passenger on a hot day with no wind (that was the buyers criteria and he was happy). All the short tails I owned were 80hp and weighed empty on wheels in the 675 lb range. They have been on 1260 Lotus, 1500 Murphy, the 1100 Aerocets, 1350 Aeroflotteur and 1400 PG (the absolute heaviest set: about the same weight 225lb as Edo 1400) and this one got off slowly with me, the 230lb owner and 1/2 fuel also with 80hp.

One 80 hp performed fine on Lotus 1260 but when an external amphib kit added it was a dog until the owner upgraded to 95.

All the 100hp models are terrific performers on both straight and amphibs. I helped a friend fly his newly purchased S model on Zenair amphibs with all our baggage, spare parts and two spare gas cans strapped to the float struts cause they wouldn't fit in the hatches from Nova Scotia to Saskatchewan and performance was a non issue.

I learned to fly floats on Cubs, Pa-11, PA-12 and 14 many years ago. The S7S is a modern Cub replacement that has toe brakes, effective flaps, better vis, more room, bigger, deeper seaplane doors on both sides that do make it a lot easier to get in and out of for both pilot and passenger (this stated by a cub owner!). The 912 is a modern engine that is light, economical, goes to TBO without repairs and uses no oil.

The only thing you can fault the S7 for is the lack of the name "CUB"
 
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