I am toying with the idea of PK 2250As for my Husky. My mind keeps debating between the lower cost, simplicity, and performance of straight floats vs. the complexity, higher insurance rates, and greater cost (but increased usefulness) of the PK 2250A amphibs.

Is anyone in the greater Pacific Northwest running the PK 2250As on their Husky? I'd love to hear your thoughts on how they perform. And, if possible, I'd love to see them in person.

Anyone out there?

Thanks,

Alex

I’ve flown a B model on those floats about an hour total. I was very impressed, both with performance of these floats, but also the functional design. I really liked the hydraulic pack in the float, so all connections between th floats and plane were wires, except the brake lines. Keeps all the float stuff with the floats.

Perhaps the most impressive thing I saw was stability in tight step turns....wow! But performance was excellent as well. They’d be great floats.

I’ve flown every float that’s approved on the Husky, and these would rank very high.

MTV

I have about an hour flying the PK 2250A’s like MTV. I used that short amount of time to evaluate them as best as I could and I really liked them. I agree with what MTV said and these were my findings also. I have flown the Wipline amphib floats also and they are very good floats but if I were to pick one I would probably go with the PK’s.

Kurt

Question, is the main gear suspension on the PK the same as the Wip? Rubber pucks?

Based on my buddy's recent experience with the PK's they do perform nicely. The only downside was the seals tend to die on a fairly regular basis. On the upside, the rams are cheap to either replace or have them overhauled/exchanged. It is a little tough to get them in and out and a few modified tools are needed to do the job. On the water they do tend to do the float thing quite nicely. He had them on a A1-C. The pump system is basically a modified trim system pump off a boat, which is a fairly bulletproof item.

dogpilot wrote:Based on my buddy's recent experience with the PK's they do perform nicely. The only downside was the seals tend to die on a fairly regular basis. On the upside, the rams are cheap to either replace or have them overhauled/exchanged. It is a little tough to get them in and out and a few modified tools are needed to do the job. On the water they do tend to do the float thing quite nicely. He had them on a A1-C. The pump system is basically a modified trim system pump off a boat, which is a fairly bulletproof item.

Yes, the gear hydraulics are a marine item, designed to be immersed. So, mounting that in the floats makes installation/removal quite a bit easier.

MTV

I have been running PK 2250As on my A1-B and they are great. You know those floats were specifically designed for the Husky and they not only perform extremely well, the CG envelope matches up perfectly with the plane.
I do agree with everything that has been said, but I have not had any problem with the seals in my 150 hours running them. I did quite a bit of work on the floats when I got them and I am very impressed by their construction and how easy they are to work on. Currently I am back on wheels and except for cutting the bungees swapping between wheels and the floats is quite easy. I just leave the wiring and hydraulic lines where they are in the plane when I am on wheels.When deciding between straight floats and anphibs, think about your fueling logistics, taxing up to a fuel pump is way easier than carrying jugs down a dock and lifting them onto the wing. And on a cross country you might find yourself considering using marine fuel off a dock and you need to decide if you are comfortable with that. I am just North of San Francisco and if you are in the area I would be glad to show you the floats, I also have a bunch of spare parts for them if you ever need something. If you would like to see some videos I have a bunch of those also, just PM me.

Thank you BlackWater. Your post was most helpful. I've been really busy these days but, if I have a window where I can get down there, I will let you know. I'd love to see the floats and bend your ear about using them on the Husky.

Thanks,

Alex

The seals on the hydraulic actuators do fail. On the nose gear, our customers get about 10 years out of them, then it is time to replace them. The main gear hydraulic cylinder doesn't seem to have this issue, but it is rebuildable with standard O-rings. I only remember rebuilding a few of these here at PK.

One thing that will always cause a failure of the cylinder is if it gets bent. A slight bend in the shaft with wear out the seal in the end of the cylinder. This has happened why new cylinders are improperly adjusted when installed in the field. Or someone puts the gear down when there is not sufficient clearance to the ground.

Other than this and a few other wear items, these floats last a really long time.

-Levi