CubCrafters is now offering factory-installed floats for its Part 23-certified XCub two-seater, the company announced this week. Wipline 2100 floats, manufactured by Wipaire, are available in both amphibious and seaplane versions. Float operations were “a design objective from the outset,” said Randy Lervold, president of CubCrafters. Lervold said he has trained with the floats on the XCub and was impressed with their performance. “The airplane’s handling on water was smooth and predictable, even in wind and chop,” he said. Takeoffs were quick, and the landing gear on the amphibious model is “robust,” he said. The floats are available for new XCubs, or as a retrofit on aircraft that have already been delivered, the company said.
The XCub has been a popular product since its introduction in 2016. It cruises at about 127 knots, takes off in 650 feet, and has a range of about 700 NM. It’s driven by a 180-HP Lycoming O-360-C1G engine, paired with a Hartzell constant-speed prop. It sells for about $300,000. The seaplane (straight) floats are available factory-installed for about $45,000, and the amphibious floats are $70,000, company spokesman John Whitish told AVweb this week. The company doesn’t yet offer factory-authorized certification for water operations, Whitish said, but their training partner, TacAero, is working on a program that will be offered later this year. AVweb’s Paul Bertorelli took the XCub flying in 2016; click here for his report.
