Cubs and Champs on straight floats reach us when a lake property sells, when a medical does not renew, or when a family inherits an airplane nobody is rated to fly off water. These are simple aircraft with a devoted following, and even a tired one has a buyer — the complication is almost never the airframe, it is getting it off the water and establishing what the fabric and floats are really worth.
What moves the number on a float Cub
Fabric, and when it was recovered. Covering process, approximate date and who did the work, if that is known. Fabric has a real service life and a recover is a significant cost, so it shapes the figure. Missing paperwork on a thirty-year-old recover is normal and does not stop anything.
Float condition and corrosion inside the compartments. Whether the floats have been pulled and inspected recently, the state of the keels and chines, and whether water sits in any compartment. Water rudders, their cables and the retraction gear are small items that tell us how the aircraft has been kept.
Fresh water or salt. Salt and brackish operation changes the inspection list entirely — fuselage belly, control cables, hardware and the float attach fittings come first. A washed, hangared freshwater Cub is a different proposition. Both are welcome.
Engine and how long since it ran. Continental or Lycoming, approximate time since overhaul, and how long since it last started. A float aircraft that has sat through winters gets the engine looked at before anyone plans a ferry flight.
How a float Cub gets to us
The cleanest route is a short ferry flight to a hard-surface airport where the floats come off and the airframe goes on a trailer. Where that is not possible — no pilot, no annual, or a lake with no suitable destination — we bring a crane and a lowboy to the ramp or the dock. Season matters more here than anywhere else: in much of the country a lakeside pickup has to beat freeze-up, and we will tell you honestly if spring is the better window.
What the first call covers
What you can deduct for this aircraft
Float Cubs sell to a small, committed buyer pool, so your deduction is normally the gross proceeds reported on Form 1098-C. Two points specific to this type. Floats stored separately in a barn are part of the same donation and part of the same figure, so tell us about them. And a well-kept Cub can be worth considerably more than owners assume, which makes the qualified appraisal above $5,000 worth getting right rather than treating as a formality.
Above $5,000 you will need a qualified appraisal dated within 60 days before the donation plus Form 8283 Section B, which we sign as the recipient charity.
Rules for aircraft gifts are in IRS Publication 526, valuation in Publication 561. Nothing here is tax advice — confirm your figures with your CPA. How the deduction works · FAA paperwork
Other models in this class
Start with the N-number
We will pull the registry record before we call you back.