I would suggest an wearing an immersion suit. You can buy second hand ones from SEMS for about £100, or hire them for very little. Survival time in UK waters without one is frightening...and have you ever tried to get into a liferaft?
I agree, Whirly. I thought long and hard about overwater survival gear for the Super Cub. A raft is heavy, bulky and costly and it may well not get out of the aircraft, especially in the Super Cub. Even if it does, getting into it is a big deal, unless you have a very fancy, very expensive, but surprisingly not that heavy Winslow raft, which are not widely available in the UK.
My solution is:
-Immersion suit from SEMS
-Long Johns
-Switlik Helicopter Crew vest lifejacket, one of the best lifejackets around, containing the following in its pockets...
-Mcmurdo Fastfind Plus personal locator beacon with integral GPS, transmits your location accurate to 30 metres to the Cospas satellite within 2 minutes
-ICOM handheld radio in waterproof bag
-Flares
-I would like to add a helmet as there is a good chance of smacking your head on the panel in the event of a ditching and you don't need to be unconscious for long to miss your opportunity for emergency egress, as the terminology goes.
-I would consider a HEED emergency O2 system, but frankly the thought of having to use it horrifies me so much I am in denial about it.
Check out
www.equipped.com for some very good and truly obsessive gear reviews.
I reckon that with the above equipment, presuming I get out of the aircraft, I will survive and get picked up in most British coastal waters.
QDM