These proposals largely affect private flyers - and methinks this Forum is not the best place to look for sympathy.
Should we wait until a few people die in the sea first and a few very expensive SAR missions are deployed before we decide floats are a good idea?
That argument doesn't appear to have been applied to the private maritime community who still happily sail or power into the seas with no licensing necessary. I think you'll find that they've cost SAR a lot more than private aviation. However, surely you want SAR to be busy - otherwise your state-funded bean counters will be closing you down ?
Yes - but an ELT will make it a hell of a lot quicker and easier.
Not really. A fixed ELT will be utterly useless once the helicopter has either (a) sunk or (b) turned turtle on its floats in anything other than a mild swell (unless you mandate ELT antennae on top and bottom of the machine.) And, as made clear by HCGB, a good smooth auto onto water will not automatically light-up a fixed ELT.
A Personal locator with a crew member wearing a lifejacket would seem to be a more reliable method of actually saving lives, rather than finding an empty helicopter.
However, my new McMurdo has some interesting "facts" in the small print. The new 406 technology can mean a 45 minute delay in getting the signal through (whereas the old VHF was instant), the unit doesn't float (!), and the antenna needs to be clear of water. Brilliant.