Lake Aircraft

Lake Aircraft

Type	Private
Industry	Aerospace
Founded	1959
Headquarters	Kissimmee, Florida New Hampshire
Key people	Armand Rivard
Products	parts for LA-4 aircraft
Number of employees	6
Website	lakeamphib.com

Lake LA-4-200 Buccaneer

File:LakeLA-4-200BucaneerC-FZZN02.jpg

Lake LA-4-200 Buccaneer

Lake Model 250 Seawolf

Lake Aircraft was a manufacturer of amphibious aircraft. Its factory was in Sanford, Maine, USA, and its sales offices were located at Laconia / Gilford, New Hampshire and Kissimmee, Florida.

The assets of the company were sold in 2004 to an investor which incorporated as "Sun Lake Aircraft" in Vero Beach, Florida.

The assets are now owned by Revo Inc, owned by Armand Rivard.

History

The first design in the series produced was the Colonial Skimmer. It was derived from an original design produced by David Thurston in 1946 when he was with Grumman Aircraft. Grumman never produced the design, but Thurston formed Colonial Aircraft Corporation as a side business to continue development.

Colonial's first amphibious aircraft, designated the "Colonial Aircraft C-1 Skimmer" and based on the original Grumman G-65 Tadpole design, first flew in 1948. Colonial grew to produce almost 50 of the C-1 and larger C-2 design before being sold in 1959.

The new owner, M.L. (Al) Alson, renamed the company Lake Aircraft and enlarged the basic design again into the LA-4, a 180-horsepower, 4-seat aircraft, which was the basis for the entire line of aircraft that continues today.

Lake aircraft produced in the 1960 - 1980 range are listed by the Federal Aviation Administration as having been built by "Consolidated Aeronautics."

For many years the Lake LA-4-200 was advertised as "The world's only single-engine production amphibian."

In January 2009 company owner Armand Rivard indicated that he intended to sell the company and retire. The company had previously been offered for sale in 2001, 2002, via auction in 2005 and in 2007. Lake Aircraft produced one aircraft in 2007 and none in 2008, but continues to make parts for existing aircraft. In 2009 the company employed six people, down from the 200 employees that it had in the 1980s.

Evolution of Lake Amphibious Aircraft

Years Produced	Model	seats	Horsepower	Max Cruise Speed	Payload with Main Full Fuel
1948–1959	C1 and C2	2	150-180	90 mph	340 lb payload
1960–1969	Lake LA-4	4	180	110 mph	440 lb
1970–1982	Lake LA4-200	4	200	105 knots	500 lb
1982–1985	Lake LA4-200 EP	4	200	110 knots	550 lb
1984–1995	Lake Model 250	6	250	132 knots	800 lb
1987–2005	Lake Model 250 Turbocharged	6	270	155 knots	720 lb
2006	Seafury		250 & 270

External links

Official website