Lake Aircraft
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Lake Aircraft was a manufacturer of amphibious aircraft. Their factory was in Sanford, Maine and their sales offices were located at Laconia / Gilford, New Hampshire and Kissimmee, Florida.
The assets of the company were sold in 2004 to an investor who incorporated as "Sun Lake Aircraft" in Vero Beach, Florida.
The assets were sold again in 2005 or 2006 to A.E.R.O. Aircraft Services LLC which is based at Laconia airport in Gilford, New Hampshire.
[edit] History
The first plane produced was the Colonial Skimmer. It was derived from an original design produced by Dave Thurston in 1946 when he was with Grumman Aircraft. Grumman never produced the design, but Thurston formed Colonial Aircraft 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, Jack Strayer, 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 FAA 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."
| YEARS PRODUCED | MODEL | seats | HORSEPOWER | MAX CRUISE Speed | PAYLOAD W/MAIN FUEL FULL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 1983-1985 | LAKE LA4-200 EP | 4 | 200 | 110 knots | 550 lb |
| 1984-1995 | LAKE LA-250 | 6 | 250 | 132 knots | 800 lb |
| 1987-2005 | LAKE LA-270T | 6 | 270 | 155 knots | 720 lb |
| 2006 | SEAFURY | 250 & 270 |
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