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Whether you're an aircraft manufacturer or an enthusiast with deep pockets and a desire to bring FAA-certified, aircraft-hung amphibians back into production, Brian Foley is speaking.
Lake Aircraft
Foley is an aviation consultant and analyst whose work includes various roles for major aerospace manufacturers, and since 2006, as an entrepreneur. He recently built a new aircraft dealership. Package deals that include not just individual aircraft, but type certificates and equipment.
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It began with the Meyers Interceptor 400 and Meyers 200, a piston version that shared an airframe with the turboprop-powered interceptor. Likened by Foley to a Cirrus piston unit with retractable gear, the Meyers design has a history that includes screen time in a James Bond film. Foley said there have been some nibbles on the line since Meyers Design began marketing in late 2019, but no deal has been made yet. His work with the owner of such a collection of documents and equipment led to a discussion of the Amphibian Lake, a decidedly less obscure model with 1,300 different species already produced.
Foley said he called the current owner of Lake Amphibian (the last Lake Amphibian was produced in 2015) for advice on how to market the Myers package and learned that the owner was also willing to relocate the "wallet." company or individual. "He's in his mid-80s now," Foley said, and "he's not as motivated" as he once was to build airplanes.
The Lake Amphibian package includes everything needed to build it but real estate and people, and each buyer will interact with company employees who are highly experienced and able to land a new company for support. The production line is running. Foley said that unlike Myers, the letter package does not have an asking price.
"I recommend everything," Foley said. "What I think is a fair sale price may be higher or lower than what the owner thinks."
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The original Lake Amphibian was the brainchild of designers from Republic Aircraft and the Grumman Corporation, which drastically changed the flying boat theme. They started with the C-1 Skimmer, a two-seat, 150-horsepower aircraft that was the first to be certified, followed by the C-2 (with 180 hp), and later the Buccaneer, the six-seat Renegade, Sephori. . , and Seawolf, which was designed for military and government missions. These lake amphibian types remain on the very short list of single-engine flying boats certified under FAR Part 23.
"Compared to the photo (A5), it's not a light sport," Foley said, noting that the 1,300 lake amphibians produced so far have seen service in 40 countries around the world. It's a proven design that fills a niche that few others can touch, and it also lends itself to the emerging market of urban air mobility. He provided a pitch for anyone to think along these lines. (That said, the same is true of motors, which can be relatively easily integrated with electric power.)
Foley's investment advisory firm AvStrategies has become somewhat of a go-to for those looking to sell type certificates along with equipment and other assets, a package deal that could bring the mothballed planes back into production. Foley said he hadn't planned it that way, but now that word is around he'd be happy to talk to others. He also works with a kit plane manufacturer who sells a similar package including aircraft design and tooling. What he wasn't ready to say, however: "If a qualified prospect is interested, we'll sign them to an NDA," Foley said, referring to the nondisclosure agreement.
Foley, who spent years working for Boeing and Dassault Falcon, said the market value of aircraft production packages (type certificates and equipment) is largely unknown because details of such transactions have historically not been made public. It's like trying to price a house for sale when there are no comparable transactions.
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Foley estimates that it would cost $100 million or more to prove a new clean sheet design in today's market, so the proposed Lake and Meyers packages are comparable to that standard, but he remains tight-lipped on the question of price.
"I know you're looking for a number, but you know, it's a 'suggestion,'" Foley said. "It depends on the value the customer sees."
Digital Media Managing Director Jim Moore joined in 2011 and is an instrument-level private pilot, as well as a certified remote pilot, who enjoys competitive aerobatics and flying drones. Ever wanted to own an airline company? Revo Inc. Now may be your chance to have them for sale at Kissimmee, Florida-based Lake Aircraft. Lake Aircraft has been manufacturing single-engine amphibious aircraft in the United States since the late 1950s, flying more than 1,300 aircraft in more than 50 countries.
Most of his aircraft sales over the past four decades have come from word-of-mouth referrals. Now 84 and looking to plan for retirement, Rivard said, "We've had a lot of calls, mostly about a six-seat Renegade, but there's no way to build them right now." The recently announced asset sale includes all intellectual property and equipment needed to build the Lake Renegade, Seafari and Seawolf aircraft.
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After more than 40 years of ownership, says Rivard, "the sale of Lake Aircraft is a rare opportunity to quickly reorganize production operations and continue to produce a successful line of amphibious aircraft. Do," using the manufacturing process as a stepping stone. to scale to larger and more complex planes.
He also said he hopes to sell the company's assets to a domestic buyer, saying it will take some time to explain some of the difficult situations he has experienced with previous investors. Lake struck a deal with an undisclosed Chinese financial backer in 2015 to invest in a new facility in Colorado and restart the Lake line. "It took eight to nine months to work out the details," Rivard said. Everything was going well until the current backers got into trouble with Beijing which made it impossible for them to get money out of China and a deal was struck. He recalled a previous frustration with another Chinese supporter that became impossible when "the AVIC guys reverse engineered one of our planes."
Intrepid buyers may wonder why data published by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association hasn't shown a single Lake aircraft since the association began publishing records online in 2000. Because, "I will never engage with them."
Purchases of current Lake assets (www.lake250.com) include FAA type certificate (#1A13), international manufacturing and marketing rights, parts and assembly tools, dies, jigs and engineering drawings for all Lake amphibian aircraft. A team of letter experts will also be available to help with shipping and product continuity. The Colonial C-1 Skimmer was developed by Colonial Airlines in the United States, the prototype first flew on 17 July 1948. The three-seat amphibian was powered by a 93 kw (125 hp) Lycoming O-290-D engine, and received its type certification on 19 September 1955. Development tests revealed that the prototype was slightly less powerful than that fitted to the production aircraft. 112 kw (150 hp) Lycoming O-320-A1A engine.
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In 1957 the C-1 was joined on the production line by the C-2 model, equipped with a 134 kw (180 hp) Lycoming O-360-A1A engine. An improved version known as the Skimmer IV later appeared. In 1959, the production rights were acquired by Lake Aircraft Corporation, and later, in 1962, Consolidated Aeronautics merged with Lake Aircraft Corporation of Sanford, Maine, which operated as a division of Lake Aircraft.
The prototype LA-4 first flew in November 1959, and the first production aircraft flew in April 1960. It was similar to the C-2 but had a wingspan of 1.22 m (4 ft), 0.3 m span. (1 ft) added to the aileron length, and the bow was 0.43 m (1 ft 5 in) longer. Also, the wing-to-fuselage attachment was modified, gross weight increased, and structural strength was added.
Type approval was received on 1 June 1960. While the LA-4 was fitted with a 134 kw (180 hp) Lycoming engine, an improved version appeared in the 1970s with a 149 kw (200 hp) Lycoming fuel-injected engine. The previous model was known as the LA-4-180, and the new model was the LA-4-200 Buccaneer. It had a top speed of 22 km/h (14 mph), a cruising speed of 19 km/h (12 mph), and a loaded weight of 91 kg (200 lb). Standard fuel capacity was 151.4 liters (33.3 Imp gals) but auxiliary tanks could be fitted on the wing floats, 28 liters (6 Imp gals).
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