by skimmerone » Fri Jul 16, 2010 4:06 pm
Yes, she is #1, the prototype. She first flew July 17, 1948...her anniversary is tomorrow. Colonial finally went into production in 1956 after many years of testing that was interrupted by the Korean War. She was used for testing for many different items for use in production aircraft and the drop tests for the next model, the C-2 180HP model. She was supposed to be tested to destruction, but she didn't destruct and was placed outside the hangar with engine and instruments removed, never intending to be sold. But sell her they did, to someone who trucked her to Pennsylvania and put her back together again. She had about 250 hours total on her. Once flying, she did not accumulate many hours and went through several owners until 1989 when she was blown over in a windstorm, dismantled again and put in the owners garage where he attempted to put her back together again. He eventually died and it was sold to a dealer of oddities for lack of a better word and it sat in his warehouse for a few years. I have been keeping track of all the old Skimmers (23 C-1, 19 C-2) since 1964 when I bought my first one, so knew it was somewhere in the Cleveland Ohio area. I decided that, since I was the self-appointed historian, I needed to save #1 and bring her back to life again, and as you see by the photo, she is very much alive. Near as I can figure she has about 600 hours total time on her.
It is my intention to do a short history on each one with photos, as soon as I can figure out where to put it on this forum. Lake Aircraft also made one aircraft without wheels which is a true flying boat and should definately be on this website. Lakes have been used for experiments with hydrofoils, airbags, skis, and the like. So there is plenty for me to add here. All it takes is time.
The Superbucky is quite the plane. I have seen it in person, but not flown it. I do have some photos from one of our Lake flyins. Now that was a labor of love.
