I am looking at Lake Buccaneers (and possibly Seabees) for purchase. It would be an occasional toy for me (after I get my rating) and possibly leased to a school for training in. Obviously I will get a thorough pre-buy by someone who knows what he's looking at, but what do I really need to know before buying one of these? Anything in particular I should look out for? I've noticed that on the Lakes, there seem to be a lot of various options and accessories. Any I should seek out or avoid?
Did you check insurance prices yet? My budyy said that killed the deal for him. That was a long time ago but i think he had over 500 hours at the time.
There is a AD for the Lake that created a lot of confusion. Look into it and see what solution the one you are buying has. I was leaning towards a Lake when this all blew up and decided to look elsewhere.
Wing attachment. There was a corrosion issue on one flown to the great barrier reef. FAA mandated across fleet. Lake came up with a fix to the tune of around 8-10 K. Another company came up with a cheaper fix and then Lake sued them for patent infringement. Lake now looks to collect from those with the non factory repair. Lucky for us we had the factory repair done.
There's another AD on the horizontal stab attachment, too. Revo, the current owner of the Lake series, has been for sale for some time. They're not building any airplanes and don't have much for parts. Lake Central Air Services in Ontario, Canada are the people who we go to for advice.
That's mostly true. However, there is a place here in California which will rent a Lake Amphibian to someone after a proper checkout without requiring dual. Alpine Aviation (http://www.flyalpine.com/aircraft/) has a Lake Buccaneer for rent and for instruction. As far as the OP's question, Alpine Aviation also provides maintenance services and has several mechanics on staff. They maintain their Lake. The OP may want to give them a call and discuss with them the questions about any things to look for wrt Lake issues.
Insurance on a float plane is high Amphib is insane Amphib rental, it's going to eat you alive. There are a good number of experienced Amphib drivers who don't insure for that reason, but they also don't rent them out or just let anyone PIC them.
Most people lease back their amphibious aircraft to an FBO right after they feed their pet unicorns !
Thanks. It seems that all the ones we've looked at had the ADs taken care of. But will keep my eyes peeled for any that haven't.
If you have relevant experience that might help me from learning the hard way, I'd appreciate it. It's always easier to learn from someone else's mistakes. We've priced insurance, it's not unreasonable for dual only. Of course the plane had to fly enough to pay for it, and that remains to be seen. We're also trying to make sure we get the right bird, that has the right features and equipment for our purpose. It's already been pointed out to me that everything in it will likely get wet, which I'll admit I didn't really consider.
A friend has a Seabee- an amazing aircraft for sure. I'm a serious fan! Let's use a relative way to explain what Art is hinting at: I'm on my second E series bonanza. Finding parts and qualified A&Ps can be a chore. Did I mention finding parts is a PITA at times? And I have to describe how things work under the cowling to any A&P under 40. (And I'm just a dumb pilot.) My bonanza addiction is like buying a new car compared to the Seabee.. . . . . . Oh- here's another one: the rule of thumb on old bonanzas isn't if they have been gear up landed, but how well they were repaired after the last gear up. The Seabee rule of thumb: how well was it restored after the last time it was sunk?? But I would still go for it if you aren't scared off yet. Darn cool airplanes!
