The Lake LA-250 Renegade is a six-seat amphibious utility aircraft produced in the United States by

Lake Aircraft Lake Aircraft was a manufacturer of amphibious aircraft. Its factory was in Sanford, Maine, United States, and its sales offices were located at Laconia / Gilford, New Hampshire and Kissimmee, Florida. The assets are currently owned by R ...

since 1982.Taylor 1989, 932

Design and development

The Renegade is a lengthened and more powerful version of the

Lake Buccaneer The Lake Buccaneer is an American four-seat, light amphibious aircraft derived from the Colonial C-2 Skimmer, itself a development of the three-seat Colonial C-1 Skimmer. Development The Colonial Aircraft of Sanford, Maine developed the C-2 ...

. They share the Buccaneer's

type certificate A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design (''type design''). It confirms that the aircraft of a new type intended for serial production, is in compliance with applica ...

, and Buccaneer production was terminated.Simpson 1995, 226 In turn, it gave rise to a number of variants, including the militarised LA-250 Seawolf, the turbocharged LA-270 Turbo Renegade, and the LA-270 Seafury optimised for marine environments. Like the Buccaneer, it is a conventional mid-wing design with retractable tricycle undercarriage and a single engine mounted in

pusher configuration In an aircraft with a pusher configuration (as opposed to a tractor configuration), the propeller(s) are mounted behind their respective engine(s). Since a pusher propeller is mounted behind the engine, the drive shaft is in compression in nor ...

in a pod on a pylon above the fuselage.''Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1984–85'', 432 The Seawolf version was designed for light maritime patrol duties and features a hardpoint under each wing to carry external stores, including bombs, rocket pods, gun pods, or rescue equipment. Provision for a radar unit was made on the forward end of the engine pod.Simpson 1995, 227 The Seafury includes improved

anti-corrosion In chemistry, a corrosion inhibitor or anti-corrosive is a chemical compound that, when added to a liquid or gas, decreases the corrosion rate of a material, typically a metal or an alloy, that comes into contact with the fluid. The effectiveness ...

measures and a hardened interior to improve its serviceability in saltwater environments, as well as a storage compartment carrying survival gear.Simpson 1995, 228

Operational history

On August 31, 1988, Peter Foster and Robert Mann departed

Sanford Seacoast Regional Airport Sanford Seacoast Regional Airport is a public airport located four miles (6 km) southeast of the central business district of Sanford, a town in York County, Maine, United States. The airport operated as Naval Auxiliary Air Facility Sa ...

in a Lake Turbo Renegade, flying to a maximum altitude of 24,600 feet and then leveling off at 24,500 feet. This flight set new world records for altitude and sustained flight at altitude for single-engine amphibians, FAI class C-3C-08. A year later on November 2, 1989, two more flights departed from Bauneg Beg Lake in

Sanford, Maine Sanford is a city in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 21,982 in the 2020 census, making it the seventh largest municipality in the state. Situated on the Mousam River, Sanford includes the village of Springvale. The city ...

, setting four more world records for single-engine seaplanes. In the first flight of the day, Robert Mann flew a Lake Turbo Renegade N270TL with co-pilot Gordon Collins to an altitude of 25,500 feet. They were able to sustain this altitude, setting two records for FAI class C-2C-08. Later in the day, Robert Mann flew N250L solo from Bauneg Beg Lake to an initial altitude of 27,300 feet, and then leveling off at a sustained altitude of 27,100 feet for two more world records in FAI class C-2B-08.

Variants

* LA-250 Renegade — Buccaneer with 38-inch (97-cm) fuselage stretch, six seats, and Lycoming IO-540-C4B5 engine ** LA-250 Seawolf — militarised Renegade with hardpoints and provision for radar * LA-270 Turbo Renegade — Renegade with Lycoming TIO-540-AA1AD engine uprated to 270 hp (200 kW) ** LA-270 Seafury — Renegade for saltwater conditions

Specifications (LA-250)

Notes

References

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External links

{{Lake Aircraft 1980s United States civil utility aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft

Renegade Renegade or The Renegade may refer to: Aircraft *Lake Renegade, an American amphibious aircraft design *Murphy Renegade, a Canadian ultralight biplane design *Southern Aeronautical Renegade, an American racing aircraft design Games *'' Comman ...

Amphibious aircraft Mid-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1982 Flying boats