During World War II the United States trained hundreds of thousands of pilots who served in the military, and immediately following the war many small general aviation airplanes were designed with the intention of providing peacetime private airplanes for these pilots as they returned home.  Colonial Aircraft Corporation was founded by David Thurston in 1946 with the goal of manufacturing single-engine amphibians aircraft.

Able to fly from both paved runways and open water, amphibians were highly flexible aircraft.  Thurston’s first design, the Colonial C-1 Skimmer, was unique in using a pusher-style propeller affixed to a single engine mounted on a mast above the fuselage.  This design feature was used in subsequent designs, including the Lake Buccaneer.

Only a few dozen C-1 and C-2 Skimmers were built before the company rebranded as Lake Aircraft in 1959.  The Colonial C-2 became the Lake LA-4, with over 1,000 aircraft produced.  A more powerful variant equipped with a 200 hp Lycoming IO-360 engine became available in 1970 and was known as the Buccaneer.  

Specifications

Capacity:  4 (1 pilot and 3 passengers)

MTOW:  2,690 lbs

Powerplant:  Avco Lycoming IO-360 engine, 200 hp

Cruise Speed:  105 knots

Range:  700 nautical miles