KATE SARSFIELD / LONDON
New owner aims to return company to aircraft building following completion of its acquisition last month
Wadi Rahim, the new owner of the Lake family of companies, has pledged to restart amphibious aircraft manufacture at the US company following completion of the acquisition last month. Product enhancements are also planned, says Rahim, in an effort to stimulate sales of the Renegade, Turbo Renegade and the multi-mission Sea Wolf seaplanes at Lake, which had become a parts supplier.
Rahim heads three companies responsible for the former Lake amphibians: Sun Lake Aircraft, formerly Lake Aircraft, will market and sell the types at its Kissimmee, Florida base; ManAero, formerly Aerofab, will build and support the aircraft at Sanford, Maine; and Global Amphibian, formerly Revo, holds intellectual property rights and type certificates. Former Lake owner Armand Rivard will continue to supply present owners with wing-modification kits issued under a previous airworthiness directive.
Rahim says: "We intend to build aircraft instead of [like Lake] leaving the production lines idle. Although we will continue to produce spare parts, our main focus will be building civilian models, the Renegade and Turbo Renegade, where we expect the demand, mostly from owner flyers, to be strongest."
Rahim aims to ramp up production from one aircraft a year to one a month, once demand supports it. "It won't happen straight away. But with a consistent marketing effort and improvements to the aircraft's interior, we expect a lot of interest."
Rahim is evaluating the Garmin 430/530 avionics suites as a replacement for Bendix King avionics and may also include an autopilot as standard, he says. "We will also smarten up the cabin and keep prices unchanged."
The legal tussle continues between manufacturer Archedyne and Armand Rivard, despite a court judgement in June ordering Rivard to pay $750,000 in damages and repay the $500,000 deposit which Archedyne paid for its collapsed acquisition of Lake. A dispute over the sale of the company last year resulted in Archedyne filing court action against Rivard on grounds of conspiracy to defraud (Flight International, 12-18 June, 2001). Rivard has yet to issue any payment. Archedyne's NauticAir 450 programme continues piecemeal, admits the company, but a lack of funds is hindering development. "We are now regrouping to formulate our next step," Archedyne says.Source: Flight International
