COLONIAL C-1 SKIMMER. After seven years of development the Colonial Model C-1 Skimmer has recently gone into series production. The post-war market for light utility single-motor amphibians was pioneered by the 1944 Republic RC-3 Seabee, of which over 1,000 had been built when production ceased in 1947. The prototype Skimmer (N6595K) was first flown on 17th July 1948 and apart from a new paint finish and a taller fin and rudder, appears to have undergone little external re-design . Dual controls are provided.
Salient features: Of all-metal construction the Skimmer has a single-step hull supporting a cantilever mid-wing with marked dihedral. The clean hull lines are broken by the semi-retractable nosewheel which also serves as a bumper. The trousered wingtip floats do not retract but the main wheels fold inwards and remain uncovered. The 150-h.p. Franklin O-320 flat-six drives a two-blade Sensenich propeller and is mounted on a simple streamlined pylon supported on each side by single struts.
Photograph shows N6595K over Oyster Bay, L.I., N.Y.

The Canadian Register has exhausted the CF-J series very quickly and has reached CF-KJN. Skimmer CF-KDQ (photo) and Navion CF-KEA are two other recent Canadians.

First photo of the Colonial C-2 Skimmer four-seat amphibian. Span 34 ft. 0 in., length 23 ft. 6 in., height 8 ft. 10 in. Maximum speed 136 m.p.h., cruising 125 m.p.h. Gross weight 2,350 lb., empty weight 1,470 Ib. Company designation is Skimmer Tach IV.

IN 1946 FORMER Grumman employee David B. Thurston established the Colonial Aircraft Corp at Sanford, Maine, to build a 2/3-seat amphibian inspired by the 1944 G-65 Tadpole design abandoned earlier by Grumman. The prototype, designated the Colonial XC-1, could carry three passengers and flew for the first time on July 17, 1948. The production version, the C-1 Skimmer, of which 24 were built (as seen here), powered by a 150 h.p. O-320 engine, was followed by 18 four-seat C-2 Skimmer IVs before the company was declared bankrupt in 1959.

COLONIAL C-1 SKIMMER. Data: Manufacturer: Colonial Aircraft Corporation of Deer Park, L.I., N.Y., and Sanford, Maine, U.S.A. Power: one 150-h.p. Franklin O-320 horizontally-opposed, six-cylinder. air-cooled motor. Accommodation: three, plus baggage stowage of 40 cu. ft. Dimensions: span 34 ft.; length 23 ft. 6 in.; height 8 ft. 10in. Weights: empty 1,400 lb.; useful normal load 700 lb.; loaded 2,100 lb.; maximum fuel 35 U.S. gal., 270 lb.; normal 30 U.S. gal., 180 lb . Performance: maximum speed 125 m.p.h. at 5,000 ft.; cruising (at 62 per cent power) 115 m.p.h.; stalling 50 rn.p.h.: range 700 miles.