Photograph:
Oldfield Baby Lakes VH-NIY (V78) at Mangalore, VIC in 1991 (the late Michael Madden)
Country of origin:
United States of America
Description:
Single-seat light sport biplane
Power Plant:
One 63 kw (85 hp) Continental C-85 four-cylinder horizontally-opposed air-cooled engine
Specifications:
- Wingspan: 5.08 m (16 ft 8 in)
- Length: 4.19 m (13 ft 9 in)
- Height: 1.37 m (4 ft 6 in)
- Wing area: 7.99 m² (86 sq ft)
- Max speed: 217 km/h (135 mph)
- Cruising speed at sea level: 190 km/h (118 mph)
- Stalling speed: 80 km/h (50 mph)
- Initial rate of climb: 610 m/min (2,000 ft/min)
- Service ceiling: 5,182 m (17,000 ft)
- Stalling speed: 89 km/h (55 mph)
- Max range: 402 km (250 miles)
- Empty weight: 215 kg (475 lb)
- Loaded weight: 386 kg (850 lb)
History:
The Baby Lakes was a scaled-down version of the very popular Great Lakes Sports Trainer designed by Barney Oldfield in Cleveland, Ohio, for the amateur builder. The Baby Lakes was intended to have the same sort of flying ease and performance as its predecessor of the 1930s, but at a much lower cost. The Sports Trainer was built between 1929 and 1932, and was usually fitted with a 71 kw (95 hp) Cirrus engine. Enthusiasm for the type led to the introduction of a new model utilising modern engines, such as the 134 kw (180 hp) Lycoming O-360.
The Baby Lakes has a steel-tube fuselage, wooden wings, with fabric covering, and provides a lively aerobatic performance when fitted with the 63 kw (85 hp) Continental engine, although power plants ranging in power from 37 kw (50 hp) to 75 kw (100 hp) in the Continental range, or 81 kw (108 hp) to 93 kw (125 hp) in the Lycoming range, have been fitted. More than 900 kits have been sold around the world.
First of the type completed in this region was ZK-FLV (c/n AACA651) registered on 25 November 1985 in New Zealand. This aircraft was built by Terry Smith of Haumoana in Hawkes Bay. It made its first flight on 23 May 1986 and is described as a Super Baby Lakes. A further example was completed in New Zealand, becoming ZK-ULM (c/n BLUL-01) and was built by P Parkinson of Rangiora, making its first flight on 21 April 2012.
Others have been completed and have been registered under AUF / RAA Regulations in Australia. Variants of the design include: Super Baby Lakes fitted with a 86 kw (115 hp) Lycoming O-235 engine which first flew in 1976; and the Buddy Baby Lakes, a two-seat model with dual controls, being flown solo from the rear seat. In more recent times the kit has been available from Aircraft Spruce and Specialty of Corona, California. An example VH-AVV5 (c/n 0215) was registered on 26 February 2013 but was cancelled from the register on 4 April 2016, being transferred to the RAA Register on 12 July 2016 as 19-8900. Examples are also known as the Great Lakes Baby Lakes. One became VH-NIY (c/n V78 – ex VH-NIT [ntu] but became 19-3058 with the RAA in December 1998. Mr N Arnott of Camden, NSW commenced construction of an example, the registration VH-OBL being allotted but it is not known to have been completed.