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NOAA’s Lake Renegade Seawolf
July 2000 Platform

The Aerofab Lake Renegade Seawolf is a cost-effective, dependable platform for near-shore low-level surveys. NOAA operates two of these amphibious single-piston engine aircraft. One is assigned to NOAA’s National Ocean Service Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary in Santa Barbara, California, to support their research and enforcement efforts. The other aircraft is stationed at NOAA’s Aircraft  Operations Center, in Tampa, Florida, to support scientific programs and pilot proficiency training.

The Lake aircraft have been utilized for low-level biological surveys such as red drum, sea turtles and manatees, on-site terrain observations and pilot training. Since acquiring the aircraft, modifications and installations to support NOAA missions include the addition of a GPS/Loran-C navigation system with a scientific data drop; a radar altimeter; removable bubble windows on each side of the aircraft; under-wing hard-points for camera pod attachment; dual VHF radios; additional external fuel tanks; and a modified ventilation system with individual air ducts for rear-seat passengers.

Currently, both aircraft are being utilized by the national marine sanctuaries.  N64RF is flying for the Monterey Bay and Channel Island National Marine Sanctuaries, and N65RF is flying for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.  Both aircraft are involved in helping to protect and monitor these valuable national resources.  The aircraft monitor several thousand square miles of protected areas for such violations as illegal oil, gas, and mineral exploration; discharging or depositing of materials; moving or removing historical resources; taking any marine mammal, sea turtle, or seabird, and dredging, or otherwise altering the seabed or reefs.  The aircraft also participate in vessel counts and provide rapid response to vessel grounding sites where hazardous material spills could occur.

In conjunction with the scientific community, the Lakes are also used to count and monitor such marine mammals as right whales, manatee, and bottle-nosed dolphins as well as sea birds, and turtles.
 

Research missions in NOAA's National Marine Sanctuaries include marine mammal counts and coral reef assessments

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Direct inquiries and comments to: omao.comments@noaa.gov
Last Update  March 1, 2001