Video: Fabulous Grumman Goose Amphibian 2Fer (Must See!)
Monday, August 20, 2012 at 09:04PM
Wow. Can an airplane really get any better than being a Pratt and Whitney R-985 radial twin... that also happens to be a taildragger... and is perfectly happy to land on the water too? I don't think it can get any better than that. Long live the Grumman Goose! And of course I wanna apply that longevity statement to the smaller Grumman Widgeon (inverted Ranger powered), to the bigger Grumman Mallard (P&W R-1340 powered), and also to the much bigger Grumman Albatross (Wright R-1820 powered) - a truly amazing family of amphibious aircraft from the 30's and 40's.
I stumbled onto the video above and fell in love after about 3 seconds of hearing those two 450hp radials that are right outside the cockpit. Those fabulous radials are even nicer than on a Twin Beech because they are set a little closer to the aircraft centerline, putting the prop arc closer to the forward field of view... what a beautiful sight. And then the video gives you that sweet approach to landing onto nearly calm water, flying low over the trees and then low over the boats. Wow, that's some seriously cool flying right there. Amphibians just might be the most perfect aircraft. I guess it's easy to see why so many people are expressing interest in the ICON A5. I did get a ride in Goose once when I was a kid... probably 7 or 8 years old riding from Long Beach out to Catalina Island and back. Loved it, especially since we buzzed the ship that made the trips back and forth!
I hope that video above gives you at least half as much pleasure as it did me. And then, for something completely different, check out the fascinating military test video below. In the 50's and 60's, EDO Corporation did testing on several Grumman amphibians, like the Goose, to see if hydrofoils or skis could be used to shorten the takeoff distance of seaplanes. The video has narration and is quite informative. It's extremely cool to see this footage and how the takeoff-assisting contraptions functioned. Mostly tho, it just makes me want to get a seaplane rating really really bad : )
Grumman Goose hydrofoil testing film from the late 50's or early 60's
Reader Comments (2)
Simply fantastic! I have a deep affection for those old flying-hull, radial-powered birds. What an awesome video!
Have you by chance seen the DC-3 on floats? It was up in Greenville, ME for a long time.
Ben -
DC-3 on floats video!
: )