Incubator escapee wiki

Grumman G-21 Goose

Article Discussion

Template:Short description Template:Infobox aircraft

The Grumman G-21 Goose is an amphibious flying boat designed by Grumman to serve as an eight-seat "commuter" aircraft for businessmen in the Long Island area. The Goose was Grumman's first monoplane to fly, its first twin-engined aircraft, and its first aircraft to enter commercial airline service. During World War II, the Goose became an effective transport for the US military (including the United States Coast Guard), as well as serving with many other air forces. During hostilities, the Goose took on an increasing number of combat and training roles.

Design and developmentEdit

File:Grumman Goose.JPG
Preserved ex-British JRF-6B Goose in U.S. Navy JRF-1 markings

In 1936, a group of wealthy residents of Long Island, including E. Roland Harriman, approached Grumman and commissioned an aircraft that they could use to fly to New York City.<ref name="AN">"Goose." Template:Webarchive Antilles Seaplanes history page. Retrieved: August 30, 2008.</ref> In response, the Grumman Model G-21 was designed as a light amphibious transport. Grumman produced a high-wing monoplane of almost all-metal construction—the trailing half of the main wing and all of the flight control surfaces except for the flaps were fabric-covered. It was powered by two Template:Convert Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior nine-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engines mounted on the leading edges of the wings. The deep fuselage served also as a hull and was equipped with hand-cranked retractable landing gear. First flight of the prototype took place on May 29, 1937.<ref name="AWG">"Grumman Goose." Template:Webarchive Aerofiles.com Grumman page. Retrieved: August 30, 2008.</ref>

The fuselage also proved versatile, as it provided generous interior space that allowed fitting for either a transport or luxury airliner role. Having an amphibious configuration also allowed the G-21 to go just about anywhere, and plans were made to market it as an amphibian airliner.<ref>Truelson 1976</ref>

ModificationsEdit

File:Grumman.McK G-21G N70AL OSH 29.07.10R edited-2.jpg
McKinnon G-21G Turbo Goose conversion with Template:Cvt Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-27 turboprops

A number of modifications were made for the Goose, but the most numerous are those by McKinnon Enterprises of Sandy, Oregon, which holds 21 supplemental type certificates (STCs) for modifying G-21-series aircraft and which also manufactured four different conversions that were recertified under a separate FAA type certificate as brand-new "McKinnon" airplanes.<ref name="4A24">"FAA Type Certificate no. 4A24". Template:Webarchive FAA. Retrieved: August 26, 2011.</ref> The first was the McKinnon model G-21C which involved replacing the original R-985 radial engines with four Lycoming GSO-480-B2D6 piston engines. It was approved under TC 4A24 on November 7, 1958, and two examples were converted in 1958–1959.

New productionEdit

In November 2007, Antilles Seaplanes of Gibsonville, North Carolina, announced it was restarting production of the turbine-powered McKinnon G-21G Turbo Goose variant, now identified as the Antilles G-21G Super Goose.<ref name="AN"/> Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34 turboprops flat-rated to Template:Cvt would have replaced the original PT6A-27 engines,<ref name="AN"/> and the airframe systems and especially the avionics (aviation electronics – i.e. radios and navigation systems) would have been updated with state-of-the-art "glass panel" instrumentation and cockpit displays. However, as of 2009, Antilles Seaplanes' manufacturing center has been foreclosed and sold at auction. The fate of new Goose production is currently unknown.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Operational historyEdit

File:Grumman Goose amphibian vintage picture.jpg
A Grumman Goose on the water
File:Grumman Goose.jpg
Royal Canadian Air Force Goose
File:Grumman Goose Alaska Island Air.jpg
Alaska Island Air G-21A in 1989

Envisioned as corporate or private flying yachts for Manhattan millionaires, initial production models normally carried two to three passengers and had a bar and small toilet installed. In addition to being marketed to small air carriers, the G-21 was also promoted as a military transport. In 1938, the U.S. Army Air Corps purchased the type as the OA-9 (later, in the war years, examples impressed from civilian ownership were designated the OA-13A). The most numerous of the military versions were the United States Navy variants, designated the JRF.

The amphibious aircraft was also adopted by the Coast Guard and, during World War II, served with the Royal Canadian Air Force in the transport, reconnaissance, rescue, and training roles. The G-21 was used for air-sea rescue duties by the Fleet Air Arm, who assigned the name Goose. A single aircraft was used briefly by No. 1 Air Ambulance Unit, Royal Australian Air Force in the Mediterranean.[21]

After the war, the Goose found continued commercial use in locations from Alaska to Catalina and the Caribbean.

A total of 345 were built, with about 30 known to still be airworthy todayTemplate:When (although around 60 are still on various civil registries, many of them are known to have crashed or been otherwise destroyed), most being in private ownership, some of them operating in modified forms.<ref name=Survivors>"Seven confirmed dead in B.C. plane crash." Template:Webarchive canada.com. Retrieved: December 19, 2009.</ref>

VariantsEdit

G-21
The original production version, these were powered by two Template:Cvt Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior SB engines, at Template:Cvt gross weight, with six passengers, and 12 were built, all converted to G-21A standards.<ref name="Sauce p55">Francillon and Killion 1993, p.55.</ref>
Template:Visible anchor
Increased gross weight (Template:Cvt), 30 built.<ref name="Sauce p55"/>
G-21B
Export coastal patrol flying boat armed with Template:Cvt machine gun in bow and dorsal hatches and two Template:Cvt bombs underwing, 12 built for Portuguese Naval Aviation.<ref name="Sauce p55"/>
G-21C
Conversion by McKinnon Enterprises, these were re-engined with four Template:Cvt Lycoming GSO-480-B2D6 air-cooled, geared, and supercharged flat-six engines and fitted with retractable wingtip floats, a fiberglass radar nose, a one-piece wraparound windshield, and enlarged cabin windows; gross weight increased to Template:Cvt as result of internal structural reinforcements. Two were converted as piston-powered models G-21C in 1958–1959, and two other airframes subsequently were converted in 1968, but with two Template:Cvt Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-20 turboprops per STC SA1320WE as G-21C Hybrids. Two G-21C Hybrids were identical to the later Template:Cvt model G-21E, but they were never certified as such.<ref name="FAA">"Aircraft N642" Template:Webarchive FAA Registry. Retrieved: August 26, 2011.</ref>
G-21D
One G-21C was further converted by McKinnon with an extended nose marked by two extra windows on each side and accommodating another four passengers. Recertified as G-21D in 1960. In 1966, it was re-engined with two Template:Cvt PT6A-20 turboprops and fitted with revised Alvarez-Calderon electric flaps in accordance with STC SA1320WE, retaining the G-21D designation, but subsequently identified as the McKinnon "Turboprop Goose".<ref name="Sauce p54-6">Francillon and Killion 1993, pp. 54–56.</ref>
G-21E
A fully certified new model, it was based on a simplified turbine conversion of the McKinnon G-21C, with Template:Cvt PT6A-20 engines (Template:Cvt Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-27 engines optional) and more fuel, but without all of the structural reinforcements of the G-21C. Template:Cvt gross weight. One converted.<ref name="4A24"/>
G-21G
The final McKinnon conversion also was fully certified as a new model with Template:Cvt PT6A-27 engines, Template:Cvt of fuel, and Template:Cvt gross weight. Two converted.<ref name="FAA2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }} and "Aircraft – N70AL." Template:Webarchive FAA Registry. Retrieved: August 26, 2011.</ref>

File:Grumman JRF-5 Kaman K-16B 04351 BDL 21.10.75 edited-3.jpg
The sole Kaman K-16B tilt-wing STOL research aircraft
Kaman K-16B
Experimental tilt wing aircraft, with JRF-5 fuselage powered by two General Electric YT58-GE-2A engines; one built but not flown.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

XJ3F-1
Prototype eight-seat utility amphibian, built for the US Navy; one built in 1938.<ref name="Sauce p55"/><ref name="Green v5 p169-0">Green 1968, pp. 169–170.</ref>
JRF-1
Production XJ3F-1, five built for US Navy.<ref name="Sauce p55"/>
JRF-1A
Similar to JRF-1, but with target towing gear and camera hatch added, five built for US Navy.<ref name="Sauce p55"/>
JRF-2
U.S. Coast Guard version with provisions for carrying stretchers; seven built.<ref name="Sauce p55"/>
JRF-3
Similar to the JRF-2, fitted with autopilot and deicing boots on the wing leading edges for Arctic operations. Three built for US Coast Guard.<ref name="Sauce p55"/><ref name="Donald American p145">Donald 1995, p. 145.</ref>
JRF-4
Similar to JRF-1A, these could carry two underwing depth bombs. Ten built for US Navy.<ref name="Sauce p55"/>
File:EL-2003-00316.jpg
Grumman JRF-5
JRF-5
Major production version with bomb racks, target towing and camera gear, and deicing gear; 184 built.<ref name="Sauce p55"/> In 1953, a modified JRF-5 tested hydroskis for the US Navy.<ref>"Hydro-Skis On Seaplanes Speed Take-Off." Popular Mechanics, January 1953, p. 119.</ref>
JRF-5G
24 JRF-5s transferred to the US Coast Guard.<ref name="Sauce p55"/><ref name="Donald American p145"/>
JRF-6B
Navigation trainer purchased for supply under Lend-Lease; 50 built.<ref name="Sauce p55"/>
OA-9
Transport and air-sea rescue for United States Army Air Forces, 26 ordered in 1938, supplemented by five JRF-6Bs under the same designation.<ref name="Sauce p55"/><ref name="Donald American p145"/>
OA-13A
Three G-21As impressed by the USAAF.<ref name="Sauce p55"/><ref name="Green v5 p169">Green 1968, p.169.</ref>
OA-13B
Two JRF-5s transferred to the USAAF.<ref name="Sauce p55"/><ref name="Green v5 p169"/>
Goose Mk.I
British designation for three JRF-5s supplied to the Fleet Air Arm.<ref name="March p127">March 1998, p.127.</ref>
Goose Mk.IA
British designation for 44 JRF-6Bs, supplied under Lend Lease for observer training by the 749 Naval Air Squadron in Trinidad.<ref name="March p127"/>
Goose Mk.II
British designation for two JRF-5s staff transports for British Air Commission in the United States and Canada.<ref name="March p127"/>

OperatorsEdit

Military operatorsEdit

File:Grumman Goose RCAF 798.jpg
Royal Canadian Air Force Goose
File:JFR-5(JMSDF).jpg
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force JRF-5
Template:ARG
Template:AUS
Template:BOL
  • Bolivian Air Force
    • At least two aircraft (one JRF-2 and one JRF-6B) received in 1942.<ref name="fan460p37">Francillon 2008, p. 37</ref>
Template:BRA
    • 10 used for anti-submarine patrols during Second World War.<ref name="fan460p37"/>
Template:Flag
Template:CUB
{{#invoke
flag||France}}
Template:HND
Template:IDN
Template:JPN
Template:PAR
Template:PER
Template:POR
{{#invoke
flag||Sweden}}
  1. REDIRECT Template:GBR
  • Royal Air Force (several impressed examples by 24 Squadron and ATA)<ref>Thetford, 1978, p.592</ref>
  • Royal Navy (44 Lend Lease examples)
Template:Flag

Civil Government operatorsEdit

Template:Flag
Template:Flag

Civil operatorsEdit

File:British Guiana Govt Airways Grumman Goose c 1955tr.jpg
British Guiana Airways Grumman Goose circa 1955. Piarco Airport, Trinidad.
Template:AUS
Template:Flag
Template:CAN
Template:CRO
Template:Flag
Template:FIJ
{{#invoke
flag||Iceland}}
Template:IDN

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • SAATAS-East Indonesia<ref name="Goodall"/>
Template:NZL
{{#invoke
flag||Norway}}
File:PenAir Grumman Goose.jpg
PenAir Goose at Akutan, Alaska, 2006
File:PAA Goose.png
Goose in Pan Am colors at the Cradle of Aviation Museum, Long Island.
Template:Flag

Accidents and incidentsEdit

19 November 1943
Grumman JRF-2 of Port Heiden, Alaska (USCG), crashed with three crewmen and one passenger missing. It was found in 1987.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

13 March 1947
A Grumman JRF-6B of Loftleiðir with a pilot and seven passengers crashed immediately after takeoff on Hvammsfjörður by the town of Búðardalur in Iceland. The pilot and four passengers evacuated the plane and were rescued by a boat, but one of those passengers later died. Three of the original seven passengers died in the crash. <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

21 August 1958
N720 crashed in the Brooks Range, near the upper Ivishak River, in Alaska, killing U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agents Clarence J. Rhode and Stanley Fredericksen, and Clarence's son Jack. The crash site was not found until August 23, 1979.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
27 January 1961
A JRF-5 of the French Navy crashed, killing Admiral Pierre Ponchardier and five others. This accident led the French Navy to retire all of their Grumman JRF-5 Gooses in the spring of 1961.<ref name=PIERRE>JRF-5 Goose Template:Webarchive Retrieved: February 26, 2012.</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

30 July 1971
One person was killed and one was injured when a Grumman G-21A taking off from the airport in Greenville, Maine experienced engine malfunction during takeoff. The NTSB determined the probable cause to be the pilot's lack of familiarity with the plane and fuel mismanagement.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
22 June 1972
N1513V of Reeve Aleutian Airways was written off at False Pass, Alaska.<ref name=NTSB>"N1513V." Template:Webarchive NTSB. Retrieved: December 19, 2009.</ref><ref name=NTSB2>"accident." Template:Webarchive NTSB. Retrieved: December 19, 2009. Note: States 1970 as year!?</ref>
25 August 1978
All 11 people aboard a Webber Airlines seaplane were killed when the Grumman Goose crashed on as it was preparing to land at Labouchere Bay on Prince of Wales Island after a Template:Convert flight from Ketchikan, Alaska.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2 September 1978
Charles F. Blair Jr., former Naval Air Transport Service and Pan American Airways pilot and husband to actress Maureen O'Hara, was flying a Grumman Goose that belonged to his company, Antilles Air Boats, from St. Croix to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands when it crashed into the ocean due to failure of the left engine. He and three passengers were killed; seven passengers were severely injured.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

24 July 1984
Grumman Goose G-21A, Serial # B-114, Registration: N 2021 A, Hal’s Air Service, Piloted by Hal Dierich, Four Fatalities including pilot. Collision with water in the narrow strait NW of Monashka Bay near Ouzinkie, Kodiak Island, AK. <ref>NTSB Report Identification: ANC84FA119, The docket is stored on NTSB microfiche number 26622</ref>
15 February 2005
A 1939 Grumman Goose G-21A, registered N-327, crashed around 9:30 am in a field on Route 14A near Penn Yan, New York after an engine failure simulation went wrong. The plane fell rapidly, with the left wing hitting the ground first, before the badly damaged plane burst into flames on impact. Pilots Paul and Daryl Middlebrook, both of Penn Yan, escaped serious injury. The plane, originally owned by the Peruvian Air Force, had starred in the 1980s ABC television series Tales of the Gold Monkey as Cutter's Goose.<ref>Template:CitationTemplate:Dead link</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref>
3 August 2008
A Grumman Goose of Pacific Coastal Airlines with seven passengers and crew crashed during a flight from Port Hardy to Chamiss Bay. The aircraft was completely destroyed by fire. There were only two survivors.<ref name="PCACRASH">"5 dead in B.C. plane crash."Template:Dead link TheGlobeAndMail.com. Retrieved: December 19, 2009.</ref>
16 November 2008
A Grumman Goose of Pacific Coastal Airlines with eight passengers and crew crashed on South Thormanby Island near Sechelt off British Columbia's Sunshine Coast in bad weather during a flight from Vancouver International Airport to Toba Inlet, BC. Only one passenger survived. The company resumed floatplane operations on November 19, 2008.<ref name="PCACRASH2008">"7 dead in plane crash off B.C. coast." Template:Webarchive CBC News, 16 November 2008. Retrieved: December 19, 2009. Viewable: https://web.archive.org/web/20121103203609/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/11/16/bc-081115-plane-crash.html</ref>
27 February 2011
A turbine Goose, N221AG, crashed in the United Arab Emirates when it veered immediately after takeoff.<ref name="PCACRASH2011">"Plane crash kills 4 in UAE" Template:Webarchive CNN News, February 28, 2011. Retrieved: February 28, 2011.</ref>
17 June 2014
A Grumman G-21A Goose lost control in a snowstorm over the Montana/Idaho border and crashed into the parking lot of the Lost Trail Ski Area near the summit of Lost Trail Pass, subsequently catching fire. The plane was completely destroyed, and the pilot, who was the only occupant of the plane, was killed.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

18 December 2023
A Grumman Goose operated by Wilderness Seaplanes crashed shortly after takeoff from Bella Bella, British Columbia on its way to Port Hardy, British Columbia. The plane was transporting the pilot and four fish farm workers. All survived with minor injuries.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Aircraft on displayEdit

Canada

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Indonesia

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Sweden

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

United States

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • 1157 – G-21A under restoration for static display at the Tongass Historical Society in Ketchikan, Alaska.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • B-130 – G-21A on static display at the Historic Aircraft Restoration Project in Brooklyn, New York.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Synthesis inline

Specifications (JRF-5 Goose)Edit

File:Grumman JRF-5 Goose 3-view line drawing.png
3-view line drawing of the Grumman JRF-5 Goose

Template:Aircraft specs

Media appearancesEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}

See alsoEdit

Template:Aircontent

NotesEdit

Template:Reflist

BibliographyEdit

External linksEdit

Template:Commonscat

Template:Grumman aircraft Template:USAF amphibious aircraft Template:USN utility aircraft Template:Swedish military aircraft designations Template:Japanese Navy short aircraft designations Template:Authority control

Retrieved from "https://zalansite.site/mediawiki/index.php?title=Grumman_G-21_Goose&oldid=370308"