Grumman Goose

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Grumman Goose

Description
Role	Reconnaissance, air-sea rescue
Crew	2
First Flight	May 29, 1937
Entered Service	July 3, 1937
Manufacturer	Grumman
Dimensions
Length	38 ft 4 in	11.7 m
Wingspan	49 ft 0 in	14.9 m
Height	12 ft 0 in	3.7 m
Wing Area	375 ft²	34.8 m²
Weights
Empty	5,571 lb	2,527 kg
Loaded	8,200 lb	3,720 kg
Maximum takeoff	7,200lb	3,273kg
Powerplant
Engine	2 × Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior SB-2
Power (each)	450 hp	340 kW
Performance
Maximum speed	184 mph @ 5,000 ft	296 km/h @ 1,520 m
Combat range	1,050 miles	1,690 km
Ferry range	km	miles
Service ceiling	21,000 ft	6,400 m
Rate of climb	1,240 ft/min	380 m/min
Wing loading	21.9 lb/ft²	106.9 kg/m²
Power/Mass	0.11 hp/lb	0.18 kW/kg
Armament
Guns	2 machine guns
Bombs	2 × 250 lb (120 kg) depth charges

The Grumman G-21 Goose amphibious flying boat was designed as a 6-7 seat 'commuter' plane for businessmen in the Long Island area. It was soon adopted by the US Navy and Coast Guard, and during World War II it served with United States forces and the RCAF in transport, reconnaissance, rescue and training roles, and was used by the RAF for air-sea rescue duties. It was whilst serving with the RAF that it received the name "Goose".

Returning to civilian service after the war, the Goose found use from the wilderness of Alaska to the sunny climes of Catalina.

345 were built, with about 60 still airworthy today, some of them in modified forms, such as the Turbo-Goose (see below).

1 Modifications
2 Fictional appearances
3 Military operators
4 External links

[edit] Modifications

There were a number of modifications of the goose, but the most numerous were those by McKinnon Enterprises, who made three different conversions. The first involved replacing the Goose's engines with two Lycoming GSO-480 piston engines. The second, named Turboprop Goose involved replacing the engines with two Pratt & Whitney PT6A turboprops. The third and final variant was the Turbo-Goose, which was based on the "Turboprop Goose" described above, but with larger windows, and retractable floats on the wings.

1942 Grumman Goose at Akutan, Alaska, operated by PenAir

[edit] Fictional appearances

In Jimmy Buffett's first novel, Where is Joe Merchant?, protagonist Frank Bama owned and operated a rebuilt Grumman Goose dubbed the Hemisphere Dancer. (The actual Hemisphere Dancer is a Grumman Albatross that belongs to Buffett and is now the centerpiece for his Margaritaville Cafe restaurant in Orlando, FL).The Grumman Goose was also seen in the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie Commando and can be seen on the 1980s series, "Tales of the Gold Monkey", a TV adaptation of the movie "Only Angels Have Wings" with Stephen Collins.