pipeliner wrote:

mtv wrote:

pipeliner wrote:My wife is active on Instagram and Kent found her photos of your Uncle Richard’s old Widgeon that she took last summer, as it is now owned by one of our neighbors.
Ross

Ross,
I knew that Richard sold his Widgeon, but never heard who bought it. Glad to hear it’s still in Alaska.

MTV

It was sold in the past year or so, to the second owner since Richard sold it. Burke Mees (author of Notes of a Seaplane Instructor and many other articles and books now owns it. He is a very experienced Goose instructor, so a fitting owner. Both owners were/are good caretakers of that great aircraft.

Ross

That’s good, because the Widgeon can be a handful in inexperienced hands, and Burke has lots of good solid experience in hull amphibians. So, I wonder if Burke is going to instruct in it?

MTV

I would have loved to buy it but my Widgeon days are probably over, just too expensive. I sure did enjoy mine while I had it and before when my dad owned it. My dad spent 8 years restoring it, it started kinda like some of the projects you read about here. It was absolutely stunning when completed, very very light too! I got hundreds of hours of fun and gave many rides in it when I owned it. As MTV said, they can be a handful, not an easy airplane to fly on land or water, the bigger the Grumman the easier to fly.

Kurt

mtv wrote:
That’s good, because the Widgeon can be a handful in inexperienced hands, and Burke has lots of good solid experience in hull amphibians. So, I wonder if Burke is going to instruct in it?

MTV

I don't believe Burke has any plans to instruct in his Widgeon. He does do some instructing in a Goose in Anchorage, however. He has been doing that for a few years now.

https://www.goosehangar.com

G44 wrote:I would have loved to buy it but my Widgeon days are probably over, just too expensive. I sure did enjoy mine while I had it and before when my dad owned it. My dad spent 8 years restoring it, it started kinda like some of the projects you read about here. It was absolutely stunning when completed, very very light too! I got hundreds of hours of fun and gave many rides in it when I owned it.
Kurt

My brother-in-law was one of those lucky passengers when your dad had it. Yeah, I'm jealous!
-DP

pipeliner wrote:
I don't believe Burke has any plans to instruct in his Widgeon. He does do some instructing in a Goose in Anchorage, however. He has been doing that for a few years now.

https://www.goosehangar.com

I have to meet Burke... someone introduce me. I gotta ride in that Widgeon!

One Hour Familiarization Flight- Learn about the Goose and get a feel for flying it during a one-hour session. This is a half-day session that involves a briefing about the airplane, and an hour-long flight that includes air work, takeoffs, landings and water work. Including time spent on the water, you'll log about 1.5 hours. $1450

This seems totally worth it.

Zzz wrote:

pipeliner wrote:
I don't believe Burke has any plans to instruct in his Widgeon. He does do some instructing in a Goose in Anchorage, however. He has been doing that for a few years now.

https://www.goosehangar.com

I have to meet Burke... someone introduce me. I gotta ride in that Widgeon!

One Hour Familiarization Flight- Learn about the Goose and get a feel for flying it during a one-hour session. This is a half-day session that involves a briefing about the airplane, and an hour-long flight that includes air work, takeoffs, landings and water work. Including time spent on the water, you'll log about 1.5 hours. $1450

This seems totally worth it.

Go for it, Zane. Another friend of ours, a Widgeon pilot/owner, who hails from Kurt's old stomping grounds of NH, comes up here (pre-covid) for Goose training with Burke and calls him "the Master." Burke is an excellent instructor and a lot of fun to fly with it. If you haven't read any of his books or articles, I highly recommend them. He publishes frequently in Seaplane Pilots' Association "Water Flying" magazine.