Saw this on Avweb...

http://www.antillesseaplanes.com/

Cool vid: http://www.antillesseaplanes.com/video/AntillesGooseInFlight.wmv


Sun 'n Fun interview:
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That's going to make a bunch of people very happy in Florida, and South America

some airplanes are just oooozing with "cool factor" and the goose has got to be one of them...

mr scout wrote:That's going to make a bunch of people very happy in Florida, and South America

Actually, max gross is placarded in kilos come to think of it.

The Goose is a fantastic and hard working airplane. I'm betting that the price point on a new one, turbine equipped, is going to have to pretty much equal that of, say, a Cessna Mustang jet.

The belly skins are made from aluminum thicknesses that you just can't buy these days. It is a tank, in short, and very labor intensive.

Fantastic airplane, but the turbines really spoil it, in my opinion. A recip Goose is a wonderful airplane.

MTV

Yep

Love that round engine sound!

Just one other thing I can't afford. Come on Powerball.

C ya, Bub

There's a radial engine Goose sitting on the field in Georgetown, CA. Someone up there apparently doesn't care about the price of gas...

MTV wrote, "Fantastic airplane, but the turbines really spoil it"

No one can argue the success and cool factor of the 985, but I have a friend with one of each and the difference between the two of them in terms of payload, performance and single engine operation is substantial.

RJW wrote: but I have a friend with one of each

You have a friend with 2 Grumman <Water Fowl> series???!!!!!

RJW,

A piston Goose was never certified to maintain altitude on one engine. In those days, wasn't a requirement. The PT-6's will do that, and climb to boot.

Those turbines REALLY suck the gas, compared to 985's, but whatever winds your watch.

Say hi to your friend,

MTV

mtv wrote:The Goose is a fantastic and hard working airplane. I'm betting that the price point on a new one, turbine equipped, is going to have to pretty much equal that of, say, a Cessna Mustang jet.

The belly skins are made from aluminum thicknesses that you just can't buy these days. It is a tank, in short, and very labor intensive.

Fantastic airplane, but the turbines really spoil it, in my opinion. A recip Goose is a wonderful airplane.

MTV

I hope Mike doesn't start thinking that I am picking on him, but I am going to correct another error he made in regard to G-21 series Goose amphibians.

The belly skins of a Goose (any Goose, Grumman or McKinnon) are nothing special. Because it is a flying boat, they are relatively thick compared to non-seaplanes, but you can still buy aluminum in the thicknesses used by Grumman...well, essentially. The original specifications for the forebody hull bottom skins were for .064" 24ST aluminum. Just like 2x4 lumber, many thickness of aluminum have been down-sized over the years - by .001". Now you would simply use .063" 2024-T3 aluminum sheet and it's technically still within the quality tolerance. The outboard panels that have compound curves formed into them (that transition to the chines) are made from 3003-1/2H (half-hard) and the aft hull bottom is skinned with plain-old everyday .040" sheet - probably the next most common thickness next to .032". On the other hand, most of the original skins on the sides and tail of the Goose fuselage were made from .028" 24ST but apparently that was being phased out even during the original production run of the G-21A series from 1937 until 1945 - Grumman's original drawings for the fuselage include a note which approves the substitution of .032 for .028.

He is right about the fact that it is built like a tank and labor intensive to build. There are very few straight lines on it and every rib and hull frame is different than the ones adjacent to them.