Man. I'd love to own fly with a goose or own one. Good old days of aircraft design and manufacture. The engines sound from starting to flying are just amazing.
Back in my younger days while working in the Caribbean, I had the fortune of being around the three Grummans, Mallard, Goose, and Albatross, and the big one, the PBY. The Goose with the turboprops may have been pretty, but those little Pratts sound a lot better. Those old school airplane designers were geniuses. Of course the military helped too. Very well done.
This beautiful Goose, s.n. 1184, was built as a U.S. Navy JRF-1 in 1941, if I recall correctly. Converted to the civil G-21A version after the war and registered as N1257A (There is a side story, there, about those numbers.🙄🤣), she worked up in Alaska for many years, until purchased by the Kenmore Air Harbor air taxi company out of Seattle. Spent many years with them until my former boss and his wife, Frank and Irene Strobel at Avalon, Catalina Island, bought her in '84 and started "Catalina Flying Boats", flying freight (UPS, fresh food and booze for the restaurants and resorts, etc.) from Long Beach Airport to the island six days per week. I was the LGB station manager/loader/assistant mechanic/airplane washer and hull drain plug remover/daily landing gear greaser/ and "right seater" back then. We usually landed off Pebbly Beach and taxied out of the sea up the ramp to the terminal to unload or, occasionally, landed at Avalon Harbor and unloaded at the town pier. If the water was really rough, we landed at the Avalon "airport at the top", but that meant a long drive up the mountain for the freight drivers or restaurant owners. We also frequently carried those big steel cans with 35mm or 70mm movie reels for the theater at Avalon Pavilion and, occasionally, movie props like fake palm trees for the studios that were filming there. Also occasionally, we landed out at "Two Harbors" at Cat Harbor on the west side of the island to bring food or supplies to the resort out there. Yeah... it was an "interesting" job. Loved it. In the early-'90s, long after the Goose was sold, she was used in the filming of "Endless Summer II", and nearly totaled during a landing on a river in Costa Rica, when she got away from the pilot and ended up on her nose on a sandbar. There is a video of that. Pretty pathetic. Broke the left wingspar outboard of the cowling, damaged both retractable floats, got the left prop and crankshaft, and other mayhem. Later rebuilt to "good-as-new!" and purchased by Pacific Coastal Airlines, where she is flying to this day with their "Wilderness Seaplanes" division, as in this video
I came here to say to say most of the same things. A couple corrections although not a big deal. Catalina’s airport is called the “airport in the sky” and I believe pacific coastal sold their goose fleet. I had the opportunity to fly in Two of their gooses in 2008 to a fishing lodge. And the pilot who flew us out there was killed in another goose 6 months later. They had one other fatal crash later that year and stopped using the goose I was told. You’re right about the history of this one though. I used to spearfish off pebbly beach and was always looking out for this plane coming in. He had to dodge my stupid self a couple of times and go around for another approach.
Hmm.. .I've been told dogs are strictly prohibited airside even on leash. Hmm... Note: I don't personally have any issues with the loose dog. This one seems well behaved.
Around 1965 just after I got out of the USAF the 1st time I got Goosed from Miami to Bimmi. The pilot overheard someone joke if this was like what I crewed on and he stuck me I the right seat
Nothing says bushplane like two different kinds of propellers on a twin. I'd love to read the logbooks on this old girl. Trust me I would would fly it no question but I would bet it sounds pretty fascinating when synchronizing the props at cruise.
Yah, Jungle. They also used to fly between Long Beach airport and Catalina. I will never forget their _sound._ Nothing sounds like a Grumman Goose in flight. 💛🙏🏼
It was based at LGB and Always flew from there to the Pebbly Beach Seaplane Ramp or to Avalon Harbor. Or Avalon airport if the water was too rough. We never flew into or out of LA. I was the station manager and right-seater on it back in '85-'86. Back then, it was registered N1257A.
@@conradinhawaii7856 Wasn't like HUGE flames. Just your typical radial engine type short combustion flames. like on a Funny car or something... Perhaps the plane I saw needed a tune up?
@@LisaAnn777 Ok I was trying to be nice and respectful and an adult . Tell me something besides your philosophy on mankind . I lust made a comment on an amphibious plane NOT LANDING or TAKING OFF out of the water …
Neat plane but that guy was an ass. Probably some stuck up lawyer or doctor or investor who thinks he's better than everyone else. Not a single word to the public.
