It was at recent Ausfly but I neglected to get to see it up close before it left.. (I was in the queue milling around to talk to record setting teen Ryan Campbell and the plane looked as though it was parked for the duration so thought plenty of time to get there as the next most important stop after arriving!) I'd love to know more about it but don't know enough to recognise it to even look it up.. I bet there's people here that know! thanks Image Unavailable, Please Login
Grumman Albatross. My Dad flew one out of Oslo, Norway in the late 50s. Belonged to the US Navy and was their equivalent of the C-47 back then, the aircraft my USAF father normally flew. Later models updated with a radar in the nose. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I believe that is a Grumman Mallard. Either that or an Albatross, but I'm pretty sure it is a Mallard.
I would say Mallard, very close to an Albatross but with a different windshield pattern. A side view would help.
It is amazing how many amphibious planes were actually created over the years. I suppose they were needed for lack of runways in the early years? What could be better than to land on water or land. Funny...... I was about to write if I win the lottery I'm buying the tubine powered Albatross with executive/camper interior when I noted just 10 miles from here someone did indeed win the big lottery. 233 million in cash!!! What luck...I think it would be time to move out of the country for a while. Provo anyone? List of seaplanes and amphibious aircraft - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Grumman G-21 Goose - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Grumman G-44 Widgeon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Grumman G-73 Mallard - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Grumman HU-16 Albatross - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I honestly believe that it's a Mallard; it looks a bit too small to be an Albatross, though admittedly from this angle it is hard to tell. I doubt if a Grumman amphibian from Wyoming would be at an airshow in Australia! Any chance of a side view of this airplane?
The Catalina PBY is my all time favorite bird.... Interestingly, I just a met a guy who coincidentally happened to be a PBY pilot. We had a nice conversation about the bird. Seems they went into service for the USCG after the military.
our airport owner has one, he has one of the huge hangars and the tail still sticks out! He closed doors as far as he could, then built plywood to enclose best he could. I saw hangar doors open the other day first time in 5 years. I wonder if he sold it. he's been grounded a couple years now. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I wouldn't doubt it, Jim. Rich has fixed his Albatross up with a complete kitchen and bathroom and flies it all over the place. I saw it being modified at Lynn ???'s shop in Santa Rosa, Ca. several years ago. I have pictures of it somewhere. Add on; I looked up Sugden Albatross on the web and there is a photo of 906 and reference to the mods performed by Aerocrafters of Santa Rosa. Also list its range as 3000 miles. Piece of cake to get it to Australia.
The first pic wasn't mine and was the only one I could find from the day from the event site. The one on this post IS from my collection and extracted from panorama I took when first got there and the only one I have.. hope this helps in ID! To me it looked to be quite a large plane and window count and other features I would have thought Albatross.. albeit without the prominent nose seen in pics from links above, so not sure! Image Unavailable, Please Login
Just to chime in, here's a photo of Jimmy Buffet's Albatross on on display in Orlando. The first photo was of the smaller Mallard. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I was wrong, definitely looks like a Mallard. Smaller than the Albatross. This could be the same aircraft. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Unfortunately, the number of flying Mallards seems to have dropped precipitously since the Chalk's accident. I suspect that many other cases of similar corrosion were found, and it was just too expensive to repair the aircraft. Interesting that the examples in this thread retain their original R-1340 engines. I wonder if increased power from the PT6s in the Turbo-Mallards led to greater fatigue?
I wonder (I don't know) how easy it is to inspect some critical regions for corrosion.. 50+ years of saltwater exposure would be substantial ask to expect it to be ok even if "sealed" from the outside? or? This is definitely one thing you want a PPI for!
I think it was corrosion more than the pt6. Iirc there is at least one pt6 powered plane flying. It can be inspected. There are ports (in the widgeon at least). If you go on trade a plane, there is a mallard for sale and they've got pictures of the spar being replaced. http://www.aircraft24.com/en/multiprop/grumman/mallard-spar-a-d-done--xi114217.htm
