Great review !
As you can tell, I'm a newbie here and what I know about RC airplanes wouldn't fill a thimble.
What I do know a lot about are the Grumman Amphibians, especially the Widgeon.
A few observations if I may.
First, there were 317 Widgeons built (200 G-44s, 76 G-44As and 41 SCAN 30s) and there are still 118 Widgeons on the FAA register, most of them still flying.
The exact number isn't known, but at least 75 are still airworthy including 1 in Canada.
There are several more scattered around the world, several of which could be made airworthy.
Kingsflyer you did a great job in construction, the top of the wing is flat with all the dihedral (2°) being made up on the bottom taper.
I was really impressed with your flying the airplane and your technique for take off is EXACTLY how the real airplane is flown off the water.
Full aft on the yoke and full right aileron, ease into the power until the nose starts to rise then full throttle.
As soon as you have roll control ease off the aileron and yoke to hold the airplane on the step then let it fly itself off.
You know to keep the bow up on landing to avoid a bow low upset.
All in all a great job flying the airplane.
Taildragger55, the sub killing Widgeon you're referring to in Anchorage is N199T c/n 1213, the 13th Widgeon built and delivered to a civilian owner in May of 1941.
It now has a Lockheed conversion (Lycoming GO-480 series engines).
It is rightly credited with sinking a U-Boat of the New Jersey coast in 1942.
The other Widgeon (falsely) credited with a U-Boat kill was USCG V212 c/n 1260, it was delivered to the USCG in early 1942.
This is the one that made the supposed attack on U166 in the Gulf of Mexico.
In truth V212 attacked U171 and did no damage, U171 was sunk near the end of that patrol in the Bay of Biscay off the French coast.
The other local one you provided a link to is N7256 c/n 1381, it has a Dean Franklin conversion (Continental IO-360 series engines).
It was delivered to the U.S. Navy in 1944.
The big fly-in that used to take place was all Widgeons and they used to fly up to Big Lake around the 4th of July.
Those fly-ins (or splash-ins if you will) ended in the early 1980s because most of the airplanes were working birds and July was the heart of the season for charter work.
Now they have a smaller All Grumman get together in Sept. on Lake Marion.
That composite Widgeon lookalike is the Ellison-Mahon Gweduck (Gooey duck).
It's a one off experimental airplane that may one day be sold as a kit (don't hold your breath).
Some very close friends of mine (& Widgeon owners) helped with the early development of it, mostly doing water work to study spray patterns.
There are currently 62 Gooses list in the FAA registry, most of them airworthy.
There are again several more scattered around the world that are in restoration or still flying.
The Goose is a more capable airplane and made a bigger profit for it's owners in most cases than a Widgeon would.
There are still a couple Widgeons and Gooses earning their keep as working airplanes in Alaska, but nowhere near the number there used to be.
Most now are privately owned and used for hunting, fishing and sport flying.
The registry lists 28 Widgeons and 10 Gooses being owned in Alaska.
Sonny1, the real reason they quit flying Gooses to Avalon was the completion of the new runway on the island.
Landplanes are cheaper to operate than seaplanes and safer than open ocean operations.
The majority of the Gooses that flew to Avalon ended up with Antilles in the U.S. Virgin Islands and from there after Antilles closed have scattered to the 4 winds.
A couple are in Alaska, the rest are all over the place.
ColinNZ, all of the Widgeons that were used in N.Z. are still there - in storage.
Some in pieces, some altogether.
Fred Ladd's book "A Shower of Spray and We're Away" was a great read and told the story of water flying in N.Z. in the 50s and 60s well.
If you want to get some ideas for paint schemes or are feeling adventurous and want to convert your Widgeons to something other than the stock Ranger engine version that comes in the ElectriFly kit I have posted a ton of photos on the Seawings flying boat site:
http://theflyingboatforum.hostingdel....php?f=35&t=94
Over 500 photos on 7 pages including all 3 of the Widgeons mentioned earlier.
Of course I'll try to answer any questions about the real airplane if I can.
I'll check back every once in a while to see some of the new builds.
I just wish I could afford one of the beasties and had the skill to fly it.
