Grumman Goose pilot Burke Mees reveals to Lt Col Robert ‘Cricket’ Renner why the working warbird is his ‘all-time favourite airplane’. John Dibbs photography
PILOT’S PERSPECTIVE
Resting in its hangar in Anchorage, Alaska, along the shores of Lake Hood, the world’s busiest seaplane base, is a unique warbird. The aircraft is undergoing its annual maintenance inspection — best accomplished during the long, dark, cold months of the Alaskan winter since the summer months are full of long, sunny, warm days for flying.
This is no ordinary warbird, however, as it is an amphibian, meaning it can land on either land or water. Further, it is in an equally rare group of warbirds that works for a living. This is John Pletcher’s Grumman Goose N703, operated by a limited liability company (LLC), called B-81, after the amphibian’s constructor’s number.
Wall Street Commuter
In 1936, a group of wealthy businessmen wanted an easier way to commute from Long Island to Wall Street in New York. They asked Roy Grumman to build an aircraft that could take them from a private airfield and land on the water near Wall Street. The result was the G-21 Goose, a light transport and the first of a line of amphibians.
After a first fligh…
