The Grumman Goose

For those who saw “The Expendables” and are awaiting for the release of the sequel you no doubt also fell in love with their plane, the Grumman Goose.

In 1936, a group of wealthy gentleman from Long Island commissioned the Grumman Corporation to build them a commuter plane to get from Long Island to New York.  Grumman designed the light amphibian model G-21 Goose, which was their first mono-wing aircraft, their first twin engine aircraft, and its first aircraft to enter commercial airline service.  Because of its amphibian characteristics it was a natural for surveillance and military sea rescue service as it could literally go about anywhere.

Crew 1 - 3, Capacity 5 - 7 passengers, Length 38ft 6in, Wingspan 49ft, Height 16ft 2in

Max Speed 201 mph, Cruise Speed 191 mph, Range 640 mi / 557 nmi

Ceiling 21,300ft, Rate of Climb 1,100ft/min.

Through the years there were many modifications and types of these planes built for various countries and service around the world.  They were very popular and handy, even up to recently it being picked up by Antilles Seaplanes of Gibsonville, North Carolina in 2007 to reproduce production of the twin turbine-powered McKinnon G-21 G Turbo Goose variant, now identified as the Antilles G-21G Super Goose.  The new Super Goose will have state of the art aviation electronics, radios, and navigational systems.

I mention this not just because the previews show the crew of “The Expendables 2” crash their Goose but because in my third book, “Leviathan Deterrent” – The sequel to “Whisper” my first novel, which will be coming out soon, features a Grumman Goose.  If and when I ever get around to it, I plan on the third Wiley Randolph Novel going back to where Wiley and Damon Bolch meet each other while Wiley is testing the Dark Horse.  In the "Leviathan Deterrent", Bolch's plane is called the Wild Goose.

For those who are plane enthusiasts and follow the exploits of their favorite planes the Goose fans of the world should enjoy the resurgence of this grand and stylish aircraft which was originally designed as a rich man’s air-water taxi service.

Besides the Expendables this plane has been featured in the 1943 submarine movie “Crash Dive” and the 1967 movie “Tobruk.”  One of these fine planes plays a major role in the 1985 movie “Commando” with the Pan Air’s retractable wing tip modification.  In the PS3 video game “Unchartered Victor Sullivan”, his plane the Wild Hog is a Grumman Goose.