Warbird Information Exchange

It's a rhetorical question of course, This is the CAF's famed "Tuskegee Airmen" C model, and the fat guy in front is me. It's in Minnesota for winter maintenence and I got a chance to crawl around pretending I know what I am looking at.



I also got a chance to see most of Sierra Sue II, the fuselage section of which is currently in the paint booth. The wings are almost skinned and the empennage section looks complete. They are aiming at April 1st for that one. I had a great time visiting the guys at Aircorps and got to see some future projects which include a razorback P-47 and a P-38.

No, but I'd sure like to know more about that beautiful maroon and cream G-21 GOOSE behind

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Don't make me go get my flying monkeys-

yes, its a P-51

That's one we are doing maintainence on. I don't know much about it since I mainly do CAD for the P-51's. The maintenance shop only ever needs my work if they find something wrong and need a custom part.

"Sierra Sue II" sure is going to be a head-turner! Hopefully there will be several detailed magazine articles (if not a whole book) on its restoration after it's completed - it has been great to be able to follow along with the progress via the photos which Aircorps has shared.

Sierra Sue II's fuselage was in the paint shop while I was there so I didn't get to see her too closely, but they cut a hole in the bottom plastic and I was able to poke my head up into the cockpit, so that was cool. The wing is almost skinned completely and the empennage looks as done as it can get without being mounted to the fuselage. It has already been painted, at least partially. It still had plastic on it from the last painting. They are aiming at April 1 for test flights.

Some clearer pictures might help for those of us who have a 'thang' for floating aeroplanes and see nothing wrong with admitting to having a penchant for wet bottoms, particularly ones bearing either McKinnon or PAN AIR retractable tip floats.

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Don't make me go get my flying monkeys-

It's N888GG, Grumman G-21A s/n B-70, which was recently sold by Ronald Rivett of Aberdeen, SD to Paul C. Ehlen of MN, but the new owner has it registered to an address (maybe a vacation home?) in MT.

Aircorps Aviation's Web site has a large group of photos of it posted in their Gallery section.

It does indeed have the McKinnon retractable wingtip float mod. I've also heard that it is one of the very few Gooses ever to be converted to hydraulic landing gear.

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“To invent the airplane is nothing. To build one is something. But to fly is everything!” - Otto Lilienthal

Natasha: "You got plan, darling?"
Boris: "I always got plan. They don't ever work, but I always got one!"

Remember, any dummy can be a dumb-ass...
In order to be a smart-ass, you first have to be "smart"
and to be a wise-ass, you actually have to be "wise"

That makes sense, because Paul also owns Sierra Sue II. In case anyone is wondering I live in Washington state, so I only get secondary contact with these birds and the info surrounding them.

Rob,
Could you email me at midcoast@dishmail.net?
Have a lot of CAD work you may be interested in.
Also just finished a scan of the D canopy. We sprayed the bubble before we scanned it, came out good.
Gary Henry

Many Thanx Dave-

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Don't make me go get my flying monkeys-

IIRC, it also has Pan Air's Beech 18 engine cowling mod and given that it appears to be running short exhausts (no cabin heat exchangers on top of the nacelles) plus the fact that it seems to have spent quite a few years in the Northern Great Plains area, I'm assuming that it has some other kind of cabin heat source installed. I've seen several ex-Canadian Gooses with combustion heaters installed either under the cockpit floor, in the tail next to the tailwheel "doghouse" or both.

There's a nice recent photo of it here:
http://www.myaviation.net/search/photo_search.php?id=02345057&size=large

Another slightly older (2000 at OSH) photo is here:
http://www.irishairpics.com/photo/1008580/L/Grumman-C-21A-Goose/N888GG/Private/?&sid=3472754148&sp=0

This is the first time that I have noticed the scoop on the top right side of the fuselage just aft of the Hull Sta. 26 (aft cabin) bulkhead - assuming that it still has that bulkhead. McKinnon had an STC to remove it and enlarge the main cabin. If the scoop is to help ventilate a port-a-potty in the aft baggage area, hopefully it also still has the Sta. 26 bulkhead - for privacy!

I think that I also already have a copy of its records from the FAA archives in OK City. I'll have to look back through them again and see what other things of interest are in there...

Hey Bill, you're getting mighty close to 7777 posts! Pretty Cool, except for the obvious "get a life!" aspect of that...

_________________
“To invent the airplane is nothing. To build one is something. But to fly is everything!” - Otto Lilienthal

Natasha: "You got plan, darling?"
Boris: "I always got plan. They don't ever work, but I always got one!"

Remember, any dummy can be a dumb-ass...
In order to be a smart-ass, you first have to be "smart"
and to be a wise-ass, you actually have to be "wise"

I'm retired so need to occupy my excess spare time somehow or other Have a possible volunteer docent position here very locally, I do miss instructing-
With the biffy scoop I know it didn't fly for Hank with PAN-AIR, it is one very attractive scheme!

_________________
Don't make me go get my flying monkeys-

Of course, I had to send a "correction" to the Irish Air Webmaster and tell him that it's not a "C-21A" as they had it labelled. Doesn't look anything at all like a USAF Lear 35A!

_________________
“To invent the airplane is nothing. To build one is something. But to fly is everything!” - Otto Lilienthal

Natasha: "You got plan, darling?"
Boris: "I always got plan. They don't ever work, but I always got one!"

Remember, any dummy can be a dumb-ass...
In order to be a smart-ass, you first have to be "smart"
and to be a wise-ass, you actually have to be "wise"