Pacific Coastal Grumman G-21A Goose - Flight from and to Port Hardy (YZT) with Water Landing, Canada

Grumman G-21A Goose / C-GDDJ
Pacific Coastal Airlines / DDJ
Departure: Port Hardy (YZT), Canada (Rwy 34)
Arrival: Port Hardy (YZT), Canada (Rwy 07)
Date: 27th May 2012 / Seat: Cockpit
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Pacific Coastal's Grumman G-21A Goose on a pleasure flight around Port Hardy (YZT), BC, Canada. The aircraft in service was C-GDDJ, built in 1941 for the USN as a JRF-1. Conversion (de-militarization) for civil use as a G-21A likely took place in 1946 (thanks Conrad for the correction). Due to the bad weather the flight had to be short, but we got one water landing and take-off. Departure from YZT was via runway 34, arrival on runway 07. The flight took place on May 27th, 2012. Thanks to the friendly Pacific Coastal staff for making this flight possible.

[@b75s]

Thumbs up for not adding music to the video and giving us viewers a chance to hear the sound of the engines.

[@kitasuhill9667]

Best Goose pilot I ever flew with was 'Tom' out of Port Hardy in the 80's and 90's. Could never tell when we touched the water ! So smooth

[@walkabout1094]

Wow what can I say. Only a few have experienced something as special as flying in this fashion.

[@PumaPete]

CGDDJ! This is the aircraft that is shown crashing on the beach in the movie endless summer! She flew for Catalina Flying Boats in 1984!

[@justforever96]

Blattblattablatblattablat....love that sound or a radial starting.

[@heatherstub]

I had to mention how incredibly good those engines sound for a plane that was built in 1946. I'm glad they're still flying them.

[@conradinhawaii7856]

S.N. 1184 was built for the USN in 1941, converted for civil use in '46. The engines are Pratt & Whitney R-985 nine-cylinder supercharged radials making 450hp each. I flew this one back in the mid-'80s in Southern California, running freight to Catalina Island daily. These Pratt & Whitney R-985 engines may have originally been manufactured in the '40s, but have been through Many overhauls and rebuilds over the decades, and had many internal parts replaced, so they are essentially nearly-new engines.

[@obaidsumbal]

All Time Classic. ❤

[@yahatinda]

Wonderful plane, like most Grummans.

[@conradinhawaii7856]

If I may offer a correction to the video description, this Goose, C-GDDJ (Grumman s.n.1184) was built in 1941 for the USN as a JRF-1, if memory serves me. She was probably converted (de-militarized) for civil use as a G-21A in '46. When I flew her at Catalina Flying Boats in Long Beach California in the mid-'80s, she was registered as N1257A, and had previously been owned by Kenmore Air Harbor out of Seattle. Prior to that, she had flown up in Alaska for decades. Great video... brings back many good memories.

[@Chefsalat76]

Hi Conrad, sorry for my late reply and thanks for the correction! I will amend the description accordingly. Great to hear you flew her yourself before, indeed an amazing machine and a true testament to the design and built quality, that she is still in airline service after 80 years.

[@conradinhawaii7856]

@@Chefsalat76 Thank you Very much for doing that. This wonderful Goose, I'm sure you know, is Very near and dear to my heart.

[@sandyossinger-w6509]

This brought back memories of many years ago. Transportation out of my hometown for one. Pilot kind of looked familier, but who knows, that person may be past his flying days.

[@dickdanger7867]

The overhead throttles are cool!

[@conradinhawaii7856]

Saved a lot of cables and linkage, and having to have a center power console below the panel. Also , there is a crawlway under the panel, between the rudder pedals, which gives you access to the watertight door leading into the nose compartment where the mooring lines, anchor, paddle, and other water gear is stored. If you look closely on this and other videos you will see a hatch and mooring cleat on the top of the nose. Things you don't have to consider on airplanes which do not land on the water. 🙄😊

[@WayneStcroix]

When I was kid back home in the virgin islands St.Thomas we used these plane as ferries going to one island to the next I miss that I went to school to be a airplane mechanic but no family support

[@polardi]

Absolutely love the sound of the engines and the start up. As b752s said, thanks for not adding music.

[@ronaldherzog2561]

Busty models

[@JRB22144]

There are a few sounds in the world which are pure musical perfection which include a P&W radial engine, a Harley-Davidson V-twin, a souped up flathead ford V8, a big block Can-AM Chevrolet and a 427 Ford Cobra.

[@justforever96]

Always interests me how aircraft like this and the Ford Trimotor, which were built in relatively small numbers, still have so many survivors, and are widely known aircraft. There are aircraft built in the 1,00's during the war that were all scrapped long ago, and no-one recognizes.

[@Taliyon]

The survivors are the ones that are exceptionally well crafted, and fill a unique niche that justify the costs associated with their continuing airworthiness. The Goose is a prime example.

[@mandelstang666]

Wonderful! I love the Goose. And the video :)

[@ericohara2582]

Brilliant, thank you for posting!

[@Lemiwinks88]

Excellent video

[@steverogers3898]

Finished late 2012............BUT..........two now back in service and a third on the way (July 2015) !!!! I shall be there early August!!

[@57Jimmy]

At Pacific Coastal? That would be great!

[@Daehawk]

Wonderful.

[@ahmadtheaviationlover1937]

Wooow! Soo soothing and beautiful

[@yahatinda]

Keep em flyin.

[@ajg617]

One of my best memories. Goose from SoCal to Catalina and back in 1966. The take-off was amazing and we had a great view of the cockpit action. Unfortunately, no video camera. What I do remember was the take-off and landing on land - wheels must have been egg shaped!

[@PumaPete]

ajg617 I got to fly over there on Goose number B73, tail number N322 in 1978! What an awesome flight for an 8 year old kid. Took off down the middle of LA harbor and landed at pebbly beach! I’ll never forget it! Then in 2008 I got to fly in two of pacific coastal’s gooses to Caamano sound. The sound of those radial engines throttling up took me right back to 1978 again!! The goose in this video served Catalina island in the very early 80s flying for Catalina Flying boats bringing air freight to the island!

[@skyWalker-vi4yh]

@@PumaPete I used to work for Martin aviation at long beach airport ,I n the eighties used to refuel the two or three gooses Catalina flying boats operated.good memories.

[@conradinhawaii7856]

@@skyWalker-vi4yh There were three back then. The two that were blue/white flew passengers as Catalina Seaplanes. One was N322. Ours, the one you may remember as brown/ dark yellow/white (N1257A) was operated by Catalina Flying Boats out of the hangar next to North Continent Air Freight. We flew freight, UPS, fresh food and booze for the restaurants and resorts, and lots of other things. The aircraft in this video, C-GDDJ, is the airplane we flew back then, 57A.

[@PumaPete]

@@conradinhawaii7856 N322 was wrecked in 1986. The fuselage is still sitting in Big spring Texas in a bone yard I think. I have a picture of it next to another goose somewhere around here. Sad.😢

[@conradinhawaii7856]

@@PumaPete Sad, indeed. Maybe too badly bent to rebuild? Or maybe there is no one who has the interest any longer.

[@ANDI1982ize]

very nice, so air transport is very suitable for maritime regions in Indonesia.

[@jedimasterjoe5386]

Yes thanks I might want to open a air business there

[@jestan01]

Awesome raw music less video thanks!!

[@sea0fgreen33]

such a cool plane

[@Jay-fv1hc]

They don't make em like they used to anymore. This is the plane I've always wanted to fly since being a little kid. I've recently graduated flight school and I just dislike all the new g1000 taa and autopilot crap. Just makes me feel like a button pusher. Older airplanes though just are all about flying. All analog, all feel, and all skill.

[@rockinrobbie1288]

The best part was on the return flight the nose compartment was always full of salmon

[@Random-rt5ec]

The engines sound amazing. I thought they would be even louder

[@PumaPete]

Susan Vue they are very loud inside the aircraft!

[@conradinhawaii7856]

Ohhh... they're plenty loud enough, especially when you are sitting in the cockpit, right next to the propeller tips. Good headsets are a must. 🙄

[@YaceYoung]

How do you guys replace your tires on the magnesium rims? We can’t find anywhere that can do it for ours.

[@rockinrobbie1288]

flew on the goose Hardy to Hakai Pass return then a couple years later Hardy to Ocean Falls. absolute gas. the first time the wingtip floats were manually lowered. pilot cranking away while the water got closer and closer what a riot.

[@conradinhawaii7856]

I flew this particular Goose, C-GDDJ (s.n.1184) in Southern California in the '80s, and if it had manual cranks for the wingtip floats, it is news to me. The floats, a McKinnon modification, were individually operated by toggle switches on the overhead panel, and either one could be operated independentally of the other. The reason for that is shown in many of the videos of the Pacific Coastal (now Wilderness Seaplanes) videos. The landing gear, however, was electrically retractable, but we always lowered it manually with the crank between the seats. This took some effort when we were on the water preparing to taxi out onto land, since you had to drive the tires (which naturally wanted to float) down into the water. This was also a McKinnon mod. That company had lots of STC modifications for the Goose, including PT-6 turbine engine conversions.

[@rockinrobbie1288]

I have been on the Goose for 3 round trip adventures, so 6 flights had both the hand crank and electrically lowered floats over those trips. I do recall seeing 2 more of this great aircraft sitting on the tarmac in Hardy when we taxied out. I love that no matter where u r in the cabin you can see pretty much all of the instrumentation. do not think we went above about 1800 feet at any point of the 50 min flight. would do it again in a heartbeat.

[@conradinhawaii7856]

@@rockinrobbie1288 I have never seen nor heard of hand-cranked wingtip floats on any Goose that I have been around in past decades. But on an airplane designed in the '30s, built in the early '40s, and with as many modifications that they were subjected to over the years, anything is possible. Actually, that would be my preference as well, as a pilot... to have a hand crank option for the floats for when (not "if" 🙄) one or both of the electric motors or actuators were to crap out, which everything eventually does on seaplanes flown off salt water. Sounds like a great idea. I wonder why ours (the one in this video, C-GDDJ) did not have this mod in it's early career when it flew in Alaska or for Kenmore all over Pugit Sound? When I worked for Catalina Flying Boats in the '80s, one of my daily inspections after the last flight of the day and the Goose had all of the couple-dozen drain plugs removed in the hull and floats, and a thorough rinse and wash with a salt water "barrier" soap, the landing gear greased, and many other details, was to cycle the floats and look into the well with a strong flashlight to be sure that there was no obvious corrosion visible or other possible mayhem. Since ours (this one) had no manual cranks for the floats, a problem when extending one or both of them prior to landing off Pebbly Beach would've meant turning around and going back to Long Beach, or landing "on the top" at Avalon Airport (a Long drive up the mountain for our customers in Avalon who had golf carts with a little trailer or, maybe, a VW Microbus)... neither being our first choice with, most likely, perishable produce or steaks and chops onboard or (even Worse!) cases of booze that the restaurants and resorts were waiting impatiently for! You get the idea, I'm sure. 🙄🤣 Anyway... the hand cranks on the Goose retractable floats sound like a Great idea of a mod. But we were lucky, I guess, that during my time working there we never did have the things crap out.

[@JuzzyQld]

WOW that would have boon awesome! I don't think we have any of these in AUS

[@birdyvids3603]

Now I want to fly

[@JRB22144]

My only question: Why didn't you RAINEX your windshield?

[@thelongdarkteatimeofthesou4497]

As a federal civil servant, I flew in one of these things to get to a remote First Nation on BC's coastline. No one told me what to expect. After I finished pooping my pants upon the first water landing, I cleaned up and had my meetings in the band office. Then I white-knuckled my brief case the whole flight back. I won't do it again. But I'm proud to say I flew the goose at least once.

[@conradinhawaii7856]

You should've taken a bus, or hiked in. Flying in a Goose, especially piloting one, is one of life's great experiences. Sorry you missed that part.

[@thelongdarkteatimeofthesou4497]

@@conradinhawaii7856 You sound like a fun person.

[@conradinhawaii7856]

@@thelongdarkteatimeofthesou4497 So I have been told, more than once. 🙄😊 And does anyone say that about you? Doesn't sound that way.

[@thelongdarkteatimeofthesou4497]

@@conradinhawaii7856 Have you ever flown with someone who pooped themselves in a Goose? Do you know how fun that is?

[@conradinhawaii7856]

@@thelongdarkteatimeofthesou4497 Nope... never have. And I doubt that anyone I have ever met would ever admit to it if they had, much less put it in writing on a public forum. Sooo... fun for who... you, or the poor airline employees who had to clean up after you? I gotta tell ya... if you had been a passenger on any aircraft that I had ever piloted, including this one, I not only would have Strongly suggested that, in addition to cleaning the crap from your own clothes, you also would have cleaned up and deodorized the seat (or paid for it's replacement), the floor, and anything else that you had "decorated". And I would have also suggested that you fly on someone else's airline in the future. And I am also wondering what you are even doing here... and I am sure that I am Far from the only one.

[@Blue-pw8uo]

Fun fact: this plane inspired the sunchaser from ducktales

[@GMC6523]

was that full throttle take off?

[@conradinhawaii7856]

You set the throttles to 42 inches manifold pressure, if memory serves me. The engines are supercharged, so you set takeoff power by the gauges, rather than just pushing them to the stops.

[@dave4shmups]

Awesome video! Great old airplane! I've never flown on a piston engined airplane before. I wonder how windshield and engine anti-ice on these planes? Because on turboprops, I think they do it with bleed air, which a piston wouldn't have.

[@Treetop64]

Other than adjustable warm air vents inside the flight deck, there is no windshield heating for the Goose. No "engine deice", either, just carb heat and electric prop heat. AFAIK, Pacific Coastal no longer flies the Goose. They were still airworthy but parked due to an ever-increasing lack of spares and qualified technicians.

[@kimmillard9445]

Treetop64 I checked their website and it shows them still in service. I had thought most Grumman Gooses (Geese???) still in commercial service had been retrofitted with turboprop engines but I could be mistaken from the sound I'm hearing on the video. That definitely sounds like a piston engine startup. I believe a lot of private owners did however replace the piston engines with turboprops.

[@PumaPete]

Treetop64 I flew in two of them back in 2008. They had two fatal crashes right after that. Sadly our pilot Pete McCloud was one of the two pilots. He was a very nice man. Talked with me for a long time about the goose! He told me he was a bush pilot before he flew for Pacific coastal.

[@conradinhawaii7856]

@@kimmillard9445 Some, but certainly not all, of them have been converted to PT-6 turboprops over the decades. This one, C-GDDJ, which was formerly registered in the U.S. as N1257A when I flew it in Southern California (Catalina Island) as a freight hauler in the mid-'80s, is powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney R-985 nine-cylinder radials, supercharged and putting out 450hp each. Adequate, even at our maximum t.o. weight of 8000 pounds. This Goose had had several modifications over the years, most importantly the retractable McKinnon wingtip floats, McCauley three-blade props, second water step on the hull, electrically-retracted landing gear, and a few others I cannot recall just now. And it was just as much fun to fly as it looks... but a Lot of work to maintain. P.s.: It also made a great "diving board", when a few of your friends would sit on one wingtip, which would raise the other to about 10 0r 12 feet above the water. 🙄😊

[@conradinhawaii7856]

@@Treetop64 They are still in service with Wilderness Seaplanes, a division of Pacific Coastal Airlines. This particular one, C-GDDJ, has had quite a career, and I was privileged to fly it in the '80s when we operated it at Catalina Flying Boats in California (N1257A). It was, years later, nearly written off after being severely damaged during the filming of the surf movie "Endless Summer II" in the early '90s, but was repaired and restored, and later sold to Pacific Coaastal.

[@yahatinda]

what was the purpose of the fligt???

[@epicwarix5658]

+Ray Hansen Probably just sightseeing

[@Chefsalat76]

+Ray Hansen Sorry missed to reply to your comment. We just did a simple 15 mins sightseeing flight. There were rumors the Goose would be retired shortly and there was no scheduled fligth on the day we were in port Hardy, so we decided to invest the money into this flight which was a great experience. Eventually the Goose came back into scheduled services so I will most likely go again soon and join a scheduled flight.

[@heatherstub]

It sounds like you had a bouncy water landing. It's amazing that this plane can land on water, and I love how much power those engines have. I'm not a fan of prop planes, because you can feel so much in them, and I don't like turbulence, either. I'll bet it was bumpy, to. It sounds like there are two engines. Am I correct?

[@conradinhawaii7856]

Most water landings when there are wind waves are a bit "bouncy", since you are skipping off the tops of the waves for several seconds until the airplane slows and settles into the water, changing from being an airplane into being a boat. Piloting them is an unforgettable experience (I used to fly this exact airplane in Southern California in the '80s). You are correct... there are two engines, Pratt & Whitney nine-cylinder radial types, supercharged, and putting out 450 horsepower each. Adequate, for sure. I am sorry that you don't care for "prop" planes, because you are missing some wonderful experiences, and being able to fly into places that the airlines will never take you.

[@heatherstub]

@@conradinhawaii7856 Thank you so much for the update. How many seats are there in this plane? If it's big enough to take me and a Dog Guide, it might be considerable. I just feel so much more in them, and I'd need to build my confidence up enough to get inside one again, just as long as it can carry me whether I have to use my cane or if I have another Guide Dog. Yes, I'm totally blind and have been since birth. I'm currently using text-to-speech software to type and read the comments and operate the player features. I'm also terrified of the ocean, and on top of all that, I'm unable to even float, but I'm sure it's safe enough, since people still travel on seaplanes. It's something I've never done before. Thank you again for your reply.

[@conradinhawaii7856]

@@heatherstub I am pretty sure that they carry eight passengers in the cabin. Nine, when one passenger sits next to the pilot in the right front seat... the BEST seat! The cabin is fairly roomy, so you should be able to bring your guide dog. Would you be flying with Wilderness Seaplanes/ Pacific Coastal? If so, you might fly on this exact airplane, which I flew and helped to maintain daily in Southern California in the '80s. I still miss it.

[@heatherstub]

@@conradinhawaii7856 I don't know yet. Once you land, do they dock the plane, and you step out onto the dock? I'm unfamiliar with the procedure. Thank you so much.

[@conradinhawaii7856]

@@heatherstub Yes, Heather. They will either lower the landing gear into the water and then taxi up onto dry land on a ramp, where they would roll portable steps up to the passenger door, or they will water taxi in next to a floating dock so that you would be able to step out of the side door onto the dock. Either your pilot or one of the airline workers would be able to assist you with this. When they pull up next to a floating dock, the pilot will have previously raised the wingtip float on the right side wing, lowering the right wingtip close to the water, and the airplane will be tilting to the right as you are moving through the water. This is so that the wing on the left side will be high above the dock when you step out of the door on the left side, so that you do not bump your head on the wing, which would otherwise be only about four feet above the floating dock. And the rear edge of the wing is quite sharp, and would Really hurt. Trust me on that. Also, if you hear a loud, rapid mechanical clicking sound for a few seconds after the pilot has landed on the water, a racheting sound, that is him lowering the landing gear, using a hand crank, into the water, which makes the seaplane more stable when he is moving through the water. Yes, amphibious seaplanes are Very different than any other aircraft. And that is why I loved flying them, and miss it to this day. By the way, my good friend Nadja Drakslar in Slovenia has been legally blind, over ninety percent, since early childhood. She learned to play clarinet as a young girl, became the star clarinet soloist with my good friend's high school symphony orchestra in Kranj, and is today a guest soloist and member of the Slovenian National Symphony in Ljubljana. And she is the finest classically trained clarinetist that I have ever heard.

[@brendanbayer5002]

In A Shower Of Spray and we're Away...the famous words of our late Captain Freddy Ladd...the Widgeons and then two Goose, don't know what happened to the two Grumman Goose that flew out of Mechanics Bay AKL NZ

[@diegopiedmont1305]

do a walkthrough of the plane

[@heatherstub]

Does the Goose have just two engines?

[@conradinhawaii7856]

Yes... two Pratt & Whitney radial engines, nine cylinders, supercharged, and making 450 horsepower each. Adequate.

[@bridgecross]

I've always wanted to fly an aircraft with an overhead throttle.

[@forgefyre7.622]

Hmm, I know they're built for it, but that saltwater surely has its effects and considerations.

[@conradinhawaii7856]

Correct. And you get lots of "exercise" each day doing maintanance to prevent corrosion. Flying seaplanes off salt water is not for the weak-willed.

[@onceANexile]

He needs rainX...

[@conradinhawaii7856]

When I flew this exact aircraft in Southern California in the '80s, we used automobile wax on the windshield glass each day. That made the water bead off quickly and kept the salt from drying on the glass. I don't know if they do that at Pacific Coastal/ Wilderness Seaplanes.

[@lawrencestanley8989]

I love that bird, I just wish it was a bit better than 50 gallons of fuel per hour.

[@conradinhawaii7856]

And how would you propose to move around 8000 pounds of airplane (which not only has to fly, but also function as a boat as well as operate from runways), cargo or passengers, and fuel through the air at better than 150mph on less fuel? No one else has figured that out in about 100 years.

[@lawrencestanley8989]

@@conradinhawaii7856 Maybe it would help if the crew opened the windows and flapped their arms.

[@conradinhawaii7856]

@@lawrencestanley8989 Maybe. But they'd have to do it in unison. Probably need a conductor, like a symphony orchestra. 🙄🤣

[@lawrencestanley8989]

@@conradinhawaii7856 Nah, just get a dude banging on a drum in the back to yell, "stroke!" "stroke!"

[@conradinhawaii7856]

@@lawrencestanley8989 Our typical fuel burn on 1257A (this aircraft) was about 60 to 65 gph total. Our "legs" back and forth between Long Beach and Catalina Island were fairly short ("Twenty-six miles across the sea..." 🙄), so we didn't get very excited about leaning the mixtures.

[@ruifong]

engine seem like a pt6a

[@conradinhawaii7856]

Not even close, but that was a later modification for some of them. This one is powered, as originally equipped, by Pratt & Whitney R-985 radial engines; nine cylinders, supercharged, 450hp each.