Plane of the Week: Grumman G-21 Goose

Starting out as a WWII aircraft for the U.S. Navy, the Grumman G-21 Goose evolved into a recreational and commercial transport aircraft. This flying boat embodies a lot of firsts for the Grumman manufacturing company. Design and development of the G-21 It all started in 1936 when a group of wealthy Long Islanders was looking [...]

By |March 9th, 2018|Plane Of The Week|Comments Off on Plane of the Week: Grumman G-21 Goose

Plane of the Week: Grumman F6F Hellcat

Designed as a successor to the Grumman F4F Wildcat, the F6F Hellcat became America’s dominant fighter during the second half of the Pacific War. The highly successful Grumman F4F Wildcat had its first flight in September 1937 and began its service with the US Navy and British Royal Navy in December 1940. As early as [...]

By |February 9th, 2018|Plane Of The Week|Comments Off on Plane of the Week: Grumman F6F Hellcat

Plane of the Week: Grumman FF

Usually, a double “F” is a bad thing, but this Grumman FF fighter biplane was a winner if I ever saw one. Between its bulbous, tear drop-shaped body and its nickname “Fifi,” this plane is sure to capture your hearts—if it hasn’t already. Design and Development The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation was formed in late [...]

By |July 28th, 2017|Plane Of The Week|Comments Off on Plane of the Week: Grumman FF

Plane of the Week: Grumman TBF Avenger

Grumman Avengers assemble!  While it was no bombshell in terms of its beauty, don't let that fool you: despite its rather homely looks, this torpedo bomber saw some major wins. During its operational use during WWII, nearly 10,000 of them were produced. Who's the beauty queen now?  Design and Development At a brief point in aviation history, the Douglas [...]

By |March 3rd, 2017|Plane Of The Week|Comments Off on Plane of the Week: Grumman TBF Avenger

Plane of the Week: Grumman X-29

The Grumman X-29 is not your typical plane. Its unconventional design is like none other, and its testing and development was meant to experiment with a few different aircraft technologies. Developed by Grumman, two were produced and flown by NASA and the U.S. Air Force. Other than the forward sweeping wings, this plane featured canard [...]

By |January 20th, 2017|Plane Of The Week|Comments Off on Plane of the Week: Grumman X-29

Plane of the Week: Grumman F8F Bearcat

The bearcat, also known as the binturong, is a viverrine mammal from Southeast Asia—it is closely related to neither bears nor cats. The Grumman F8F Bearcat, on the other hand, is a single-engine carrier-based fighter aircraft that was introduced late into WWII. The Bearcat aircraft concept was conceived when Battle of Midway veteran F4F Wildcat [...]

By |December 30th, 2016|Plane Of The Week|Comments Off on Plane of the Week: Grumman F8F Bearcat

Plane of the Week: Grumman HU-16 Albatross

1 if by land, 2 if by sea, 3 if by air, 4 if...all of the above. The Albatross is a special plane...or  it's a very special boat (really, it's both). How? Because this craft is not just an aircraft: it's a large twin-radial engine amphibious flying boat. Really. Operational History The Grumman HU-16 Albatross was an improvement [...]

By |August 19th, 2016|Plane Of The Week|Comments Off on Plane of the Week: Grumman HU-16 Albatross