|
Description
| Manufacturer: | Grumman | |
| Base model: | J4F | |
| Designation: | J4F | |
| Version: | -2 | |
| Nickname: | Widgeon | |
| Designation System: | U.S. Navy / Marines | |
| Designation Period: | 1931-1955 | |
| Basic role: | General Utility | |
Specifications
| Not Yet Available |
Known serial numbers
Examples of this type may be found at
| Museum | City | State |
| Pima Air & Space Museum | Tucson | Arizona |
J4F-2 on display
Pima Air & Space Museum |
Recent comments by our visitors
| bebebop , NE | angel a. sucks penis and james 11/12/2009 @ 13:37 [ref: 25281] |
| bebebop tucson, AZ | this plane sucks dick hahahehe 11/12/2009 @ 13:35 [ref: 25279] |
| bebebop tucson, AZ | this plane sucks dick hahahehe 11/12/2009 @ 13:35 [ref: 25280] |
| isidro tucson, AZ | this plane is cool":":":":":":":":::":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":"::::::::""""""""""""""""""""""""":":":":":":":":"like my model 11/12/2009 @ 13:33 [ref: 25278] |
| Tod Dickey Phoenix, AZ | Sven,
The picture you saw of N23456 was probably taken at Majuro in the Marshall Islands in the late 1960s or early 1970s. The aircraft was sold by Kodiak Airlines to a consortium of businessmen in the Marshall Islands for use as an air ambulance. Each paid 1$ to help buy the airpalne. At the time the Marshall Islands had one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world. They only celebrated a child's first birthday because the odds were there would not be many more. The Marshall Island are made of of many coral atolls and the only hospital was on Majuro. It could take a day or two to get to Majuro by boat, or an hour or two by the widgeon. The flight to Majuro is the second longest overwater flight behind Hawaii. None of the Kodiak pilots wanted to ferry the aircraft that far, so they hired a 500 hour pilot from California to do it. They had 2 50 gallon drums of fuel rigged in the cabin as well as 2 scuba tanks half filled with oil to pump into the engines from the cabin. Reportedly the pilot took off from Kodiak over the ocean and dropped below the level of the runway. He was so heavy that he stayed at takoff power for over 1 hour before he was able to climb out of ground effect. From Kodiak he went to Adak and then Quadulane before the last leg to Majuro. There was no fuel reserve and no alternate (and no GPS). The aircraft was wrecked in an open ocean landing a few months after making it to Majuro. There was no money to fix it so it sat at the old Majuro airport for several years until Harold (Mitch) Mitchell ran across it, bought it, and shipped it back to Long Beach to start a rebuild. It took him 7 years to restore and he sold it without ever flying it because he needed the money at the time. The later owners Bill Brunton, Ken Ashby and then myself each continued to upgrade the aircraft when they owned it. It is now owned by Henry Ruzkowsky in Florida. 01/10/2009 @ 21:38 [ref: 23465] |
| Tod Dickey Phoenix, AZ | At 5500 lbs, the draft of the 44a model is 26 inches. 11/04/2007 @ 20:24 [ref: 18401] |
| Tim Luna Pier, MI | Does anyone know the draft of the Grumman Widgeon at mooring(empty weight)? 10/01/2006 @ 18:55 [ref: 14344] |
| Sven Beck Poway, CA | I recently inhereted a number of slides from the islands of Micronesia and came across a photo of a damaged widgeon under a Quanset type hanger. I am guessing that it was early to mid 1960's in the Marshall Islands (with other slides from there). In doing a check, I found that the plane hit a submerged object with its left float in Alitak Harbor, ALASKA (!) during take off on 11/12/64, causing significant damage.
I am curious about how it ended up in Micronesia. If anyone knows about it, I would be very interested. The plane was more recently registered (Oct 2000) in Phoenix, AZ. 04/24/2005 @ 20:38 [ref: 10029] |
| Reg Froom , FL | I saw plans on e-bay for the Widgeon. Even if there not the corect scale, I'm sure they could be converted. 02/06/2005 @ 16:13 [ref: 9380] |
| Gary Correll Nine Mile Falls,, WA | I have just completed a land development project, cash poor, land rich, willing to trade for a Widgeon. The lots are all water accesable via 2,000 ft. canal, streets are paved, all utilities are in. The lake is 28 miles long, located in the Spokane area. 09/01/2002 @ 13:43 [ref: 5596] |
Recent photos uploaded by our visitors
