The Goose
FP-514, N95431, N72PR, P2-JWB, RP-C864, VH-MBA, DQ-AYL, C/N 1164
This goose was transferred under the Lend-Lease program to the Royal Navy as a Goose 1A. It was originally allocated S/N BW817, but was changed to FP-514 and was delivered to the Royal Navy in January of 1943. It served with the 749 Squadron at Piarco, Trinidad. It was returned to the USN after WWII under the original BuNo 66336.
The USN sold it to Bear Valley Air Service in Stockton, California for $15,000 on May 7th 1947. It designation was N95431.
Executive Air Services in Stockton converted it to civilian use. It was converted from 8 place to 9 place using seats out of Vega Ventura Navy plane.
Bear Valley sold it to Alaska Coastal Airlines in Juneau, Alaska on March 27th 1948 for $23,000. In November of 1949 both engines and props were changed, Left and right outer wing panels were replaced along with both ailerons. Also, all cockpit instruments were installed. In July of 1950, a lot of fuselage work was completed and the horizontal stabilizer was rebuilt and re-installed. The plane was well maintained throughout the years and by 1962 had accumulated 12,237 hours total time.
In April of 1962 Alaska Coastal Airlines merged with Ellis Airlines, and was now called Alaska Coastal-Ellis Airlines.
Things are sketchy for the next four years concerning records for N95431. This was the time Alaska Coastal-Ellis was experimenting with installing turbine engines on 431. At the same time, June 16th 1966, Alaska Ellis sold the plane back to Alaska Coastal Airlines. The same time Alaska Coastal was being merged with Alaska Airlines.
On February 26th 1966 the FAA issued a Certificate of Airworthiness classified as “Experimental” . On January 23rd 1967 a form 337 was filed with the FAA for the installation of two United Aircraft of Canada, Ltd model PT6A-6A engines approved under STC No. SA227Al.
Alaska Airlines received the final approval on June 23rd 1968, and with about 12,800 hours total time it was hauling passengers and freight again.
After flying only 175 hours, it was landed gear down in the water. Below is a picture of it.
On May 5th, 1973 Alaska Airlines sold 431 to Foreign and Domestic Enterprises in Seattle.
Lloyd Rekow, the owner of Foreign and Domestic wasted no time getting the plane rebuilt. He had enough spare parts around to convert it back to a radial powered goose. He installed a rebuilt center section from another plane and completely rebuilt the rest of the plane.
On August 15th 1973 Lloyd sold the plane to The Pack River Co. in Spokane, Washington. They had the N number changed in October to N72PR for Pack River. Pack River only owned it for a couple of years, and on October 15th 1975 they sold it to Robert G. Sholton in Anchorage, Alaska.
On June 9th 1977 Robert Sholton sold N72PR to Island Hoppers Inc. in Kodiak, Alaska. They leased it to Kodiak Western Alaska Airlines. It suffered a mishap in September 2nd 1978 taking off from the Old Harbor airport. An aborted takeoff from a blown cylinder resulted in the plane going off the runway down onto the beach. Fred Ball, one of Island Hoppers owners repaired the plane and flew it back to Kodiak where it was sold to Wilton R. Probert on June 25th 1979.
NTSB Identification: ANC78DA073
14 CFR Part 121 Scheduled operation of KODIAK WESTERN ALASKA A/L INC
Aircraft: GRUMMAN G-21A, registration: N72PR
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FILE DATE LOCATION AIRCRAFT DATA INJURIES FLIGHT PILOT DATA
F S M/N PURPOSE
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1-0024 78/9/2 OLD HARBOR,AK GRUMMAN G-21A CR- 0 0 1 SCHED DOM PASSG SRV COMMERCIAL, AGE 36, 4321
TIME - 1040 N72PR PX- 0 0 4 TOTAL HOURS, 1040 IN
DAMAGE-SUBSTANTIAL OT- 0 0 0 TYPE, INSTRUMENT RATED.
NAME OF AIRPORT - OLD HARBOR
OPERATOR - KODIAK WESTERN ALASKA AIRLINES,INC.
DEPARTURE POINT INTENDED DESTINATION
OLD HARBOR,AK KODIAK,AK
TYPE OF ACCIDENT PHASE OF OPERATION
ENGINE FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION TAKEOFF: RUN
GROUND-WATER LOOP-SWERVE TAKEOFF: ABORTED
PROBABLE CAUSE(S)
POWERPLANT - ENGINE STRUCTURE: CYLINDER ASSEMBLY
MISCELLANEOUS ACTS,CONDITIONS - MATERIAL FAILURE
MISCELLANEOUS ACTS,CONDITIONS - INTENTIONAL GROUND-WATER-LOOP-SWERVE
FACTOR(S)
MISCELLANEOUS ACTS,CONDITIONS - OVERLOAD FAILURE
PARTIAL POWER LOSS - PARTIAL LOSS OF POWER - 1 ENGINE
REMARKS- #2 CYL HEAD CRACKED.
Below is a picture of Wilton in Kodiak getting ready to head down south for repairs. Photos courtesy of Gail Lowrey
There is confusion over where it was repaired as FAA records don’t indicate where repairs were done. It may have gone back to Foreign and Domestic Enterprises in Seattle, as the picture below was taken there.
FAA records indicated it was sold to Royal Island Airways in New York in April of 1981 for around $120,000. They didn’t have it long and it was sold again to Westflight Aviation in Ketchikan, Alaska on October 9th 1981. It was a work horse for Westflight, and was well maintained.
On May 20th 1987 Westflight sold it to Milne Bay Air in Papua, New Guinea.
It was officially de-registered from the United States Aircraft Register on August 12th 1987. It left the US register in 1987 and became P2-JWB registered to Palau Paradise Air, at Palau, Micronesia, to become RP-C864 at the Philippines in 1990, later VH-MBA in Australia in late 1993 and finally it became DQ-AYL, registered to Yaukuve at the Fiji Islands.
Registration Prefixes:
P2-Papua, New Guinea VH-Australia
RP- Philippines DQ-Fiji
Below are some pictures I could find of it. It is rumored to be in Australia at this time.
