Quote:
Originally Posted by RogerBW
Well, the last type (the G-21G) was FAA approved in 1969. I don't have reregistration dates, though; if one could get at the history of type certificate 4A24 that ought to have the best information on manufacturing dates.
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Last McKinnon conversion of a Grumman Goose was completed in May, 1970.
McKinnon Enterprises Inc. was declared bankrupt on December 28, 1971, and its assets, including
N558, a G21G 'Turbo Goose' which McKinnon had until then used as a personal airplane, were sold at auction in Oregon on January 3, 1972.
So, we're either looking at Kessler acquiring one of the eight or so turboprop conversions that had been made up to then from a previous buyer or him finding someone else to perform a functionally identical conversion as the McKinnon one. Of course, it's not implausible that Kessler bought it from Peyton Hawes in 1977 or so, as in real life, he did sell it before 1980.
Yeah, you know, I think I'll declare it so. Kessler buys N558 in 1977 or thereabouts.
Bonus points for all four of my grandparents actually having flown on that actual plane...
Quote:
Originally Posted by RogerBW
G-21G has the most powerful engines…
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Well, technically, the
N780 (which despite being type registered as a G21G and referred to as a McKinnon Goose, was actually neither) had the most powerful engines. Modified by the Fish and Wildlife Service to match the many aspects of the McKinnon conversion, it had two Garrett/Honeywell TPE331 engines (715-shp) instead of the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-27 engines (680-shp). It should have been type certified as a G21F, but the FWS actually told the FAA that it was a G21G and nobody bothered to check up on it for the entire service life of the aircraft.
However, the N780 was, in reality, not declared surplus to requirements until 1992 and thus Kessler could not have obtained it any earlier than that. As he as looking for a 'Turbo Goose' in the latter part of the 70s, he'd have had to look elsewhere than with the Fish and Wildlife Service.
The History of the Aleutian Goose, Part 1
The History of the Aleutian Goose, Part 2
The History of the Aleutian Goose, Part 3
Whether Kessler, for sentimental reasons or practical ones, decided to add yet another Goose to his fleet at some point in 1992-2011, however, is an open question. Kessler would have known of it, as it was owned by Texans from 1998, and its last owner was even part of the Commemorative Air Force in Texas, which I had already decided is an organization which Kessler belongs to, supports and uses as cover for some of his more anachronistic aircraft. As the 'Aleutian Goose' went down in the UAE in 2011 in real life (carrying its last owner and three others), it seems like it would be a nice gesture for our fictional billionaire to rescue the old girl before it came to that untimely end and perhaps use it for an entirely different kind of 'wildlife management'.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RogerBW
It's a separate type certificate so legally it's a separate aircraft to qualify on. I understand there's some additional power lag (i.e. you can't get out of trouble with a quick blip on the throttle the way you can with a piston engine) but in terms of cockpit activities only the engine management will be very different. I would imagine a week or two of conversion course would be sufficient.
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In that case, Kessler was certainly certified to fly
Angélique and
Dominique both, at least in the 70s and 80s. As he's literally a hundred years old in 2018, it's possible that he has not maintained currency, which I understand he'd have to do biannually.
If he had, it would make him the oldest licensed pilot in the US (by two years), which seems undesirable.