Grumman G-73 Mallard

G-73 Mallard

Grumman G-73T Turbo Mallard of Pearl Aviation landing at Darwin Airport (2010)
Role	Amphibious airliner
Manufacturer	Grumman
First flight	30 April 1946
Status	Retired
Primary user	Chalk's Ocean Airways
Produced	1946–1951
Number built	59
Unit cost	$115,000 $4.0 million for turbine powered G-73T

The Grumman G-73 Mallard is a medium, twin-engined amphibious aircraft. Many have been modified by replacing the original Pratt & Whitney Wasp H radial engines with modern turboprop engines. Manufactured from 1946 to 1951, production ended when Grumman's larger SA-16 Albatross was introduced.

Design and development

Building on the success of the Goose and Widgeon, Grumman Aircraft developed larger G-73 Mallard for commercial use. Retaining many of the features of the smaller aircraft, such as twin radials, high wings with underwing floats, retractable landing gear and a large straight tail, the company built 59 Mallards between 1946 and 1951. Unlike the smaller aircraft, the Mallard featured tricycle gear, stressed skin, a two-step hull and wingtip fuel tanks.

Operational history

Northern Consolidated Air G-73 Mallard (Katmai National Park & Preserve)

The Mallard prototype first flew on 30 April 1946, with the first production aircraft entering service in September of that year. While the Mallard was designed for regional airline operations with two pilots and ten passengers, especially aimed at harbor-based, city-to-city hops on the eastern seaboard, postwar surplus aircraft sales and the availability of smaller airports limited market potential. A number of smaller air carriers did use the Mallard in its intended role, notably Tahiti-Hawaii Airlines and Pacific Western Airlines (Canada). However, most of the 59 Mallards delivered were for corporate use. A prominent user in the United States was Roy Fruehauf and the Fruehauf Trailer Corporation. Fruehauf owned and operated a fishing camp, Killarney Lodge in Georgian Bay, Canada and ferried customers there from Detroit. Another, Detroit'er, William Packer of General Motors also owned a Mallard which he flew to Killarney often.^[1] another Mallard was purchased in the early 1950s by the Aga Khan.

The Royal Egyptian Air Force used a Mallard as part of their Royal Flight; it was reportedly King Farouk's favourite aircraft.^[2]

The Mallard received a new lease on life in the 1970s when a number of airframes were refitted by Frakes Aviation with Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A turbines and upgraded for 17 passengers, to become "Turbo Mallards." Today, through attrition, only 32 Mallards remain registered in the US. Many of the rest are in use around the globe.

A similar program has been undertaken by Paspaley Pearling in combination with Aeronautical Engineers Australia to re-engine and modernize its Mallard fleet, which is used to support its pearling operations in Northern Australia. The fleet has been extensively rebuilt and also re-engined with P&WC PT6As, and is currently undergoing a life extension program.

Incidents

Turbo Mallard of Chalks International Airline on a scheduled service at Bimini, Bahamas, in November 1989 after arriving from Miami Harbor.

Chalk's Ocean Airways purchased Mallard N1208 from the Fruehauf Corporation and later acquired several other examples of the aircraft. The type received much attention after a Turbo Mallard, operating as Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101, crashed after takeoff from Miami Harbor on 19 December 2005 bound for Bimini, Bahamas. Eighteen passengers and two crew perished when the right wing separated from the fuselage of the 58-year-old aircraft.^[3] The cause of the accident was determined by the subsequent investigation to be undetected cracks and/or corrosion in the wing spar.

Prior to 2005, Chalk's Ocean Airways had an exemplary safety record operating Mallards for many years between Florida and the Bahamas, having never had a passenger fatality since the company began operations in 1917.

Operators

Civil operators

Australia

Paspaley Pearling Co.

Canada

Pacific Western Airlines

United States

Antilles Air Boats
Chalk's Ocean Airways (operated both the piston engine and turboprop engine variants)
Virgin Islands Seaplane Shuttle (operated both the piston engine and turboprop engine variants)

Military operators

Egypt

Royal Egyptian Air Force

Specifications (G-73T)

Chalk's Turbo Mallard at Abaco, 1999

General characteristics

Crew: two
Capacity: 5,000 lb (2,268 kg) payload or up to 17 passengers
Length: 48 ft 3 in (14.7 m)
Wingspan: 66 ft 7 in (20.3 m)
Height: 18 ft 9 in (5.72 m)
Empty weight: 8,750 lb (3,969 kg)
Gross weight: 14,000 lb (6,350 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 14,000 lb (6,350 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney R-1340 radial engine (originally) or, if modified, Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34 turboprop engines, 600 hp (450 kW) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 187 kn (215 mph; 346 km/h)
Cruise speed: 157 kn (181 mph; 291 km/h)
Never exceed speed: 187 kn (215 mph; 346 km/h)
Range: 1,120 nmi (1,289 mi; 2,074 km)
Service ceiling: 24,500 ft (7,500 m)
Rate of climb: 1,350 ft/min (6.9 m/s)
Power/mass: .086 hp/lb (0.029 kW/kg)

References

Notes

↑ The Fruehauf Trailer Historical Society
↑ Lees, Norman Birds of Passage. Pictorial memories of visitors to Malta 1948/1950 Air Enthusiast No.74 March/April 1998 p.6 with photograph
↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfEqjxX4wTI

Bibliography

Hotson, Fred W. and Matthew E. Rodina. Grumman Mallard: The Enduring Classic. Scarborough, Ontario: Robin Brass Studio, 2006. ISBN 978-1-896941-44-8.
Thruelsen, Richard. The Grumman Story. New York: Praeger Publishers, Inc., 1976. ISBN 0-275-54260-2.
Winchester, Jim, ed. "Grumman Goose/Mallard." Biplanes, Triplanes and Seaplanes (The Aviation Factfile). Rochester, Kent, UK: Grange Books plc, 2004. ISBN 1-84013-641-3.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Grumman G-73.

Grumman and Northrop Grumman aircraft

Manufacturer
designations

G-1 (floats only)
G-2 (floats only)
G-3
G-4
G-5
G-6
G-7
G-8
G-9
G-10
G-11
G-12
G-13
G-14
G-15
G-16
G-17
G-18
G-19
G-20
G-21
G-22
G-23
G-24
G-25
G-26
G-27
G-29
G-30
G-31
G-32
G-33
G-34
G-35
G-36
G-37
G-38
G-39
G-40
G-41
G-42
G-43
G-44
G-45
G-46
G-47
G-48
G-49
G-50
G-51
G-52
G-53
G-54
G-55
G-56
G-57
G-58
G-59
G-60
G-61
G-62
G-63
G-64
G-65
G-66
G-67
G-68
G-69
G-70
G-71
G-72
G-73
G-74
G-75
G-76
G-77
G-78
G-79
G-80
G-81
G-82
G-83
G-84
G-85
G-86
G-87
G-88
G-89
G-90
G-91
G-92
G-93
G-94
G-96
G-97
G-98
G-98J
G-99
G-100
G-101
G-102
G-103
G-104
G-105
G-106
G-107
G-108
G-109
G-110
G-111
G-112
G-113
G-114
G-115
G-116
G-117
G-118
G-119
G-120
G-121
G-122
G-123
G-124
G-125
G-126
G-127
G-128
G-134
G-159
G-164
G-191
G-231
G-234
G-251
G-262
G-303
G-426
G-712
G-1128
G-1159
Model 400

By role

Piston fighters	FF F2F F3F F4F XF5F XP-50 F6F XP-65 F7F F8F

Jet fighters	F9F-1 to -5 F9F-6 to -8 F-9 XF10F F11F/F-11/F11F-1F G-118 F-111B F-14

Bombers	B-2 B-21

Attack/Patrol	TBF XTSF TB2F AF S-2 A-6

Recon/Scouts	SF XSBF E-1 OV-1 EA-6 E-2

Utility/Transports	UC-103 JF J2F OA-12 JRF J3F OA-9 OA-13 OA-14/J4F U-16/JR2F/UF C-1 C-2

Civil aircraft	Mallard Ag Cat Kitten Tadpole Gulfstream I Gulfstream II

Others	Apollo Lunar Module EF-111 X-29 Q-8/C X-47A X-47B

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