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28-452: The Widgeon was originally designed for the civil market. It is smaller, but otherwise similar to Grumman 's earlier G-21 Goose , and was produced from 1941 to 1955. The aircraft was used during World War II as a small patrol and utility machine by the US Navy, US Coast Guard, and Royal Navy 's Fleet Air Arm . The first prototype flew in 1940 , and the first production aircraft went to

56-631: A German U-boat off the coast of Louisiana. White reported the submarine sunk, and he was subsequently credited with sinking U-166 and awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross . However, in June 2001 the wreck of U-166 was found sitting near the wreck of SS Robert E. Lee by an oil exploration team; and the sinking of U-166 on July 30 (i.e. two days before the Widgeon flight) is now credited to patrol craft PC-566 escorting

84-506: A business on December 6, 1929, and officially opened on January 2, 1930. While maintaining the business by welding aluminum tubing for truck frames, the company eagerly pursued contracts with the US Navy . Grumman designed the first practical floats with a retractable landing gear for the Navy, and this launched Grumman into the aviation market. The first Grumman aircraft was also for the Navy,

112-537: A wave of mergers as aerospace companies shrank in number; in 1994 Northrop bought Grumman for $ 2.1 billion to form Northrop Grumman , after Northrop topped a $ 1.9 billion offer from Martin Marietta . The new company closed almost all of its facilities on Long Island and converted the Bethpage plant to a residential and office complex, with its headquarters becoming the corporate headquarters for Cablevision and

140-775: Is considered a permanent modification. Alternatively, holders of an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) may vary the Maximum Declared Take-Off Weight (MDTOW) for their aircraft. They can subscribe to a scheme, and then vary the weight for each aircraft without further charge. An aircraft can have its MTOW increased by reinforcement due to additional or stronger materials. For example, the Airbus A330 242 tonnes MTOW variant / A330neo uses Scandium–aluminium (scalmalloy) to avoid an empty weight increase. In many circumstances an aircraft may not be permitted to take off at its MTOW. In these circumstances

168-822: The Gannet Super Widgeon Data from War Planes of the Second World War: Volume Five: Flying Boats General characteristics Performance Armament Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Grumman The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation , later Grumman Aerospace Corporation , was a 20th century American producer of military and civilian aircraft . Founded on December 6, 1929, by Leroy Grumman and his business partners, it merged in 1994 with Northrop Corporation to form Northrop Grumman . Leroy Grumman worked for

196-721: The Grumman FF-1 , a biplane with retractable landing gear developed at Curtiss Field in 1931. This was followed by a number of other successful designs. During World War II , Grumman became known for its "Cats" (Navy fighter aircraft ): the F4F Wildcat and F6F Hellcat , the Grumman F7F Tigercat and Grumman F8F Bearcat , and also for its torpedo bomber , the Grumman TBF Avenger . Grumman ranked 22nd among United States corporations in

224-674: The Loening Aircraft Engineering Corporation beginning in 1920. In 1929, Keystone Aircraft Corporation bought Loening Aircraft and moved its operations from New York City to Bristol, Pennsylvania . Grumman and three other ex-Loening Aircraft employees, ( Edmund Ward Poor , William Schwendler, and Jake Swirbul ) started their own company in an old Cox-Klemin Aircraft Co. factory in Baldwin on Long Island , New York. The company registered as

252-776: The Robert E. Lee . White's Widgeon is now thought to have made an unsuccessful attack against U-171 , a Type IXC U-boat identical to U-166 that reported an air attack coincident with White's attack. U-171 was undamaged by White's attack, but was sunk four months later in the Bay of Biscay . The sinking of a German U-boat by the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) was claimed by one of their larger aircraft on 11 July 1942. The Grumman G-44 Widgeon, armed with two depth charges and crewed by Captain Johnny Haggins and Major Wynant Farr,

280-787: The SCAN 30 . Most of these ended up in the United States. McKinnon Enterprises at Sandy, Oregon , converted over 70 Widgeons to "Super Widgeons". The conversion features replacing the engines with 270 hp (200 kW) Avco Lycoming GO-480-B1D flat-six piston engines , and various other modifications, including modern avionics , three-bladed propellers , larger windows, improved soundproofing , emergency exits, and increased maximum takeoff weight . Retractable wingtip floats were optional. Pacific Aerospace Engineering Corporation conversions of S.C.A.N. 30s, powered by 300 hp (220 kW) Lycoming R-680-13 radial engines. Later known as

308-461: The maximum structural takeoff weight or maximum structural takeoff mass , is the maximum weight at which the pilot is allowed to attempt to take off , due to structural or other limits. The analogous term for rockets is gross lift-off mass , or GLOW . MTOW is usually specified in units of kilograms or pounds. MTOW is the heaviest weight at which the aircraft has been shown to meet all the airworthiness requirements applicable to it. It refers to

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336-564: The Calverton plant being turned into a business/industrial complex. Former aircraft hangars have become Grumman Studios , a film and television production center. A portion of the airport property has been used for the Grumman Memorial Park. Maximum takeoff weight The maximum takeoff weight ( MTOW ) or maximum gross takeoff weight ( MGTOW ) or maximum takeoff mass ( MTOM ) of an aircraft , also known as

364-680: The Gulfstream I was operated by several regional airlines in scheduled passenger services. The Gulfstream I-C (Grumman model G-159C) version was "stretched" to carry 37 passengers. In the early 1970s, Grumman acquired majority interest in the American Aviation line of very light aircraft -- relabeling its planes as "Grumman-American" or "Grumman American" -- eventually joining it with their Gulfstream division before selling off that combined enterprise in 1978. In 1978, Grumman sold Gulfstream to American Jet Industries , which adopted

392-594: The Gulfstream name. Since 1999, Gulfstream has been a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics . For much of the Cold War period, Grumman was the largest corporate employer on Long Island . Grumman's products were considered so reliable and ruggedly built that the company was often referred to as the " Grumman Iron Works ". As the company grew, it moved to Valley Stream, New York , then Farmingdale, New York , finally to its facility in Bethpage, New York , with

420-744: The Intruder in 1990. The U.S. Navy still employs the Hawkeye as part of Carrier Air Wings on board aircraft carriers, while the U.S. Marine Corps, the last branch of service to fly the Prowler, retired it on March 8, 2019. Grumman was the chief contractor on the Apollo Lunar Module , the first spacecraft to land humans on the Moon. The firm received the contract on November 7, 1962, and built 13 lunar modules. Six of them successfully landed on

448-596: The Moon, with one serving as a lifeboat on Apollo 13 , after an explosion crippled the main Apollo spacecraft. LM-2, a test article which never flew in space, is displayed permanently in the Smithsonian Institution . As the Apollo program neared its end, Grumman was one of the main competitors for the contract to design and build the Space Shuttle , but lost to Rockwell International . In 1969,

476-541: The US Navy as an antisubmarine aircraft . In total, 276 were built by Grumman, including 176 for the military. During World War II, they served with the US Navy, Coast Guard, Civil Air Patrol , and Army Air Force, as well as with the British Royal Navy, which gave it the service name Gosling . On August 1, 1942, a J4F-1 flown by US Coast Guard Patrol Squadron 212 based out of Houma, Louisiana , and flown by Chief Aviation Pilot Henry White, spotted and attacked

504-401: The aircraft structure is capable of withstanding all the loads likely to be imposed on it during the takeoff, and occasionally by the maximum flight weight . It is possible to have an aircraft certified with a reduced MTOW, lower than the structural maximum, to take advantage of lower MTOW-based fees, such as insurance premiums, landing fees and air traffic control fees are MTOW based. This

532-639: The company changed its name to Grumman Aerospace Corporation , and in 1978 it sold the Grumman-American Division to Gulfstream Aerospace . That same year, it acquired the bus manufacturer Flxible . The company built the Grumman LLV (Long Life Vehicle), a light transport mail truck designed for and used by the United States Postal Service . The LLV was produced from 1987 until 1994. Its intended service life

560-459: The crew shadowed the submarine. Just as Haggins was about to return to base, the U-boat rose to periscope depth, and Haggins swung the aircraft around, aligned with the submarine and dove to 100 feet (30 m). Farr released one of the two depth charges, blowing the submarine's front out of the water. As it left an oil slick , Farr made a second pass and released the other charge. Debris appeared on

588-418: The maximum permissible aircraft weight at the start of the takeoff run. MTOW of an aircraft is fixed and does not vary with altitude, air temperature, or the length of the runway to be used for takeoff or landing. Maximum permissible takeoff weight or "regulated takeoff weight", varies according to flap setting, altitude, air temperature, length of runway and other factors. It is different from one takeoff to

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616-437: The maximum weight permitted for takeoff will be determined taking account of the following: The maximum weight at which a takeoff may be attempted, taking into account the above factors, is called the maximum permissible takeoff weight, maximum allowed takeoff weight or regulated takeoff weight. The Field Limited Weight is the lowest of the: The Runway Limited Weight is the lowest of the: The Regulated Take-Off Weight

644-483: The next, but can never be higher than the MTOW. Certification standards applicable to the airworthiness of an aircraft contain many requirements. Some of these requirements can only be met by specifying a maximum weight for the aircraft, and demonstrating that the aircraft can meet the requirement at all weights up to, and including, the specified maximum. This limit is typically driven by structural requirements – to ensure

672-649: The ocean's surface, confirming the U-boat's demise and the CAP's first kill. After the war, Grumman redesigned the aircraft to make it more suitable for civilian operations. A new hull improved its water handling, and six seats were installed. In total, 76 of the new G-44As were built by Grumman, the last being delivered on January 13, 1949. Another 41 were produced under license by the Société de construction aéronavale  [ fr ] (SCAN) in La Rochelle , France , as

700-489: The testing and final assembly at the 6,000-acre (24 km ) Naval Weapons Station in Calverton, New York , all located on Long Island. At its peak in 1986 it employed 23,000 people on Long Island and occupied 6,000,000 square feet (560,000 m ) in structures on 105 acres (0.42 km ) it leased from the U.S. Navy in Bethpage. The end of the Cold War at the beginning of the 1990s reduced defense spending and led to

728-735: The value of wartime production contracts. Grumman's first jet aircraft was the F9F Panther ; it was followed by the upgraded F9F/F-9 Cougar , and the F-11 Tiger in the 1950s. The company's big postwar successes came in the 1960s with the A-6 Intruder and E-2 Hawkeye and in the 1970s with the Grumman EA-6B Prowler and F-14 Tomcat . Grumman products were prominent in several feature movies including The Final Countdown in 1980, Top Gun in 1986, and Flight of

756-629: Was 24 years, but some of them were still in service in 2020. In 1983, Grumman sold Flxible for $ 40 million to General Automotive Corporation of Ann Arbor. In the 1950s, Grumman began production of Gulfstream business aircraft, starting with the Gulfstream I turboprop (Grumman model G-159) and the Gulfstream II jet (Grumman model G-1159). Gulfstream aircraft were operated by many companies, private individuals, and government agencies including various military entities and NASA . In addition,

784-425: Was scrambled when another CAP patrol radioed that they had encountered an enemy submarine, but were returning to base due to low fuel. After scanning the area, Farr spotted the U-boat cruising beneath the surface of the waves. Unable to accurately determine the depth of the vessel, Haggins and Ferr radioed the situation back to base and followed the enemy in hopes that it would rise to periscope depth . For three hours,

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