First flown in 1944, Goodyear’s GA Duck was a very handsome and well-performing aircraft, but (alas) it never went into major production. Of the less than two dozen GAs built (in various configurations), one, a four-seat “Drake”, survives today.
Update: Three months ago, a man in Kalamazoo, Michigan, wrote to me after reading this post on the GA Duck. In his email, he informed me that he had, since the death of his grandfather, come into possession of four Goodyear GA Ducks, all sitting in sheds and barns, and he was wondering if I had any ideas on what to do with them.
One often hears of old planes sitting in barns, but these are always tales too good to be true. Despite thinking this was one of those scenarios, I did, with some skepticism, ask for a few photos. Here is one of those pictures, and it pretty much says it all.
Still in their original paint, the Goodyear Ducks had been gathering dust for decades.
The man who bought the aircraft way back when never got around to restoring them for flight or display. They remained secreted away in two locations, unknown to the public until just a few months ago.
When the gentleman contacted me, hoping to find a home for these planes, he was talking to the right guy because, by chance, I just happen to be affiliated with an aircraft museum. Did we need such aircraft in our collection? Not really. Such aircraft as the Ducks are outside our museum’s focus. It was therefore decided to allow another museum to have a chance. That facility is the Military Aviation Preservation Society (MAPS) museum in Ohio, home to Goodyear, and where the GA Ducks were built. They are also home to what was previously the lone example of a Goodyear GA, the “Drake”. That bird will be in great company, a whole flock of Ducks.
PS. When I called MAPS to inform them of the find, they must of thought Christmas had arrived in March.
The Jive Bomber 