Yesterday we had a transient amphibious aircraft arrive at the airport. He originally called up as "Grumman 141R," inbound from Douglas Island. Ernie was kind of excited, since we don't get many of those flying around up here. When he got into visual range, of course, the binoculars came out, and the discussion started:
"Is it a Widgeon, or a Goose?"
Much discussion ensued. Now, I see Grumman aircraft maybe twice a year in my current job, but I remember there was a Goose and a pair of Widgeons perma-parked at MRI in Anchorage when I was going to school. I was quite infatuated with airplanes in my youth...well, ok, so I haven't really outgrown it, but that's beside the point.
Anyway. I picked up a pair of binocs and took a look at the Mysterious Unknown Model Of Grumman Aircraft. Hmm....from two miles away, it looked like a Widgeon, which has inline engines and an empty weight of 3200 pounds - not a very large airplane. The Goose, on the other hand, weighs close to 7000 pounds empty, is noticably bigger, and has honkin' huge radial engines. Very distinctive. Ernie and one of my coworkers were now heatedly into the Goose vs. Widgeon debate, and I interjected, "I'm pretty sure it's a Widgeon." Of course, they ignored me, and I tuned them out as Ernie dove for the aircraft reference book.
Ten minutes later, after the Widgeon had landed, taxied in, parked, and the passengers had disembarked, I tuned back into the conversation. Ernie still hadn't found the entry for "Widgeon". It's kind of ironic, really. The most important thing I learned in ATC school was, "You don't have to know all the answers, but you MUST know where to look them up." Ten minutes and counting, and Ernie still hadn't found the entry for Widgeon. Or the Goose. Mind you, he wasn't just unsure about the comparison between Goose and Widgeon, he was unable to find the aircraft entry...in a FREAKING JANE'S AIRCRAFT REFERENCE GUIDE. Hello....index? Table of contents, anyone? What's funnier is he started blaming the book for not having an entry on the Widgeon or Goose. "They mention Grumman but there's no Goose or Widgeon, what's up with that?"
I finally got exasperated, stood up, walked five steps over to the bookshelf, selected another reference book at random and flipped through it. Let's see...Beech...Boeing....Cessna...Dornier...Eurocopter...Folker... Aha! Grumman. Albatross. Mallard. Goose....and Widgeon, with nice color photos - and it took less than 30 seconds. I handed the book to Ernie. "Oh! There it is, you found it!"
Then, of course, Ernie wasn't convinced. I turned my chair around and asked him, "Does it have radial engines?"
Ernie peered through the binoculars.
"No...looks like it has inline engines."
"Well, according to the book, the Goose has radial engines, and the Widgeon has inline engines."
"Huh, must be a Widgeon then."
"Must be."
Of course, the simplest course of action would have gone something like this:
"Grumman 41R, say aircraft type?"
"Tower, Grumman 141R is a G-44 Widgeon."
"Roger, thanks."
"Is it a Widgeon, or a Goose?"
Much discussion ensued. Now, I see Grumman aircraft maybe twice a year in my current job, but I remember there was a Goose and a pair of Widgeons perma-parked at MRI in Anchorage when I was going to school. I was quite infatuated with airplanes in my youth...well, ok, so I haven't really outgrown it, but that's beside the point.
Anyway. I picked up a pair of binocs and took a look at the Mysterious Unknown Model Of Grumman Aircraft. Hmm....from two miles away, it looked like a Widgeon, which has inline engines and an empty weight of 3200 pounds - not a very large airplane. The Goose, on the other hand, weighs close to 7000 pounds empty, is noticably bigger, and has honkin' huge radial engines. Very distinctive. Ernie and one of my coworkers were now heatedly into the Goose vs. Widgeon debate, and I interjected, "I'm pretty sure it's a Widgeon." Of course, they ignored me, and I tuned them out as Ernie dove for the aircraft reference book.
Ten minutes later, after the Widgeon had landed, taxied in, parked, and the passengers had disembarked, I tuned back into the conversation. Ernie still hadn't found the entry for "Widgeon". It's kind of ironic, really. The most important thing I learned in ATC school was, "You don't have to know all the answers, but you MUST know where to look them up." Ten minutes and counting, and Ernie still hadn't found the entry for Widgeon. Or the Goose. Mind you, he wasn't just unsure about the comparison between Goose and Widgeon, he was unable to find the aircraft entry...in a FREAKING JANE'S AIRCRAFT REFERENCE GUIDE. Hello....index? Table of contents, anyone? What's funnier is he started blaming the book for not having an entry on the Widgeon or Goose. "They mention Grumman but there's no Goose or Widgeon, what's up with that?"
I finally got exasperated, stood up, walked five steps over to the bookshelf, selected another reference book at random and flipped through it. Let's see...Beech...Boeing....Cessna...Dornier...Eurocopter...Folker... Aha! Grumman. Albatross. Mallard. Goose....and Widgeon, with nice color photos - and it took less than 30 seconds. I handed the book to Ernie. "Oh! There it is, you found it!"
Then, of course, Ernie wasn't convinced. I turned my chair around and asked him, "Does it have radial engines?"
Ernie peered through the binoculars.
"No...looks like it has inline engines."
"Well, according to the book, the Goose has radial engines, and the Widgeon has inline engines."
"Huh, must be a Widgeon then."
"Must be."
Of course, the simplest course of action would have gone something like this:
"Grumman 41R, say aircraft type?"
"Tower, Grumman 141R is a G-44 Widgeon."
"Roger, thanks."
posted by Package Ninja at 10:42 AM
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