| Gweduck | |
|---|---|
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| |
| Role | 4-passenger amphibious aircraft |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Ellison-Mahon Aircraft |
| Designer | Ben Ellison, Bryan Mahon |
| First flight | 2 May 2009 |
| Number built | 1 |
The Ellison-Mahon Gweduck or Geoduck is an American twin-engine amphibious aircraft, built from composites to resemble the Grumman Widgeon.
The Gweduck is a re-engined "re-creation" in modern composite materials of the early 1940s Grumman G-44 Widgeon. The name can also be written Geoduck and is not named for a bird, but a large clam. Although it is broadly similar to the Widgeon and follows its cantilever high-wing monoplane, twin engined, cruciform tail and tailwheel undercarriage layout, it has more powerful engines, retractable floats, more cabin windows and is larger all around.[1][2][3]
The Gweduck's structure is formed from glass and carbon fibre. Its high wings are trapezoidal in plan, fitted with externally balanced ailerons and Fowler flaps. Each wing has a float mounted below it on a single, wide chord strut which rotates through 90° after take-off to place the float at the wing tip. A pair of 300 hp (220 kW) Lycoming IO-540 six cylinder horizontally opposed engines are mounted forward of the wing leading edge with their thrust lines above the upper surface. The Gweduck has a single step hull, with the pilots' cabin just forward of the wing leading edge; behind them, the passenger cabin has four windows on each side. Tail surfaces are straight edged, the tailplane trapezoidal and the fin leading edge swept, with a horn balanced rudder and externally mass balanced elevators. On land the Gweduck uses a conventional undercarriage, with mainwheels that retract but remain exposed in the fuselage sides and a tailwheel that retracts behind doors in the extreme rear fuselage.[1]
The first flight was on 2 May 2009 from Lake Washington. By June 2010, 200 flying hours had been logged.[4]
By April 2017, one example, the prototype, had been registered in the United States with the Federal Aviation Administration.[5]
Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 2010/12[1]
General characteristics
Performance
