AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2021 - 54

SPEC SHEET
Super Widgeon and
Piaggio Gull
SPECIFICATIONS
Powerplants / (2) Lycoming GSO-480
6-cylinder piston engines (ea)
Propellers / 3-blade, constant-speed, full
feathering
Length / W 31 ft 1 in; G 35 ft 5 in
Height / W 13 ft; G 12 ft 7 in
Wingspan / W 40 ft; G 44 ft 5 in
Empty weight / W 3,800 lb; G 4,652 lb
Max takeoff weight / W 5,500 lb; G6,601 lb
Wing area / W 245 sq ft; G 270 sq ft
Wing loading / W 22.4 lb/sq ft; G 24.4 lb/sq ft
Power loading / W 8.0 lb/hp; G 9.71 lb/hp
Seats / W 6; G 5
Water Rudder / W No; G Yes
PERFORMANCE
Cruise speed / W 152 kt; G 145 kt
Range / W 865 nm; G 780 nm
Service ceiling / W 18,000 ft; G 25,600 ft
VS0
VNE / W 182 kt; G 181 kt
" The right float touched first, then
the left main landing gear struck a pile of
debris and the left wing hit trees, " according
to the Grumman compilation. The
wreckage was sold to a salvage firm in
Tecumseh, Michigan, in 1967. The aircraft
was returned to airworthy condition
during the next two years, then changed
hands a couple more times before Brian
and wife Karen Van Wagnen bought it in
March 2004.
Van Wagnen first flew the airplane
decades earlier, however, in 1970, at age 18,
and he helped maintain and upgrade it long
before buying it. The couple converted
their airplane to a Super Widgeon with
Lycoming GO-480 engines and increased
its gross weight to 5,500 pounds.
" Every piece of gray metal is new, "
Van Wagnen said. " The engines are fuel
injected and came from Helio Couriers.
The props are from a Twin Bonanza. "
Both Van Wagnens are airframe and
powerplant mechanics, and Brian also is an
FAA designated engineering representative,
54
AOPA PILOT / December 2021
so they do most of their own specialized
Widgeon work. They've increased its fuel
capacity to 200 gallons, and it now can carry
avgas in the wing floats.
Their next planned upgrade is modernizing
the instrument panel, a step that
will include adding an autopilot.
" I like taking this airplane on long
trips, " he said. " And when I do that, I want
to be at high altitude listening to music-
not down low dodging windmills. "
Van Wagnen is a veteran flight instructor
and teaches in Grumman seabirds,
including the majestic Albatross. The
Widgeon is a favorite, he said, because of
its history; its light, responsive handling
qualities; and its demanding nature-especially
on the water.
Add full power to both engines at the
same time during a water takeoff and the
nose moves left, regardless of rudder position.
Touch down too fast and the Widgeon
will skip; too flat and the nose will dig in; too
slow and it will porpoise, beginning a series
of divergent oscillations that can damage or
Like other Grumman seabirds, the
Widgeon's main wheels retract inward
against the fuselage/hull, and they stay
just above the waterline. Pilots use the
mirrors placed on the wing-mounted
floats to confirm the landing gear
position prior to runway or water
landings-a critical detail to get right.
(stall, landing configuration) / W 54 kt;
G 59 kt
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2021

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