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A few places to begin, from the aircraft’s story to the people who fly it.
Meet the aircraft
Grumman conceived the Goose as transport for businessmen around Long Island. A boat hull, retractable landing gear and two engines mounted high on the wing allowed travel between water and conventional airfields. Military service followed during the Second World War.
Aircraft background
Wikipedia contributors · Read more ↗The big boat becomes a responsive aircraft over the lakes
The Goose looked like a large boat in the hangar, so Scott was pleasantly surprised when Addison Pemberton handed him the controls after takeoff. It responded readily, with a clear view around the nose and wings. A wing-rock to acknowledge a nearby floatplane took little effort, adding a friendly exchange to an evening above the lakes. Pemberton resumed control for the water work.
AOPA · June 2018. Evening flight in the Pemberton family’s restored JRF-6B; Addison Pemberton made the takeoff and water landings, with Scott handling the aircraft in the air.
AOPA · Read more ↗The radio has a separate switch from the EFB display
The captain’s EFB phone controls radio interaction. Its display switch is separate from the Radio On/Off switch, so hiding the phone can leave the radios operating.
G-21A Goose · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read more ↗Into the cockpit
YouTube Loran · 8 min ·
Pacific Coastal Grumman G-21A Goose - Flight from and to Port Hardy (YZT) with Water Landing, Canada
A Pacific Coastal Goose flight from Port Hardy, including a water landing.
Real aircraft · Grumman G-21A Goose
Watch on YouTube ↗Preview images are served by AirframeDB. Videos open on YouTube only when you choose to watch.
Meet Grumman G-21A Goose
Grumman conceived the Goose as transport for businessmen around Long Island. A boat hull, retractable landing gear and two engines mounted high on the wing allowed travel between water and conventional airfields. Military service followed during the Second World War.
The G-21 is smaller than Grumman's Albatross, with a different cabin and service history. Civilian survivors and military JRF versions can carry different equipment.
Grumman G-21A Goose
Aircraft type designators
Use the code for the model you are flying. The linked authority lists the applicable aircraft.
History & design
A restoration gives the whole family a role
The Pemberton restoration divided work among family and volunteers: Ryan rebuilt metal structure, Wendy covered control surfaces and Jay contributed between airline trips. Scott reports roughly 9,000 hours of combined work before the Goose returned to flying.
AOPA · Grumman JRF-6B Goose: Goosed ↗Reported restoration effort; not a current maintenance assessment
Development milestones
First flight: 29 May 1937
Wikipedia contributors · Grumman G-21 Goose ↗Grumman G-21 Goose · family/variant named by the source · Wikipedia revision 1371463906
Pilot accounts
The big boat becomes a responsive aircraft over the lakes
The Goose looked like a large boat in the hangar, so Scott was pleasantly surprised when Addison Pemberton handed him the controls after takeoff. It responded readily, with a clear view around the nose and wings. A wing-rock to acknowledge a nearby floatplane took little effort, adding a friendly exchange to an evening above the lakes.
Pemberton resumed control for the water work. Scott experienced the hull settling onto the lake, followed by a much busier departure through spray that covered the windscreen. Returning to Spokane as the sun went down brought the trip back to its starting point.
AOPA · June 2018. Evening flight in the Pemberton family’s restored JRF-6B; Addison Pemberton made the takeoff and water landings, with Scott handling the aircraft in the air.
Read the full account · AOPA ↗Mail flights become the foundation for teaching others
Mees first used the Goose as a working aircraft, carrying passengers and mail to remote strips and sheltered coastal destinations. He described satisfaction in that work and the experience it gave him, rather than recalling it simply as recreational flying. Moving into airline work in 2001 eventually changed the place the amphibian occupied in his life.
A friendship with John Pletcher, who had restored a Goose, later brought an opportunity to help fly and demonstrate the aircraft. Mees developed a training course and began welcoming visiting pilots to Lake Hood.
Interview by Derek Roberts · May 2019. Mees recalls commercial Goose flying in the Aleutians during the 1990s and later instruction from Lake Hood.
Read the full account · General Aviation News ↗Learning with a father-in-law, then carrying on the journeys
Valadez’s introduction to the Goose came through Chuck Greenhill, who would become his father-in-law. On an early trip from Kenosha to Fox Lake, Greenhill made the takeoff before they exchanged seats on the water and began instruction. Valadez remembered that first introduction as the beginning of a lasting interest in flying the amphibian.
After Greenhill’s death, Valadez and his wife Tammy took responsibility for the aircraft. Trips between Wisconsin and Florida continued a pattern of adventures he associated with Chuck. Maintaining it and sharing it with others became part of carrying that relationship forward.
Interview reported by Jay Selman · January 2026. G-21A N42GL; Valadez and Tammy Greenhill took possession in August 2022 after her father Chuck Greenhill’s death.
Read the full account · AvBrief ↗In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
Compare simulator versions →MSFS 2024G-21A Goose
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
G-21A Goose
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
MSFS 2020G-21A Goose
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
G-21A Goose
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
Aircraft specifications
Published figures for the named real-aircraft variant. Simulator equipment and performance can differ.
| Specification | Published value |
|---|---|
| Length | 38 ft 6 in (11.73 m) |
| Wingspan | 49 ft 0 in (14.94 m) |
| Height | 16 ft 2 in (4.93 m) |
| Wing area | 375 sq ft (34.8 m² ) |
| Empty weight | 5,425 lb (2,461 kg) |
| Gross weight | 8,000 lb (3,629 kg) |
| Powerplant | 2 × Pratt & Whitney R-985-AN-6 Wasp Junior 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines , 450 hp (340 kW) each |
| Maximum speed | 201 mph (323 km/h, 175 kn) at 5,000 ft (1,500 m) |
| Cruise speed | 191 mph (307 km/h, 166 kn) at 5,000 ft (1,500 m) |
| Range | 640 mi (1,030 km, 560 nmi) |
| Service ceiling | 21,300 ft (6,500 m) |
| Rate of climb | 1,100 ft/min (5.6 m/s) |
Manuals & resources
Find your next read
Choose a topic for a short introduction and a link to the original source. Simulator references identify the developer and edition they cover.
Simulator documentation
The radio has a separate switch from the EFB displayG-21A Goose · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
The captain’s EFB phone controls radio interaction. Its display switch is separate from the Radio On/Off switch, so hiding the phone can leave the radios operating.
MSFS 2024 Goose manual, PDF page 7
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗Some historical cockpit equipment is inoperativeG-21A Goose · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
The guide identifies old-style navigation and other omitted functions as inoperative. Unanimated controls should be treated as INOP, rather than assumed to have an undocumented function.
MSFS 2024 Goose guide, Important Notes and Substitutions
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗The radio has a separate switch from the EFB displayG-21A Goose · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2020
The captain’s EFB phone controls radio interaction. Its display switch is separate from the Radio On/Off switch, so hiding the phone can leave the radios operating.
MSFS 2020 Goose manual, PDF page 5
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗The checklist interface depends on the simulator editionG-21A Goose · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2020
The top-screen Checklist menu provides the procedures. Its blue-eye icon moves the view to the relevant cockpit control, and items can be marked complete.
MSFS 2020 guide, checklist section; edition-specific interface
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗Some historical cockpit equipment is inoperativeG-21A Goose · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2020
The guide identifies old-style navigation and other omitted functions as inoperative. Unanimated controls should be treated as INOP, rather than assumed to have an undocumented function.
MSFS 2020 Goose guide, Important Notes and Substitutions
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗The checklist interface depends on the simulator editionG-21A Goose · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
The simulator EFB contains the interactive checklists. Select its aircraft icon, then Checklists, as shown in the 2024 guide.
MSFS 2024 guide, checklist section; edition-specific interface
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗Pilot account
The big boat becomes a responsive aircraft over the lakesAOPA · June 2018. Evening flight in the Pemberton family’s restored JRF-6B; Addison Pemberton made the takeoff and water landings, with Scott handling the aircraft in the air.
The Goose looked like a large boat in the hangar, so Scott was pleasantly surprised when Addison Pemberton handed him the controls after takeoff. It responded readily, with a clear view around the nose and wings. A wing-rock to acknowledge a nearby floatplane took little effort, adding a friendly exchange to an evening above the lakes. Pemberton resumed control for the water work.
Ken Scott
AOPA · Read the source ↗Mail flights become the foundation for teaching othersInterview by Derek Roberts · May 2019. Mees recalls commercial Goose flying in the Aleutians during the 1990s and later instruction from Lake Hood.
Mees first used the Goose as a working aircraft, carrying passengers and mail to remote strips and sheltered coastal destinations. He described satisfaction in that work and the experience it gave him, rather than recalling it simply as recreational flying. Moving into airline work in 2001 eventually changed the place the amphibian occupied in his life. A friendship with John Pletcher, who had restored a Goose, later brought an opportunity to help fly and demonstrate the aircraft.
Burke Mees
General Aviation News · Read the source ↗Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Manual
Microsoft Flight Simulator aircraft manualsMicrosoft / aircraft developersAircraft background
Grumman G-21 GooseWikipedia contributors · Research background · Wikipedia revision 1371463906 · retrieved 2026-09-12Resource
MSFS 2024 FAQ and edition aircraft inventoryMicrosoft MSFS 2020 FAQ and edition aircraft inventoryMicrosoftType designator
ICAO Doc 8643 — aircraft type designatorsInternational Civil Aviation Organization · Public search data retrieved 2026-09-14; authority update 2026-09-03Developer documentation
Goose_G21A_FS24_ManualMicrosoft / aircraft developers · Gathered developer documentation Goose_G21A_MSFS_Manual v2Microsoft / aircraft developers · Gathered developer documentationBuilt-in force-feedback profiles
Read the documentary basis, editable starting settings and remaining questions for the aircraft you fly. Each explanation refers to the exact profile revision shown.
Catalogue programme-20261022-v1 · 1 profile choice
Grumman G-21A Goose
Free and Pro · Revision 2 · Partial review
MSFS 2024 · MSFS 2020
Grumman G-21A Goose: The chosen resistance accompanies the amphibious transport’s controls.
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