Meet Grumman G-44 Widgeon
The Widgeon scaled Grumman’s amphibious flying-boat idea down from the Goose. Its high-mounted twin engines kept the propellers above the water, while retractable landing gear let it use runways as well as sheltered waterways.
Military Widgeons served under designations including J4F and Gosling. The postwar G-44A revised the hull. Many surviving examples have different engines or propellers from their original Ranger-powered configuration; a Super Widgeon account therefore needs to be read with its conversion in mind.
Grumman G-44 Widgeon
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Grumman G-44 Widgeon
Wikipedia contributors · Grumman G-44 Widgeon background ↗Flysimware · MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024 →Aircraft type designators
Use the code for the model you are flying. The linked authority lists the applicable aircraft.
History & design
A smaller Grumman amphibian
The G-44 first flew in 1940 and entered both American and British wartime service. Civil use continued after the war, alongside production of the revised G-44A. Later engine conversions helped keep the family useful long after original production ended.
Wikipedia contributors · Grumman G-44 Widgeon background ↗Real-aircraft family history
Pilot accounts
Learning that a flying boat is also a boat
Schiff flew Merrill Wien’s Widgeon and received a water checkout at Lake Whatcom. He was struck by its substantial construction and by a cockpit whose overhead and rear controls needed deliberate familiarisation. On land the aircraft seemed a well-mannered taildragger; on water it demanded a different set of skills, including managing direction through unequal engine thrust.
The account’s most vivid contrast is between pleasant airborne handling and the precision needed on the water. Schiff describes learning to control the Widgeon’s tendency to porpoise and watching Wien manage it with practised ease. The tested aircraft’s constant-speed, feathering propellers are an important qualification: its behaviour cannot be assumed to represent every original fixed-pitch Widgeon.
Real G-44 with modified propellers; water checkout with Merrill Wien. AOPA Pilot, March 2000.
Read the full account · AOPA ↗A Super Widgeon kept flying through generations
Van Wagnen’s Widgeon had already lived through commercial service, damage and rebuilding before he and his wife bought it. He had first flown it much earlier and had helped maintain it before becoming its owner. Their work turned it into a Super Widgeon with more powerful Lycoming engines, additional fuel capacity and plans for a modernised panel.
In Hirschman’s account of a friendly comparison with a Piaggio Gull, Van Wagnen values the Grumman’s light, responsive handling and the possibility of long trips. He is equally clear about its demanding water behaviour. Training and familiarity are central to his affection for it. This is a highly modified survivor, with a personal history and configuration that distinguish it from a stock Ranger-powered aircraft.
Owner/instructor’s converted Super Widgeon; AOPA Pilot, December 2021. Reported interview, not a stock G-44A flight test.
Read the full account · AOPA ↗Surprisingly light controls and an airpark welcome
Rankin’s hour in Chester Lawson’s Widgeon was part of his project to experience a different aircraft each week. He found it unexpectedly responsive, with light control inputs producing a clear reaction rather than the soft response he associated with some other aircraft. He also recognised that this sensitivity could invite overcorrection from someone unfamiliar with it.
The visit introduced him to life at Spruce Creek as well as to the aircraft. He had expected to drive from Lawson’s home to an airport, only to discover a neighbourhood where hangars and taxiways formed part of everyday life. His account combines a brief handling impression with the social world around seaplane flying; it does not identify a stock engine or propeller configuration.
One-hour real Widgeon flight with instructor Chester Lawson, reported by SRQ on 23 February 2017.
Read the full account · SRQ Magazine ↗In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024Grumman G-44A Widgeon
Flysimware · Released
Grumman G-44A Widgeon
Flysimware · Released
Aircraft specifications
Published figures for the named real-aircraft variant. Simulator equipment and performance can differ.
| Specification | Published value |
|---|---|
| Wingspan | 40 ft Original G-44; not a Super Widgeon conversion |
| Length | 31 ft 1 in Original G-44; not a Super Widgeon conversion |
| Original engines | 2 × Ranger L-440-5 Original G-44; not a Super Widgeon conversion |
| Rated power | 200 hp per engine Original G-44; not a Super Widgeon conversion |
Manuals & resources
Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Manual
Grumman G-44A Widgeon MSFS 2020 manual v1.2 (ZIP)Flysimware · Official v1.2 manual, pages 6–8; checked 13 September 2026. Describes the MSFS 2020 product.Aircraft background
Grumman G-44 Widgeon backgroundWikipedia contributors · Family background; article retrieved 13 September 2026Product page
Grumman G-44A WidgeonFlysimware · Official product page; checked 13 September 2026Type designator
ICAO Doc 8643 — aircraft type designatorsInternational Civil Aviation Organization · Public search data retrieved 2026-09-14; authority update 2026-09-03Discuss this aircraft (0)
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