"191 Goliath ball, fourteen-oh"
Landing on a carrier, or practicing at the field to do so, one always calls his side number, type aircraft, and fuel on board. Not too many get the opportunity to fly their own aircraft into a military base, especially not the home of the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center (NSAWC). NSAWC owns TOPGUN, Strike, and the Weapons Schools for the Hawkeye, Seahawk, P-3 Orion, EP-3, Hornets, and soon the EA-6B/EF-18G (the EA-6B was my ride for almost 20 years). It is the premier bombing range for the Navy and includes a wide range of targets, from terrorist caves to tanks to a complete airfield and urban target sets. Virtually all the flying there is VFR, which is a real kick in the pants!One note: We are not turning 2900 RPM on final. The Tiny Tach is doubling the actual RPM. I would not recommend this tach. It works, but at double the true reading. When it dies it will be replaced.
I retired from the Navy after just under a quarter century of military service in June of 2008. Instead of a retirement ceremony I requested to fly onto the base and leave the Navy in my own aircraft. The Skipper of the base was very gracious and granted the request. My last two official flights in the service were in Goliath and my military logbooks confirm N191PZ was the last aircraft I logged official time in.
I taxied between rows of Hornets and Vipers to park in our designated spot. NSAWC just received its first Hawkeye 2000, which is in the background. The six-bladed props make the Hawkeye sound like a P-51 coming into the break. I had the chance to fly an earlier version back when I was an Ensign. It was an incredible piece of equipment then; it is even more amazing now. Three guys in a Hawkeye can accomplish what it takes 20 people in an AWACS to do... amazing...
It took eight years of building off and on between deployments with the Navy, but Goliath was finally completed in November of 2007. My original intent was to have a white plane, but an exchange USAF LtCol changed my mind (thanx Gooch!). In his view a plane should have character, and Goliath has that.1PZ is painted in latex paint. This is a great paint to work in, if anyone is interested.
Though none of them appear in these photos, I flew the F/A-18 at NSAWC as well as the Viper. Given the choice, I would take the F/A-18. It is a better fighter with a better maneuvering envelope and a much better cockpit. Of course, we were flying Block 15 Vipers, and the cockpit of the newer birds is well thought out. All that said, flying the F-16 with its lack of a canopy bow makes one feel like they are flying outside the plane. The view is indescribable. Military aircraft I logged time in included the SH-3 Sea King, HH-60 Seahawk, T-34C Turbo Mentor, T-2C Buckeye, T-47 Citation, T/A-4J Skyhawk, EP-3 AIRES II, UH-1N Huey, E-2C Hawkeye, EA-6B Prowler, F/A-18B/D, F-16B Viper, B-52H BUFF, B-1B Bone, RC-135 Rivet Joint, E-3C AWACS, and the SA-300 Puma (French helo, Pakistani Air Force). I also logged time in the simulators of the F-14A+ Tomcat, E/F-18G Growler (what a stupid name), and the B-2 Spirit. Yes I have time in C-2 CODS and helicopters as a passenger, but would rather forget much of that.
Goliath's heart is a 2700 Corvair motor. The engine has many parts from William Wynne. The motor was built by Bill Clapp. I am exceedingly happy with it. As of this writing (AUG 09) it has 235 hours on it. We have flown cross country's from:- Fallon, Nevada (KFLX) to San Diego (KSEE) and RTB (07)- Fallon to Burlington (KBVS), Washington (08)- Burlington to Nashville, Tennessee (M88) and RTB (08)- Burlington to San Diego (KMYF) and RTB (09) Since these photos were taken I have added MLG wheel pants. Top speed right now is 160 MPH at 2,500MSL on 96 octane fuel and muffled exhaust. This goes up to ~162 MPH on 100LL and open exhaust. As far as the rest of Goliath, she started as a KR-2S until I started building. The engine mount is pushed 15/16-inch farther forward to accommodate all the accessories behind the engine. The prop is a Prince Aircraft Company 52x56 P-tip.For those who are already flying, I can tell you after almost 3,000 hours flying for the Navy that I have more fun flying my own plane today than I did flying the "cool" rides the past four years. For those of you who are still building hang in there... IT IS WORTH IT!For those of you thinking about building, do not wait. Every week there are planes in trade a plane for sale by guys who lost their medicals, or widows trying to sell a project that was never completed. Do not save your life for later thinking there is going to be a later. Get started as soon as you can, because only God knows what tomorrow holds for you and I.I will add more photos of Goliath when there is more time. There are a few videos to add as well, down the road. If anyone would like to e-mail me, I am at zipperts@yahoo.com.IHS,David "Zipper" GoodmanLCDR USN (ret) |
