Another earth-bound Albatross (of the Grumman kind)

[XL446]

Hi all,
just happened to come across the website of the Hiller Aviation Museum's 'Seaplane Adventure' event, where they proudly announce their new centrepiece, viz. Reid Dennis's HU-16 N44RD.
Good for them, but as you can see on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElBKFpzBQ_c, probably another museum exhibit that will be practically impossible to photograph.
And to think that 10-15 years ago, you could hardly set foot on a US airport or you would see an airworthy Albatross (IIRC I photographed about 30 of them in the space of 5-6 years without even trying).
Note to self: be ever more grateful for any multi-engined piston prop you see fly...
Roger

[C VEICH]

...you could hardly set foot on a US airport or you would see an airworthy Albatross (IIRC I photographed about 30 of them in the space of 5-6 years without even trying).

I'm still amazed at how many airports around this area (Phoenix) are home to at least one Albatross if not more. Who would've thunk it here in the Desert! Of course most of them are not flyable but there are a couple nicely maintained ones to be found.

[PbyCat-Guy]

Do any of the albatrosses in the Phoenix area get sold? There is one at Opa Lacka, FL, I have a photo of it, but wondering what is story and future plans?

[Rajay]

I have to ask - in spite of the usual hoopla the question generates - why did they retire what was presumably an otherwise "airworthy" aircraft?
(I know that it was Mr. Dennis' property to do with as he chose, but....!!!)

Was there actually something wrong with it - maybe some recently detected corrosion in the wing spar(s) for example?

Surely, they could have found a less "airworthy" Albatross to put on static display at the musuem and made just a little bit of an effort to find a new owner for N44RD who would have kept flying it....

I'm also curious about the museum's press release regarding the acquisition of N44RD. They said:

"You might say Reid Dennis developed an interest in amphibious aircraft. In the 1970s he acquired and restored a Grumman Mallard, a vintage design intended for use as a small 10-seat airline aircraft able to fly from both runways and open water. In the 1990s he commissioned a restoration of a larger Grumman Albatross, widening its wingspan, updating its cockpit and installing a new interior ideally suited for long distance adventures. It was with this aircraft, Albatross N44RD, that Dennis completed the ultimate aviation journey-a flight around the world."

I've never heard of an Albatross being converted to a "long-wing" version by anyone other than the factory - i.e. Grumman.