Four 17.5-gallon fuel tanks, one in each wing, provide a total of 70 gallons capacity for a range of 1,200 miles--phenomenal for a plane of this size. Scott's Glass Goose has actually flown from Dallas to Oshkosh non-stop--a flight of slightly more than 1,000 miles. Fuel tank selection is handled by three electrically-activated fuel-selector valves. The switches are on the instrument panel directly in front the pilot and passenger. Indicator lights and the position of the switches show exactly which tank is selected. The instrument panel has plenty of room to handle full IFR and the plane is easily equipped for night operation. Visibility from the cockpit is fabulous.

The Glass Goose kit is supplied as follows: A boat section (forward fuselage) with the two pre-moulded halves of the fuselage are already joined at the factory. The empennage is in two pre-moulded halves. The wings come as top and bottom pre-moulded skins, 27 feet long. The spars, ribs and leading edges are pre-moulded, and the builder only has to do the trimming and cut out the spars and ribs prior to assembly. The pylons, vertical fin, engine cowling, spray rails, scuppers and all the bulkheads for the fuselage also come pre-moulded. The flaperons are available pre-assembled. The horizontal stabilizer, elevator and rudder are made using the hot-wire method and the templates furnished in the instructions. The wheels, fires, brakes, lines, cables, pulleys, bolts, nuts, washers, cotter keys, weldments, cylinders, hydraulic pump, epoxy, fibreglass, tubing, etc., are all furnished in the kit--almost everything to build the structure of the plane itself, less the engine, instruments, paint or related items. For the most part, the builder trims and fits parts to their mates, then joins them with strips of fibreglass tape and epoxy. The company trains the builder in the processes at the time of purchase.

Quikkit applies a material called Peel-Ply to all possible surfaces. When the builder removes the Peel-Ply, the surface is clean and bondable, thus eliminating the need for preparatory sanding and the associated work and resulting dust. Peel-Ply is just one of the many refinements utilized by Quikkit to greatly reduce the build time for the builder. Another is the incorporation of extensive "joggling" that also greatly reduces the amount of finish work during the completion of the aircraft. Remembering that the original wouldn't take off from the water, Scott's Glass Goose has solved all these problems. I asked him to describe in detail the technique he uses for water takeoffs. He said that the Glass Goose is a delight on the water. For a relatively small seaplane, it can handle waves much rougher than most--a 10- to 12-inch chop won't even phase the Glass Goose--and it has been known to handle much worse. From idle power, as the pilot applies the throttle, the nose of the Glass Goose rises immediately as the hull begins to climb the water in front of the plane to get on step. It seems as if the plane is rolling up onto and over a log as the hull crests the bow wave and rolls over onto the step.

This usually takes two to five seconds, depending on the loading and the water conditions. As the hull reaches the level position on top of the water, the full force of the 160-hp Lycoming is felt, and the pilot and passenger are pressed back in their seats from the acceleration. With the stick in the neutral position, the pilot hardly has time to enjoy the takeoff run before the plane is lifting off the water. When landing the Glass Goose on water, the pilot sets up with full flaps and makes his approach. Once in the very strong ground effect afforded by the large bottom surface of the plane, the speed is reduced to very nearly stall and the tail contacts the water first. The hull settles onto the water, the throttle is reduced to idle, and the flaps are retracted as the plane rapidly loses speed and settles into the water. The spray rails do a good job of deflecting the bow spray away from the cockpit. Yes, Scott stuck with a project long after so many people thought it was a lost cause, and turned what was an ugly-flying duckling into what is now the Glass Goose--a beautiful, high-flying swan.