(Grumman) HU-16 Albatross @·AIRCRAFTUBE

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Grumman HU-16 Albatross

The HU-16 Albatross was a large twin-radial engine amphibious flying boat that first flew in 1947. Originally designated SA-16, it was renamed HU-16 in 1962 and a total of 466 machines were built.

The Albatross was designed to be able to land at sea in open ocean situations in order to effect the rescue of downed pilots. Its deep-V cross-section and substantial length helped make it possible for it to land in wavy conditions.

Engines

Power comes from two nine cylinder two-speed supercharged Wright R-1820-76 radial engines of 1450 horsepower each. Versions of the same engine are used on the T-28 and the B-17. Each engine drives a three-bladed constant speed propeller. Unlike most constant speed propellers, these propellers are electrically controlled and hydraulically actuated independent of engine oil. The governor RPM is set by toggle switches, and the governor and prop hydraulic pump are driven by the engine. A prop oil cooler is integrated into the hub dome. The propeller uses a lighter weight oil than the engine. This system allows immediate control of the propellers on engine start without waiting for the engine oil to warm up. On the water at low speeds, the air rudder is not effective, and no water rudder is installed. The primary means of directional control is differential power. At idle power settings, control is best accomplished by moving one prop in and out of reverse. No beta range was available on these propellers. When the engine is running, the propeller is thrusting one way or the other, so immediate control is necessary.

Primary fuel is carried in main wing tanks. Additional fuel can be carried in the tip floats. However, water operations are prohibited with more than 100 gallons of fuel in each tip floats. Otherwise the tip floats wouldn't. Runway landings are also prohibited with more than a 100 gallon difference in fuel load between the tip floats. This aircraft is equipped with wing racks capable of carrying bombs or drop tanks. With main, tip, and drop tanks, this aircraft can carry a total of 10,200 pounds (1700 gallons) of fuel, for a reported range of 3000 miles. This aircraft has flown non-stop from Nome AK to Japan in 16.5 hours.

Landing Gear/Hull

Landing gear was installed for land operations. The main gear retracted into the side of the fuselage, and the main gear strut folded into the side of the fuselage and underside of the wing. During water operations, the main gear well is flooded with approximately 1000 pounds of water. During the takeoff run, the acceleration forces this water through a hole in the rear bulkhead, through a tube which exits near the center of the hull in the low pressure area immediately behind the step. A smaller hole near the bottom of the bulkhead lets out the remaining water.

The nose gear lowers through doors in the center of the forward part of the hull. Damage to these doors can occur if the aircraft if landed on the water in a too nose-low attitude. True to Navy tradition, the nose gear has two wheels. I suspect this was more to save space in the lower fuselage by using smaller wheels than for straddling a catapult track. The nose gear is free castering with no nose wheel steering provided. Directional control during land taxi is provided by differential thrust, augmented by differential brakes. A less than desirable note about the brake system was that every application of the brakes required pumping the pedals several times. This increased the difficulty of taxiing. The requirement to pump the brakes was verified by the owner as "normal" for this aircraft.

The nose gear compartment is sealed from the hull, and is partially flooded during water operations. A small window in the top of the compartment is visible from the flight deck, giving a quick check if the nose gear is up or down (doors open or closed), at least for daytime operations.

Tip floats are provided for lateral stability in water operations. The underside of the fuselage is assembled with round head rivets, while the remainder of the aircraft is flush riveted. The Albatross was originally designed and built with flush rivets on the underside. After an operational accident, a large hole in the underside of an Albatross was repaired in the field, but the mechanic only had round headed rivets available. Much to their surprise, the water takeoff performance improved, getting off the water 5 to 10 knots sooner. Word was sent back to Grumman, who verified this with testing. Therefore, all subsequent Albatrosses were completed with round headed rivets on the hull bottoms. In an odd twist to the story, because the sheets were already dimpled/countersunk, they used a special rivet which was essentially a flat head rivet, but with a round head added on top of it. Countersunk round head rivets-only on the Grumman flying boats...

Flight Control System

The flight control system is fully reversible (cables, pulleys, pushrods), with hydraulic boost available for the rudder. Hydraulic rudder boost is normally only used during takeoff and landing, and is mostly intended to relieve pedal forces during single engine flight. Rudder boost is not required for normal flight.

Electric trim is provided for all axes, driving trim tabs on the elevators, rudder, and left aileron. A fixed tab is provided on the right aileron. Each elevator has a trim tab, and each elevator trim tab is controlled and driven independently, providing redundancy. Trim is controlled by toggle switches on the panel between the pilots. A coolie hat switch was added to the yoke. Fore and aft movement controls the left elevator tab. Side to side movement controls the rudder trim, not aileron trim. This was judged as more useful during normal operation, allowing easy trimming for p-factor, torque, and single engine flight.

The flaps are electrically controlled and hydraulically operated. The flaps are also hydraulically balanced, a feature unique to Grumman aircraft. In the absence of air loads, lowering the flap lever lowers the flaps, which may come down asymmetrically. However, as soon as air loads are applied, a cross-feed between the actuators will allow the flaps to re-adjust until the loads, and thus position, are symmetric.

Operational history

The lion's share of Albatrosses were used by the U.S. Air Force, primarily by the Air Rescue Service. The USAF utilized the SA-16 extensively in Korea, where it gained a reputation as a rugged and seaworthy craft. Later, the HU-16B (long-wing variant) Albatross was used by the U.S. Air Force's Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service in the Vietnam conflict. The HU-16D Albatross was used for United States Navy Search And Rescue and "skunk runs" on Guam during the Vietnam War at NAS Agana. Goodwill flights were also common to the surrounding Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands in the early 1970s. Open water landing and takeoff training using JATO was conducted frequently at Apra Harbor, Guam. The aircraft was also operated by the United States Coast Guard for many years.

In 1970, Conroy Aircraft marketed a remanufactured HU-16A with Rolls-Royce Dart turboprop engines as the Conroy Turbo Albatross, but only the single prototype (registration N16CA) was ever built.

Variants

  • XJR2R-1 - Prototype designation, two built.
  • HU-16A (originally SA-16A) - USAF version.
  • HU-16A (originally UF-1) - Indonesian version.
  • SHU-16B (originally SA-16A) - USAF version.
  • HU-16C (originally UF-1) - US Navy version.
  • LU-16C (originally UF-1L) - US Navy version.
  • TU-16C (originally UF-1T) - US Navy .version.
  • HU-16D (originally UF-1) - US Navy version.
  • HU-16D (originally UF-2) - German version.
  • HU-16E (originally UF-1G) - US Coast Guard version.
  • HU-16E (originally SA-16A) - USAF version.
  • G-111 (originally SA-16A) - USAF version.
  • CRS-110 - RCAF version.

Operators

Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Republic of China, Colombia, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Philippine Air Force, Portugal, Spain, Thailand (Royal Thai Navy), United States: US Air Force, US Navy, Coast Guards, Venezuela.

Accidents and incidents

  • On 24 January 1952, SA-16A Albatross, 51-001, c/n G-74, of the 580th Air Resupply Squadron (described as a Central Intelligence Agency air unit), on cross-country flight from Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, to San Diego, California, suffered failure of the port engine over Death Valley. The crew of six successfully bailed out at ~18:30 with no injuries, walked south some 14 miles (23 km) to Furnace Creek, California where they were picked up the following day by an SA-16 from the 42nd Air Rescue Squadron, March AFB, California. The abandoned SA-16 crashed into Towne Summit mountain ridge of the Panamint Range west of Stovepipe Wells with the starboard engine still running. The wreckage is still there.
  • On 16 May 1952, a U.S. Navy Grumman Albatross attached to the Iceland Defense Force crashed on Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland. Due to bad weather conditions, rescuers did not make it to the crash site until two and a half days later. One crew member was found dead in the wreckage but the other four were not found despite extensive search. Evidence on scene suggested that they had tried to deploy the emergency radio, but most likely failed due to very poor weather conditions, and then tried to walk down the glacier. In 1964, partial remains of one of the crewmember along with an engraved wedding ring was found at the rim of the glacier. In 20 August 1966 the remains of the three remaining crew members were found at a similar location.
  • On 18 May 1957, U.S. Coast Guard HU-16E Albatross, Coast Guard 1278, stalled and crashed during a JATO demonstration during the Armed Forces Day display at Coast Guard Air Station Salem. The pilot and another crewman were killed. The stall was caused by pilot error.
  • On 22 August 1957, U.S. Coast Guard HU-16E Albatross, Coast Guard 1259, crashed during takeoff at Floyd Bennett Field, killing 4 of the 6 crew on board. The aircraft had just completed an inspection in which the control columns were removed and inspected for fatigue cracks. Although not proven, it is believed that poor maintenance during the re-installation of the control columns led to the crash.
  • On 3 July 1964, U.S. Coast Guard HU-16E Albatross, Coast Guard 7233, was lost along with all 5 crew members as it returned from a search for a missing fishing boat. Two days later, the wreckage was found on a mountainside, 3 miles (4.8 km) from its base at Air Station Annette, Alaska.
  • On 18 June 1965, on the very first Operation Arc Light mission flown by B-52 Stratofortresses of Strategic Air Command to hit a target in South Vietnam, two aircraft collided in the darkness. Eight crew were killed, but four survivors were located and picked up by an HU-16A-GR Albatross amphibian, AF serial number 51-5287. The Albatross was damaged on take-off by a heavy sea state and those on board had to transfer to a Norwegian freighter and a Navy vessel, the aircraft sinking thereafter.
  • On 9 January 1966, a Republic of China HU-16 carrying three mainland Chinese naval defectors was shot down by communist MiGs over the Straits of Formosa, just hours after they had surrendered their landing ship and asked for asylum. The Albatross was attacked just 15 minutes after departing the island of Matsu on a 135 miles (217 km) flight to Taipei. According to a U.S. Defense Department announcement, the attack was a swift—and perhaps intentional—retribution for the communist sailors who killed seven fellow crew members during their predawn escape to freedom.
  • On 23 April 1966, a Royal Canadian Air Force Grumman CSR-110 Albatross (9302) serving with No. 121 Composite Unit (KU) at RCAF Station Comox, BC crashed on the Hope Slide near Hope, BC. It was the only RCAF Albatross loss. Five of the six crew members died (Squadron Leader J. Braiden, Flying Officer Christopher J. Cormier, Leading Aircraftsman Robert L. McNaughton, Flight Lieutenant Phillip L. Montgomery, and Flight Lieutenant Peter Semak). Flying Officer Bob Reid was the sole survivor. A portion of the wreckage is still visible and can be hiked to.
  • On 5 March 1967, U.S. Coast Guard HU-16E Albatross, Coast Guard 1240, c/n G-61, out of Coast Guard Air Station St. Petersburg, Florida, deployed to drop a dewatering pump to a sinking 40-foot (12 m) yacht, "Flying Fish", in the Gulf of Mexico off of Carrabelle, Florida. Shortly after making a low pass behind the sinking vessel to drop the pump, the flying boat crashed a short distance away, with loss of all six crew. The vessel's crew heard a loud crash but could see nothing owing to fog. The submerged wreck was not identified until 2006.
  • On 15 June 1967, U.S. Coast Guard HU-16E Albatross, Coast Guard 7237, was based at Coast Guard Air Station Annette Island, in Alaska. The crew were searching near Sloko Lake, British Columbia, Canada for a missing light plane. The pilot began following the river up to Sloko Lake, intending to turn around at the lake and fly back out of the valley. The co-pilot called for a right turn, but for some reason, the plane went left. According to reports, the co-pilot shouted, “Come right! Come right!” The plane hit the mountain, and burst into flames. The three observers in the back were able to get clear of the wreckage, and reported seeing an intense fire engulf the front half of the aircraft. Pilot Lt. Robert Brown, co-pilot Lt. David Bain and radio operator AT2 Robert Striff, Jr., however, were killed. The wreckage can still be seen on the side of the mountain in Atlin Provincial Park.
  • On 7 August 1967, U.S. Coast Guard HU-16E Albatross, Coast Guard 2128, c/n G-355, (ex-USAF SA-16A, 52-128), out of CGAS San Francisco, returning from a search mission for an overdue private cabin cruiser Misty (which had run out of fuel) in the Pacific Ocean off of San Luis Obispo, struck a slope of Mount Mars near the Monterey-San Luis Obispo County line, about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) east of Highway 1. The airframe broke in two, killing two crew immediately and injuring four others, with one dying in the hospital several days later.
  • On 21 September 1973, U.S. Coast Guard HU-16E Albatross, Coast Guard 2123, was lost over the Gulf of Mexico. The crew were dropping flares over a search area when one flare ignited inside the aircraft, incapacitating the pilots which lead the aircraft to enter an uncontrollable spin. All 7 on board were killed.
  • On 5 November 2009, Albatross N120FB of Albatross Adventures crashed shortly after take-off from St. Lucie County International Airport, Fort Pierce, Florida. An engine failed shortly after take-off; the aircraft was damaged beyond economic repair.

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    Specifications (G64)

    • Crew : two, pilot and co-pilot.
    • Capacity : up to 30 passengers.
    • Length : 62 ft 10 in (or 19.16 m).
    • Height : 25 ft 10 in (or 7.8m).
    • Wingspan : 80 ft (or 24.4 m).
    • Wing area : 883 ft² (or 82 m²).
    • Empty weight : 20,000 lb.
    • Max. takeoff weight : 33,000 lb.
    • Fuel Capacity : 1,075 gal plus 2-300 US gal drop tanks (4,000 L plus 1,100 L drop tanks).
    • Max. speed : 205 knots (or 236 mph, or 380 km/h).
    • Cruise speed : 130 knots (or 150 mph, or 241 km/h).
    • Range : 2,477 nm (or 2,850 mi, or 4,587 km).
    • Service ceiling 21,500 ft (or 6,550 m).
    • Powerplant : Two Wright R-1820-76 Cyclone 9 radial engines.
    • Power : 1,425 hp (or 1,063 kW) each.
    • Auxiliary : Two or four 15KS1000 rockets giving 1,000 lbf each.
    • Additional lift utilizing two or four RATO 15KS1000 units with 15 seconds of solid propellant.

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    Grumman HU-16 Albatross : Your comments on this subject
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