I DIDN'T KNOW TOM Scott, but ever since I met him, I felt as if we were friends. I'd been assigned to cover this story because I've had a great deal of experience in interviewing interesting people with compelling stories to tell, and I was certainly interested in hearing what he had to say. From my home in Amherst, New York, I called Scott at  his place of business in Dallas, Texas,
Why the name change? If the plane you planned to produce had earned as poor a reputation as that of the original Seahawk, you'd have changed its name, too. Scott might have been thinking that everybody was familiar with the name Spruce Goose, and because the plane was of composite material (mainly fiberglass) why not the Glass Goose? Scott owned an FBO at Lakeview		 The sponsons on the fuselage aid in taking off and the scuppers on the engine pylon underneath the top wing direct the air to avoid the turbulence which was causing problems.
 

The Golden Goose
     In 1984, Scott's desire for an inexpensive, all-around, high-performance homebuilt amphibian led him to discover a kit, called the Seahawk, being offered at that time. The claims by the company made the Seahawk sound like the perfect plane for him, so he ordered a kit and went to work. He completed the building process in 1 1/2 years and first flew it in 1986. He immediately realized that the Seahawk had a number of aerodynamic problems and seemed to be severely under-designed in several areas. Oh, and another thing--the Seahawk just wouldn't get off the water! Not a great quality in a seaplane. The company from which Scott had bought his Seahawk kit had been sold to new owners, and then to new owners once again after that. There seemed to be no help coming from that direction, so he began what was to become an extended--and very expensive--task of thoroughly examining the design of the Seahawk, then going on to remedy each and every defect. That called for a complete redesign and remodification of the aircraft. As the Seahawk kits began to get in the air, there began a series of

The landing gear has double wheels to provide a wider footprint when taxing on/in soft sand.
and spoke with him a number of times. I'm still amazed that Scott, who crashed his airplane, still believed it was basically a good design and he was willing to work on it as long as it took to prove that. The plane we talked about was Scott's redesigned and reengineered Seahawk he renamed the Glass Goose. Airport (30F)on the north side of Dallas where he had a small flight school. He is also an FAA A&P (Airframe & Powerplant) mechanic. Besides this experience, he has the ability to diagnose problems, then work hard to figure out how to solve them. In this case, the problems were enormous.
CUSTOM PLANES - MAY 2000
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