The Grumman G-65 Tadpole was an American prototype light amphibian designed and built by Grumman.[1] Only one was built and it did not enter production. It was later developed into a family of amphibious aircraft by David Thurston.[1]
Design and development
Part of a project by Grumman to find types to produce once World War II had ended, the G-65 Tadpole was designed by a team under the direction of Hank Kurt.[1] The Tadpole was a two or three-seat shoulder-wing cantilever monoplane with retractable tricycle landing gear.[1] It was powered by a 125 hp (93 kW) Continental C125 engine above the rear fuselage driving a pusher propeller.[1] Kurt first flew the Tadpole on 7 December 1944.[1] The G-65 Tadpole postwar was not put into production for numerous reasons, those to include; the over anticipation of a private aviation market, less costly military surplus aircraft, and the inability to compete in the amphibious aircraft market.[2] Although not developed by Grumman, one of the design team, David Thurston, later developed the design into a family of amphibians including the Colonial Skimmer and Lake Buccaneer.[1]
