Hellcat's Cousin

While other planemakers raced to produce cheaper planes for a wider market, soft-spoken Leroy Grumman galloped off in the other direction. This week his Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corp. announced its postwar commercial model, the Mallard, an eight-to-ten-passenger amphibian with lush-plush custom-tailored interior. Price: $100,000 & up (depending on the interior arrangement selected).

The plane was built for well-heeled businessmen and corporation executives who want to go anywhere, any time at 180 m.p.h. Other possible buyers: sportsman pilots, newspapers, which have already shown an interest in Mallards with built-in darkrooms, the Navy and Coast Guard, long Grumman's best customers.

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