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Fast Forward: Keepers of the Flame

A lawyer in Alaska wants to rebuild an old Grumman Goose seaplane. A British military expert needs data on Norway's Penguin missile. A historian seeks specifics about the lunar module.

They turn to the History Center at Northrop Grumman in Bethpage. The center holds hundreds of items, from founder Leroy Grumman's pilot's license to early models of classic Grumman aircraft.

Because it is maintained only part time by a handful of retired engineers, it cannot be opened to the public. Still, those volunteers, men passionate about aircraft, work Mondays and Wednesdays to catalog and burnish Grumman's history.

``We answer mail from all over the world,'' says Lawrence Feliu, 73, of Uniondale. ``We don't like to say to the person that we can't answer the question.''

Another group in Bethpage also is keeping Grumman history alive. In a Plant 1 hangar, about 20 volunteers, also retirees, work each Tuesday on old Grumman aircraft. Headed by retired production worker Augie Ripp of Babylon, the group restores planes for the likes of the Smithsonian Institution and Long Island's Cradle of Aviation Museum.