Warbird Information Exchange

Thanks Dave !, well, let's just say " North American " Home again !

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WWI & WWII Warbird Fan.

Seen at Eugene on Tuesday, July 2. The airplane was reportedly hopping rides out of the FBO (Atlantic) and landing on a reservoir west of the airport.

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Scott Thompson
Aero Vintage Books
http://www.aerovintage.com
WIX Subscriber Since July 2017

I just rode on this plane yesterday. I've been on a couple three warbirds, and this ranks up there, 1 or 2. It was awesome! Did water landings and a water touch and go. An extremely nice family owns the plane and treated me like family! They are looking to put it back to a wartime configuration involving putting the correct front on it. I'm sure theres a couple three folks here that could give them a lead or two on parts and drawing sources. They are planning for it to be a non-profit org. If you get a chance for a ride, take it!

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DEEP THOUGHTS BY KIDS:
"If we could just get everyone to close their eyes and visualize world peace for an hour, imagine how serene and quiet it would be until the looting started. Age 15 "


Deep Thoughts,
Jack Handy

I want a ride....

Phil

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A man's got to know his limitations.

What's a correct front in this case? I understand that most countries have restrictions on taking paying passengers on Catalinas with at least some turret designs.

Photos from my flight in NZ ZK-PBY below. I didn't get a water landing, but they offer them during the Warbirds Over Wanaka shows, and sometimes from Lake Taupo.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/errolgc/a ... 3329687243

Port and Bridge by Errol Cavit, on Flickr

Plenty of maintenance to do by Errol Cavit, on Flickr

I'm a bit surprised they did water landings during paid rides.
I would have thought their insurance company wouldn't be happy about that.

I'd like to do that. I've done water landing in a Goose and Turbo Otter, quite an experience....especially the Goose because you're in the water as opposed to a float plane.

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Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.
Note political free signature.
I figure if you wanted my opinion on items unrelated to this forum, you'd ask for it.

The "correct" front is really dependant on who the owner is!

Today it generally means a nose turret. There are three different bow configurations for the PBY, although it seems each one is a custom build of sorts. ALL PBY's from the dash one to the four and even the civil ones like Guba had a turret. The turret is a great place to put a bowman to handle lines and peer down into the water preventing a grounding! Non turret noses all stem from the PBY-4 that was converted to XPBY-5A configuration in San Diego and then to the "Sea Mare" a passenger carrying transport for the USN. This design study created what is called the "clipper" bow and this is good for an additional thousand pounds gross weight for water operations. A huge deal for tanker operators and bush aircraft operators. All Landseaair Consolidated 28-5ACF conversions had this bow.

The Clipper bow is seen on the Catalina in Eugene, the Bird Innovator and others. Its a bigger and prettier extension to the nose. All of this is skin change above the hull section and forward of the cockpit. The hull is NEVER touched.

The "other" bow is simply a covered over turret area that is a bit truncated. The PBY in Greece, Collings 2459 and some of the airtankers had it. Its technically not able to be cleared for the 1000 pound bump, but few know how or what the "clipper" bow actually looks like. These mods vary but are generally similar. The ill fated 2886D had a real short one, others are a bit different.

Turret bow aircraft were "outlawed" by the application of the 28-5ACF type certificate, although some planes like maybe N19Q I believe had an STC to get around it. The TSC also modifies the rudder, and there are very few original configuration rudders on PBY-5's flying today. I think 96UC has one but I havent flown that one!

the photo below is Bu 1245, and shows a correct USN San Diego Consolidated built "Clipper Bow". I would say if you have one that looks like this....it is correct too!

You're right Joe, Turret

As far as insurance, they have other airplanes, so I figure they know what they're doing. Besides, not sure of what category this plane flies in, but weren't some of these standard?

After all of these years I have made an evil fb page to participate in card trading, another hobby of mine. I put a couple of pictures there.

https://www.facebook.com/elliot.templeton.927

If you guys know any PBY gurus out there, or parts sources, I'll let my friend know.

_________________
DEEP THOUGHTS BY KIDS:
"If we could just get everyone to close their eyes and visualize world peace for an hour, imagine how serene and quiet it would be until the looting started. Age 15 "


Deep Thoughts,
Jack Handy

Ref Joe's message two back from here, he sure knows his Catalinas but a couple of points.

The first so-called 'clipper bow' was in fact on the Model 28-4 c/n C-4 NX/C18997 Transatlantic which was built new by Consolidated at San Diego in 1939 for American Export Airlines. It was the only Model 28/'Catalina'/PBY etc to be built without a turret from the outset and was a Consolidated design

Regarding the PBY-4 BuNo 1245 that was modified at the construction phase to be the prototype amphibian XPBY-5A, as Joe's photo above shows it was later modified to a transport sans bow turret and, probably unofficially, known as a PBY-5R and, as Joe states, named Sea Mare. However, my understanding is that this work was not carried out by Consolidated as Joe says but by the US Navy at Coco Solo's A&R (Assembly & Repair Unit). There was a second wartime transport conversion minus bow turret - this was PBY-3 BuNo 0885 that featured a PBY-5-style rudder. This was also converted at Coco Solo and was named Coco Solo's Sea Horse. Both of these aircraft started life with bow turrets. I do not know if Consolidated had any input into these two conversions but my interpretation is that they were US Navy 'field mods'.

On rudder shapes still extant and flying, our UK-based Catalina G-PBYA (originally a Canso A) retains the original '-5' shape. As an aside, she has had two entirely different 'clipper bow' shapes in her civilian history.

Also, probably a typo, but the luxury civil conversions by Southern California Aircraft Corp were called the Landseaire, not Landseaair.

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David Legg
Editor, The Catalina News
The Catalina Society
Author: Consolidated PBY Catalina - The Peacetime Record

David
Did you receive my recent PM...A link to a magazine story on a civil Catalina?

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Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.
Note political free signature.
I figure if you wanted my opinion on items unrelated to this forum, you'd ask for it.

PM just sent - many thanks John.

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David Legg
Editor, The Catalina News
The Catalina Society
Author: Consolidated PBY Catalina - The Peacetime Record

That can't be right? you mean FL036? I thought the ceiling was around 15,000?

These things are just amazing, if there was ONE warbird I'd want to do cross country flying in, it'd be a Catalina! Not just the flying, but being able to lounge around bobbing up and down in the water waiting for orders - sigh. I know they were flying targets in the air, but I'm still jealous of the WWII Catalina crews. Tons of space, lots of visibility, and the utility of the planes was just amazing.

Finally got to walk around the MAM's when we were at Oceana together the other week and wow.. exactly what I thought. The cushions at the rear blisters seem pretty comfortable. I could imagine laying there with my arm hanging out and my hand in the water.

The PBY is the best plane to fly in so many ways, and is historically so so important.

Keep chasing the PBY in your dreams and it has a habit of coming true in life later on!