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Posted: 4/8/2019 9:05:59 PM EST
[#1]
they are very cool... of course the movie Midway made me love them..
/https://public-media.si-cdn.com/filer/cd/2a/cd2afcc1-5fe1-4182-91d4-a652780b659b/05f_am2019_makanna5125pbycatalina_live.jpg)
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Posted: 4/8/2019 9:07:26 PM EST
[#2]
I love Catalina’s
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Posted: 4/8/2019 9:09:51 PM EST
[#3]
Hear tell from an old friend of my dad that said the guys on the USS Indianapolis after it went down sure was glad to see a PBY. WOW can you imagin what they went through.
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Posted: 4/8/2019 9:10:06 PM EST
[#4]
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Posted: 4/8/2019 9:10:51 PM EST
[#5]
My favorite movie scene is the first scene in the movie 'Always'.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=upPHSDqj5x0 |
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Posted: 4/8/2019 9:13:21 PM EST
[#6]
Recommended reading. |
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Posted: 4/8/2019 9:16:08 PM EST
[#7]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I was wanting to get a R/C one but never pulled the trigger. Wasn't there a several episode show about these a couple years ago? Seems like some company in Canada or Alaska was still using them for cargo? I don’t recall any PBYs on the show. Ice Pilots or wstte I recall seeing on TV many years ago the Cousteau PBY, amongst all their other gear. That PBY (with nice paint scheme) crashed and killed one of his sons doing water taxiing tests. Said to be pilot error. |
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Posted: 4/8/2019 9:18:02 PM EST
[#8]
My father was a maintenance officer for naval aircraft at Pearl Harbor during WWII. His squadron was primarily composed of PB2Y Coronados, the PBY's big brother. Dad often flew right seat when they were trying to track down an elusive problem, and he had many hours in these big amphibians.
When he was in his late 80s, our family visited the Naval Air Museum at Pensacola. One of the planes from my father's squadron was being restored for display, and we got a behind-the-scenes tour of the work in progress. While there, he once again boarded the same aircraft he'd flown a half-century earlier, ascended into the cockpit, and sat down in the same right seat where he'd spent so many hours. While there, he gave an extended videotaped interview. I heard many accounts he'd never shared before. One in particular was quite sobering. He spoke of a period of several weeks where the planes were constantly being loaded with grievously-wounded Marines, who were then flown on the 22-hour trip back to hospitals in San Francisco. The same planes returned laden with large glass carboys full of whole blood, packed in ice, to be transported further on to the islands where the battles still raged. 
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Posted: 4/8/2019 9:18:57 PM EST
[#9]
They did a lot of hard work in nasty weather in the Aleutians in WWII.
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Posted: 4/8/2019 9:20:31 PM EST
[#10]
One of my favs... beautiful plane.
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Posted: 4/8/2019 9:26:47 PM EST
[#11]
A PBY is what discovered the German battleship Bismarck. Also, the Japanese fleet approaching Midway
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Posted: 4/8/2019 9:36:08 PM EST
[#12]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Was always one of my favorites too. If I had crazy retard money, I'd buy one and convert it into a party plane, complete with all the Colombian drug lord/Russian arms dealer trimmings, hookers and blow, and fly all over the world so I could hang my dick out the gunners port cupola and piss on the wretched peasants below. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
That is my favorite aircraft. If I had crazy retard money, I'd buy one and convert it into a party plane, complete with all the Colombian drug lord/Russian arms dealer trimmings, hookers and blow, and fly all over the world so I could hang my dick out the gunners port cupola and piss on the wretched peasants below. 
MOAR |
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Posted: 4/8/2019 9:51:34 PM EST
[#13]
Quoted:
Who else likes these? I love seaplanes, float planes, flying boats, etc. but these are my favorite multi-role planes of this type. Did you know?: That a U.S. Navy pilot in a Lend-Lease PBY first spotted the Bismark so that the torpedo planes could get to work. That "Black Cats", PBY's painted black and configured for night interdiction missions against Japanese ships, were used as glide bombers. The pilots would climb to 3000 feet, throttle back the engines and glide down to about a 100 feet before releasing their 500 pound bombs. That PBY's would accompany strike aircraft so they would already be on scene if an aircrew needed to be rescued. "Plucking downed fliers from angry seas meant hazarding an open-ocean landing. Setting down in 16- to 18-foot swells required a full stall, carefully timed to touch down on the peak of a wave. Bringing the Catalina as close to the heaving surface as possible with wing floats lowered, the pilot cut the throttle to idle, pulled the nose up to stall the wing, andas the crew braced themselvesexecuted a controlled splashdown of the 30,000-pound airplane. Banging across the top of the wave, then plunging into the deep valley between swells, the ship met the ocean. Water surged over the cockpit and doused the engines. Hull structure was overstressed. Leaks spewed from popped-out rivets. Catalina crews walked around with a pocket full of golf tees, perfectly sized to plug a hole." The fighters and their pilots get the lion's share of glory and praise, but I think these planes and their crews did a hell of a job. https://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/legends-of-an-ocean-crossing-seaplane-180971743/ 
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Posted: 4/8/2019 9:54:16 PM EST
[#14]
Growing up in Titusville, FL, Tico airport had a PBY but with 4 engines. Was converted as a passenger plane. Sucker was huge.
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Posted: 4/8/2019 10:00:45 PM EST
[#15]
My grandpa was a Navy ordinance man on PBYs during WWII. He was stationed in Cuba, where they patrolled for U-boats. Has some good photos of PBYs in some of his books.
One of the locations I sometimes work in (former Sand Point Naval Station in Seattle) uses old PBY hangars as storage warehouses. |
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Posted: 4/8/2019 10:03:12 PM EST
[#16]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I think those were most C-46 and DC-4 I don’t recall any PBYs on the show. Ice Pilots or wstte I recall seeing on TV many years ago the Cousteau PBY, amongst all their other gear. That PBY (with nice paint scheme) crashed and killed one of his sons doing water taxiing tests. Said to be pilot error. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
I was wanting to get a R/C one but never pulled the trigger. Wasn't there a several episode show about these a couple years ago? Seems like some company in Canada or Alaska was still using them for cargo? I don’t recall any PBYs on the show. Ice Pilots or wstte I recall seeing on TV many years ago the Cousteau PBY, amongst all their other gear. That PBY (with nice paint scheme) crashed and killed one of his sons doing water taxiing tests. Said to be pilot error. |
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Posted: 4/8/2019 10:05:43 PM EST
[#17]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Used as passenger aircraft in Alaska. Group buy? |
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Posted: 4/8/2019 10:05:57 PM EST
[#18]
I was part of a crew that painted one at the NARF at NAS North Island in 1982. I was there to certify as an aircraft painter and that was our project.
NARF was in the process of rebuilding it for some museum. Awesome airplane and HUGE! |
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Posted: 4/8/2019 10:09:33 PM EST
[#19]
Quoted:
Who else likes these? I love seaplanes, float planes, flying boats, etc. but these are my favorite multi-role planes of this type. Did you know?: That a U.S. Navy pilot in a Lend-Lease PBY first spotted the Bismark so that the torpedo planes could get to work. That "Black Cats", PBY's painted black and configured for night interdiction missions against Japanese ships, were used as glide bombers. The pilots would climb to 3000 feet, throttle back the engines and glide down to about a 100 feet before releasing their 500 pound bombs. That PBY's would accompany strike aircraft so they would already be on scene if an aircrew needed to be rescued. "Plucking downed fliers from angry seas meant hazarding an open-ocean landing. Setting down in 16- to 18-foot swells required a full stall, carefully timed to touch down on the peak of a wave. Bringing the Catalina as close to the heaving surface as possible with wing floats lowered, the pilot cut the throttle to idle, pulled the nose up to stall the wing, and—as the crew braced themselves—executed a controlled splashdown of the 30,000-pound airplane. Banging across the top of the wave, then plunging into the deep valley between swells, the ship met the ocean. Water surged over the cockpit and doused the engines. Hull structure was overstressed. Leaks spewed from popped-out rivets. Catalina crews walked around with a pocket full of golf tees, perfectly sized to plug a hole." The fighters and their pilots get the lion's share of glory and praise, but I think these planes and their crews did a hell of a job. https://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/legends-of-an-ocean-crossing-seaplane-180971743/ 
TC |
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Posted: 4/8/2019 10:14:52 PM EST
[#20]
Cool planes. I designed a foamboard model of one a few years back.
Built this giant version of my model on-sight a couple days at Flite Fest, and RC event in Ohio. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y90XW355p9s  Giant PBY Catalina Maiden Flite Fest 2016 I'm in Eastern WA, really need to make a trip to the west side and take a look at some full scale ones. Been wanting to make a really accurate 3D printed version. |
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Posted: 4/8/2019 10:30:12 PM EST
[#21]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
My grandpa was a Navy ordinance man on PBYs during WWII. He was stationed in Cuba, where they patrolled for U-boats. Has some good photos of PBYs in some of his books. One of the locations I sometimes work in (former Sand Point Naval Station in Seattle) uses old PBY hangars as storage warehouses. 
Mollusk Brewing recently opened a brewhouse in the old NAS station ordnance shop building https://magnusonbrewery.com/construction |
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Posted: 4/8/2019 10:47:32 PM EST
[#22]
I've got a model of one of these in a storage trailer.
One of my favorites from wwii, always wanted to build an RC one of these for playing with while fishing. |
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Posted: 4/8/2019 11:02:55 PM EST
[#23]
Catalina is pure sex.
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Posted: 4/8/2019 11:11:43 PM EST
[#24]
I always thought an RV version of a float-plane would be the ultimate vacation machine. A huge lottery win would be properly spent realizing that dream.
And lest we forget:  Miami Vice 1984 - 1989 Opening and Closing Theme HD Dolby 5.1 |
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Posted: 4/8/2019 11:12:14 PM EST
[#25]
Love them, built a kick ass model of one as a kid and had it for a long time. My father is a Naval Aviator, flew P3’s out of NAS Jax and they had one out front as a static display. Loved driving by it as a kid.
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Posted: 4/8/2019 11:14:47 PM EST
[#26]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
My grandfather flew them in WWII. |
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Posted: 4/8/2019 11:33:33 PM EST
[#27]
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Posted: 4/9/2019 7:57:18 PM EST
[#28]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
@Squid1jz He has some really cool pictures of one.  
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Posted: 4/9/2019 8:00:42 PM EST
[#29]
I worked on one of these PBY's back in the day, it's a killer airframe, and could stay up for hours......
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Posted: 4/9/2019 9:21:06 PM EST
[#30]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I always thought an RV version of a float-plane would be the ultimate vacation machine. A huge lottery win would be properly spent realizing that dream.
And lest we forget:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLL1VTO5vbc |
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Posted: 4/9/2019 9:30:14 PM EST
[#31]
My only real life PBY related war story quoted from another thread:
https://www.ar15.com/forums/General/-ARCHIVED-THREAD-Talking-to-an-unusual-WW2-veteran-tomorrow-/5-2093492/?page=1 When my parents retired to FL in '99, they had two WWII aviators on their street who were best friends. One had been a PBY pilot in the Navy. The other? Flew Me 109's for the Luftwaffe and moved to America after the war, retiring after working a career in commercial avation. He was a charamastic guy, "Carl with a K" is how he'd introduce himself. I visited my parents after a tour in Iraq. My stepdad was in failing health, so Lee and Carl (with a K) picked me up at the JAX airport. We drove to Palm Coast, about an hour (if I was driving), ended up being about an hour and 20 with 80 something y/o Lee driving. We ended up talking about our war experiences. It is in my top 5 conversations in life, it was amazing listening to their matter of fact/no exaggeration "war stories". I felt very small in comparison. Anyway, Carl (with a K) was totally Americanized and loved this country. That said, the way he talked about being a fighter pilot in combat, the gleam in his eye (not romanticism, I can only describe it as clear eyed enthusiastic purpose), if you gave him the option of time travel, he'd have suited right back up, strapped on his gear and blew Americans out of the sky. He was a warrior. I've met few people in my life who radiated the "killer" vibe. He was definitely one. I don't mean this in a judgmental way, he just was a clear eyed killer in the warrior sense of the word. Karl asked a lot of questions about Iraq, and they were the "right" questions. Sixty or seventy years later (however long it was) he could still shift into the warrior mode. Lee the USN PBY pilot, on the other hand, was a congenial seasoned old WWII veteran. The difference between them, even six decades later, was one of the starkest things I've experienced to put WWII into context. Karl was also congenial and charming. But he was still a killer. It was still in him, and radiated from him in a palpable way, even though he was 80 whatever y/o. (I mean that in the hunter/warrior way, not in the psychopath/criminal way). It was a fascinating conversation. I knew at the time that it was a unique experience and that I'd remember it for the rest of my life. |
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Posted: 4/9/2019 9:51:18 PM EST
[#32]
Check this one out I first saw it in 1983. It’s been sitting in an airport hanger for years covered in bird poop. There’s a drop zone operating of the hanger.
http://warbirdsnews.com/warbirds-news/the-ghost-of-gananoque-a-flying-boat-in-a-barn.html 
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Posted: 4/9/2019 10:09:39 PM EST
[#33]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
That's not a Catalina. An Albatross, maybe? Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
I always thought an RV version of a float-plane would be the ultimate vacation machine. A huge lottery win would be properly spent realizing that dream.
And lest we forget: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLL1VTO5vbc
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Posted: 4/10/2019 2:47:44 AM EST
[#34]
Quote HistoryQuote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
I always thought an RV version of a float-plane would be the ultimate vacation machine. A huge lottery win would be properly spent realizing that dream.
And lest we forget: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLL1VTO5vbc
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Posted: 4/10/2019 3:22:21 AM EST
[#35]
Scariest ride I ever had was trying to take off on
the “Blue Goose” from Akutan Island in 1990. We made it, but never been weightless in a plane. |
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Posted: 4/10/2019 3:32:13 AM EST
[#36]
Quote HistoryQuoted: It's definitely a mallard, but that entry is wrong. That still has radials, not turboprops |
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Posted: 4/10/2019 5:11:22 AM EST
[#37]
Definitely a cool plane.
I remember we saw one in a river from a bridge when I was a little kid in Washington. My dad was an aviation enthusiast so we went down and looked at it and talked to the crew. A couple hours later we saw it flying off. ETA: did we just find something that is liked by everyone in GD???? |
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Posted: 4/10/2019 5:16:38 AM EST
[#38]
My first landlord was a crewman in WWII.
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Posted: 4/10/2019 6:57:40 AM EST
[#39]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Scariest ride I ever had was trying to take off on the “Blue Goose” from Akutan Island in 1990. We made it, but never been weightless in a plane. |
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Posted: 4/10/2019 7:20:32 AM EST
[#40]
The very last Catalina manufactured for the USN, flying and with all original equipment (except with dummy guns), was for sale a couple years ago, seller did an awesome Youtube tour. It's got a badass looking "starship Enterprise" radar mounted above the cockpit:
 PBY Catalina FOR SALE - WWII All Original - UPDATE 2024 
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Posted: 4/10/2019 7:27:35 AM EST
[#41]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Family vacation aircraft, shot up by Saudi troops http://expeditionwriter.com/a-beautiful-bird-left-to-the-desert/ https://i1.wp.com/expeditionwriter.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Landseaire88.jpg https://i1.wp.com/expeditionwriter.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/112157881_e49fcde8a6_b.jpg http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Q-PuSGjFHvY/SnFneqzFzlI/AAAAAAAAEGI/T2LsFvAIG8U/s640/112154355_6bd9cdab8c_b.jpg |
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Posted: 4/10/2019 7:32:30 AM EST
[#42]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Long been a favorite of mine. I've actually got a thing for seaplanes of all types, it seems. The Clippers are another favorite, and I have a small collection of memorabilia of them. And even oddities like the Convair Sea Dart. I've seen all the surviving examples in person. https://imgproc.airliners.net/photos/airliners/3/7/5/0847573.jpg ETA its still there |
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Posted: 4/10/2019 7:44:58 AM EST
[#43]
Very good aircraft. A workhorse with teeth.
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Posted: 4/10/2019 7:52:08 AM EST
[#44]
They had an operational one out of the hanger at the Air Museum near Virginia Beach when Little Pony and I were out there last week.
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Posted: 4/10/2019 8:19:50 AM EST
[#45]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
That is my favorite aircraft. |
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Posted: 4/10/2019 8:25:48 AM EST
[#46]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
They had an operational one out of the hanger at the Air Museum near Virginia Beach when Little Pony and I were out there last week. |
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Posted: 4/10/2019 8:28:12 AM EST
[#47]
Odd fact about all the PBY's. At least the early ones from what I recall.
The pilot had no direct control over the throttles. The pilot throttle controls were actually telegraphs. They would move to what setting the pilot wanted and set an indicator display at the Engineer station up in the upper fuselage station. The Engineer would then actually adjust the throttles, time the propellers, lean the engines and such. Don't believe the movies. You couldn't fly an original PBY without at least two crew members due to this.
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Posted: 4/10/2019 8:34:54 AM EST
[#48]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Long been a favorite of mine. I've actually got a thing for seaplanes of all types, it seems. The Clippers are another favorite, and I have a small collection of memorabilia of them. And even oddities like the Convair Sea Dart. I've seen all the surviving examples in person. https://imgproc.airliners.net/photos/airliners/3/7/5/0847573.jpg |
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Posted: 4/10/2019 8:37:58 AM EST
[#49]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Was always one of my favorites too. If I had crazy retard money, I'd buy one and convert it into a party plane, complete with all the Colombian drug lord/Russian arms dealer trimmings, hookers and blow, and fly all over the world so I could hang my dick out the gunners port cupola and piss on the wretched peasants below. They often landed to pick up B29 crews in high seas when they had no chance of getting airborne. They would taxi the "boat" away from Jap activity until the rescued airmen could be transfered to a sub or the seas allowed takeoff. |
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