Plane Sailings new Cat.

[Chuck Ellsworth]

Well they are finally on their way, they left Nanaimo last monday for Duxford.

Good bunch of guys, hope they brought lots of warm clothes .:ok:

Anyone from Plane Sailing know how they are doing?

Chuck E.

[hjc]

I'm not from Plane Sailing but they were at Midland (TX) yesterday.

All being well, they're due at Coventry on 16th March but there's a long way to go yet ...

[pigboat]

Ahhh..Did they carry out a compass swing before departure? ;)

[Smedley]

http://www.aeroplanemonthly.com/news/news_archive/catalina_PlaneSailing/C-FNJF.jpg


This is all I could find. http://tinyurl.com/shzp

Thought I'd bring the photo up.
Heliport

[ozplane]

God news but what has happened to the ex-Greenpeace machine and the "original" which was under rebuild at Lee-on-Solent?

[Chuck Ellsworth]

Ozplane:

I understand that the Greenpeace machine is for sale, and the Super Cat is still under re build.

I delivered the Greenpeace Cat from Duxford to Lee on solent a couple of summers ago, it was a good flying Cat and will make for a nice machine for whoever buys it.

By the way I also delivered Plain Sailings new machine from Ontario to B.C. about seven years ago and did some local flying with it, it also was a good flying Cat.

I just hope the North Atlantic weather allows them to get home soon.

Chuck

[ozplane]

Thanks for the update Chuck. Were you involved with the "Australian" Catalina as well? I have an Ozzie mate who flies the HARS Super-Connie and he's over here next week so I should get an update on progress with their aircraft.

[Chuck Ellsworth]

Yes, I was in Portugal for about a month to give type ratings to five Aussies.

We moved the Cat to France and had a hydraulic problem that ended up with a gear collapse on landing....

I was also wondering how they are doing with the machine now that they have it home.

Chuck

[PaperTiger]

Chuck, passing Cassidy yesterday I noticed a coupla guys working on 'NJB, the other Cat. Has this found a buyer too, would you know ?

[Chuck Ellsworth]

Paper Tiger:

There should not have been anyone working on that Cat as it is parked on the property that I look after and I have no knowlege of anyone wanting to look at it or get in it.

I will ask around and see who it was.

It is for sale though.....

Chuck

[Lu Zuckerman]

To: Chuck Elsworth

There should not have been anyone working on that Cat as it is parked on the property that I look after and I have no knowlege of anyone wanting to look at it or get in it.

Chuck, check to see if the props are still on the engines. If they are missing look for two men with filthy smelling clothes.

:E :E

[Chuck Ellsworth]

And driving a crane with some big wrenches on the seat beside them.:ok:

[paulc]

Chuck,

as one of the volunteers working on both PBY's at Lee, the sight of N432RS doing a fly-by (or 4) and landing is one I will never forget. I still have a picture of one of the fly-by's on my office wall and a few of you, Mark & Clive as operating crew.

As for progress on the super cat - slow is the word with money being the main problem.

HARS looked at N423RS but decided against it for an unknown reason (I have a idea why though)

Visits to see both machines can be arranged if people are interested.

[Feather #3]

Have a look at www.notebookpub.com/hars/blackcat.html for progress on HARS Cat.

Since the hail damage mentioned therein, she's made her first airshow appearance at the Point Cook Airshow and was well received.

G'day ;)

[Chuck Ellsworth]

Anyone have an update where the guys are now with the Cat?

[EGGW]

Try this link Chuck Cats Progress (http://catalinabookings.org/main.asp)

EGGW

[Chuck Ellsworth]

Thanks EGGW:

It will be a reliefe when they get it to Shannon, and I hope they get a good tailwind on the day of departure from St Johns so they are guaranteed a tail wind direct to Shannon.

For those of you who wonder what is involved in flying one of these rocket ships across the Atlantic here are a couple of numbers.

Best cruise speed you can plan zero wind is 115 Knots above eight thousand feet, below that altitude I use 110 Knots.

Distance St Johns direct Shannon: 1680 NM.

Distance St Johns to Santa Maria : 1370 NM

Distance Santa Maria to Shannon: 1160 NM

Note:

With full fuel it holds 1458 Imperial Gallons and burns 72 gallons per hour in cruise.

It also will hold 55 Imperial gallons of oil in each engine oil tank for a total of 110 imp. gal of oil. Norman oil burn is one to two imp. gallons per hour per engine.

So you can see their options would be best served with clear warm weather and a tail wind to Shannon.

I know the airplane very, very well having flown it for about 30 hours and worked on it here in Nanaimo and it is a good machine.

I also know the crew very well as they have almost lived here in Nanaimo for the past couple of years.

Having spent decades ferrying these things all over the planet and knowing what it costs I will sleep better when they are safely home in their own beds and the machine is parked at Duxford.

Chuck Ellsworth

[jabberwok]

Chuck,

Just out of curiosity, what MP/rpm settings did the Cat use? I'm intrigued as to whether it was run at low fuel settings for long patrols or normal settings with a huge fuel load..

[Chuck Ellsworth]

Take off is 48 inches and 2700 RPM ( Rotate at 72 Knots )

Climb is thirty five inches and 2300 RPM.

With a heavy fuel load we use thirty inches and 2050 RPM and as fuel burn brings the all up weight down ( about three hours after take off ) we gradually reduce manifold pressure to 27 inches....providing we can maintain the desired IAS.

If it falls on its ass because of to low a power setting you have to get it above the cruise height slightly and put the nose down to regain A.S.....

It is something like flying a cement mixer........

That lesson will be...............lets see 300 Euros per. hour for dual...hmmmm ..............13.00 Euros gang.. :D

Chuck

[jabberwok]

Thanks for that data. I didn't realise you brought the power that far back!

Can I pay you when the boat gets in? :)

[Chuck Ellsworth]

Yes we bring the power back to around thirty inches to conserve fuel on long trips..adding more power will not get enough additional airspeed to make up for the fuel burn.

Remember the Cat has a massive high lift wing designed to produce lift at low airspeeds......

And we fly slow enough that as a side line we draw the new maps for Government.

As long as you remember you owe me this one is for free. :ok:

Chuck

[treadigraph]

Off topic slightly...

Chuck, as you are on Vancouver Island, are the FIFT Martin Mars still earning an honest dollar?

Love to see them fly...

[Chuck Ellsworth]

Yes there two Mars that are alive and well.

All the publicity surrounding the loss of over 250 homes in Kelowna B.C. last year from forest fires has assured they will be flying for some time to come.

Great aircraft.

Chuck

[hjc]

Plane Sailing's Catalina, C-FNJF (to be G-PBYA) arrived tonight at Duxford following a long ferry flight from Canada.

There are a few pictures of the event here:
http://www.flyvintage.com/

HJC

[Chuck Ellsworth]

Well I see by their web site they finally crossed the North Atlantic.

Congradulations.

I am now waiting to talk to them to find out just how they survived the cold. :O

Chuck

[ozplane]

This is probably old news but the Catalina arrived at Duxford yesterday evening at around 1800 local. BBC Look East had a feature on it's arrival which was accomplished with one engine feathered due apparently to"a problem we had when trying to re-start after a practice engine failure". There was quite a lot of oil on the outside of the port engine cowling so it may have been a bit too real. Look East do very well for Duxford updates and they gave the Cat a plug for the Lowestoft Airshow later in the year. You can breathe again Chuck!!

[Jhieminga]

Two photos of the Cat with feathered left prop here: Fly Vintage (http://www.flyvintage.com)

And thanks for those insights into flying the Cat Chuck! :ok:

[Chuck Ellsworth]

Yup, it looks good at Duxford, I have never flown a Cat at that low a temperature and can't even imagine what it would be like without heat in the airplane.

I hope their feathered engine is not an engine problem because the left engine was a zero time when they left Nanaimo.

I quit doing practice engine feathering in flight many years ago due to the risk of not being able to unfeather in flight. These airplanes are very old and have a propensity for electrical problems, especially in the feathering circuit. I have also had two not unfeather, one was a feathering relay and the other was the feathering pump motor.

Anyhow Gary can work on it in Duxford instead of Nanaimo.

The good news is it is where it belongs.

Chuck Ellsworth.

[hobie]

I saw a yellow Cat just after take-off from Shannon (SNN) last week (Tuesday 30th March approx - mid afternoon) .......

must say it looked and sounded great !!!! ......



cheers .....