Another Catalina Coming
Fascinating. Has someone gone ahead with the purchase and the announcement without even the money to get it to Australia? What were they thinking?
Here's another one:
QUEENSLAND AIR MUSEUM - DOUGLAS DC-6 VH-BPG
Rgds
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Tail assy and engines have arrived at Lake Macquarie.
The 14 cylinder engs have front mounted magnetos, which suggests they are Pratt & Whitney 1830-74s, very rare, perhaps the fore runner to the R2000.
Fuselage and wings soon to follow.
The 14 cylinder engs have front mounted magnetos, which suggests they are Pratt & Whitney 1830-74s, very rare, perhaps the fore runner to the R2000.
Fuselage and wings soon to follow.
Last edited by Wingnuts; 23rd Jan 2014 at 10:12.
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Sounds like VH CAT where the volunteer pilots credit card had to be used for fuel to ferry it to Australa- and now it appears to be sitting in the open and corroding at Bankstown - due to not enough money being available to support two operating Cats in Australia . At least New Zealand was astute and decided how many Cats they cold afford and cut their cloth accordingly
There are however a few very diligent and earnest volunteers working on the aircraft every weekend at Bankstown, but a quick conversation with them at any time indicates that the 'management' (and one could only use that term in the loosest of loose ways) don't seem to have any real plan for how the overall objective of restoring VH-CAT to flight and facilitating any sort of sustainable operation can be achieved. All-in-all a pretty sad situation.
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SHE'S TAKING THE SCENIC ROUTE
From Puerto Rico on barge to Jacksonville, Florida, about 2000kms to the north.
Then, road to Savannah, Georgia, a further 500kms north.
Expects to depart Savannah for Sydney on Feb 2.
Presently in Jacksonville.
No doubt she's picked up a bit of salt along the way, but hopefully, the occasional rain shower will wash her down.
June 2014. Finally at Lake Macquarie and restoration begins.
Then, road to Savannah, Georgia, a further 500kms north.
Expects to depart Savannah for Sydney on Feb 2.
Presently in Jacksonville.
No doubt she's picked up a bit of salt along the way, but hopefully, the occasional rain shower will wash her down.
June 2014. Finally at Lake Macquarie and restoration begins.
Last edited by Wingnuts; 28th Dec 2014 at 07:57.
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PBY-5A "Our Girl" Purchase
Yes Dick, "they" went ahead as what "they" were thinking of was securing an increasingly rare PBY while the opportunity existed to aid in preserving the historical signficance of the WW11 Rathmines RAAF Base and honouring the memory of the personnel who served there.
Being the child of a of 11 Catalina Squadron crew member, I commend the dedication of what is now the Rathmines Catalina Memorial Park Association Incorporated.
As such, I intend to do whatever I can to assist in the Association's goal of establishing an aviation museum, with emphasis on the PBY, Sunderland and other seaplances, with "Our Girl" as the static centrepiece.
And yes, it would be great if businesses, and not just those in the Newcastle/Hunter area, came on board with some finanical support for this unique project!
Being the child of a of 11 Catalina Squadron crew member, I commend the dedication of what is now the Rathmines Catalina Memorial Park Association Incorporated.
As such, I intend to do whatever I can to assist in the Association's goal of establishing an aviation museum, with emphasis on the PBY, Sunderland and other seaplances, with "Our Girl" as the static centrepiece.
And yes, it would be great if businesses, and not just those in the Newcastle/Hunter area, came on board with some finanical support for this unique project!
FROM THIS . . . . .
. . . . to this. A sad and poignant tale indeed. (Thank you Aussie Bob for finding
and posting this saga.)
hasten to add - these are not the same Cats. You need to read the whole story by one Dave O'Malley.
(he denies any connection with the famous ships' cook, O'Malley, who didn't dilly dally . . .but whitewashed half the galley.)
The Catalinas in both instances were postwar conversions to a luxury flying yacht known as the Landseaire. One demonstrated the dreamlike glamour and recreational possibility of the flying yacht, while the other was a forlorn remnant, telling a story of one of those dreams wrecking on the shores of a hostile country.
. . . . to this. A sad and poignant tale indeed. (Thank you Aussie Bob for finding
and posting this saga.)
hasten to add - these are not the same Cats. You need to read the whole story by one Dave O'Malley.
(he denies any connection with the famous ships' cook, O'Malley, who didn't dilly dally . . .but whitewashed half the galley.)
The Catalinas in both instances were postwar conversions to a luxury flying yacht known as the Landseaire. One demonstrated the dreamlike glamour and recreational possibility of the flying yacht, while the other was a forlorn remnant, telling a story of one of those dreams wrecking on the shores of a hostile country.
Last edited by Fantome; 27th Apr 2014 at 08:18.
