Great historical recreation of the famous BOAC Clipper flights from CAIRO to CAPETOWN-

This time in a Catalina-PBY!!

Here you go!!
Great show-

https://youtu.be/tE01RU-hDYw

WOW! Thanks for this link!

Makes me dream of acquiring a GRUMMAN GOOSE and doing it again with 4-5 guys!!

I have planted the seed with a fellow who has many, many hours in PBY-CATALINAS... he and his late father flew two of them in the Honolulu celebration of the 75th anniversary if the Armistice... with other war birds!!

His Dad was one of the few CFIs instructing in PBYs... died of complications of COVID after that trip!trio!! Very SAD!!

CheerZ,

Grumman Goose -- reminds me of a fellow named Robert Smith who wrote the painstakingly researched labor of love, "Native Trout of North America." If my memory serves, he was a retired US F&WS biologist who spent many hours of his career counting waterfowl populations in Alaska aboard a Grumman Goose.
Would be a hell of an adventure.

Hi guys very interesting film. A little history on the airplane first. She spent most of her flying on the east coast of Hudson Bay after the war for about 25 years before starting her African flying,this film is the proving flight.I can’t remember how long they actually operated Cairo to Victoria Falls(I’ll check with Bob Dyck who was the main Capt) when the tours ended the airplane was sold to a preservation society in New Zealand and is still there.
Of the crew in the film Oliver Evens the young copilot is now an Air Canada B787 Captain. He is also the Capt. On the PBY C-FUAW based here in Victoria and I have had him reliev me a couple times on the PBY C-FNJE that I am chief pilot on. Some great fun flying. Take care Bill Brady

Bill,

Great history and background, thank you!! A friend recognized the copilot who was from Spokane, Wa as well...

What are the 2 in Victoria doing, pax, freight, or fire??

Great old birds!! My first flight in one was from Annette Island,AK airport into Ketchikan, water landing, Coastal Ellis Airline, 1964-65.
Later Bud Rudd, a Canadian I worked for about the same time at Tide Air, Tacoma FBO, later had a PBY at Arlington, WA that Fred Owen flew fires with. He was still instructing at 82, when he flew the airshow in Honolulu... and later died.
The PBY he flew is based in Eugene, Or., the one son Jayson flew is based in Texas. He is an international captain for Delta and very involved with all kinds of war birds.
Wouldn't it be fun to recreate that African route in a smaller amphibian, GOOSE or others??!!

CheerZ,

Hi guys yes that would be a fantastic flight my choice for a smaller aircraft would be a turbine Mallard for performance and fuel availability.Also I loved flying the Mallard.A bit more info on the PBY operation in Africa,I was talking to Bob yesterday and he ferried her over in 1988 and they operated until 1994.it was twenty days Cairo to Victoria falls or ten days to Nairobi.When the airplane went to New Zealand the ferry flight from Zimbabwe took 90 hours in 12 days. A little aside when Bob retired he was a senior Martin Mars Capt. The two PBY5A C-FUAW in Victoria and C-FNJE in Fairview Alberta are both flying museums there are only 13 fly able in the world now and as far as I know none working any more. If anyone is interested google (save the Canso)and you will find the story of C-FNJE (Canso is the RCAF name for the PBY Catalina everywhere else)Take care Bill

Bill,
What a great story, thanks for sharing!!
I wish I had known about those flights, my wife and I would have done that I. a heart beat!!
Yes,a Mallard, or even a turbine Goose would be fun, and it would be alot easier to find Jet-A fuel than 100 AV Gas!!
Yes, I expect the remaining PBYs are for show only now if not in museums!! The 2 that went to HNL to fly the Armistice aboard a carrier from San Diego with 26 other warbirds are spectacular examples!! Based in Eugene, OR and Dallas...

CheerZ, Steve

Company Plans To Build New PBY Catalinas
By Russ Niles -Published:July 27, 202337

A Florida company is hoping to build a modernized version of the Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boat, an aircraft developed almost 90 years ago and most famously used to hunt Nazi U-boats in the Second World War. Catalina Aircraft has announced it plans to build a turboprop amphib flying boat using the “same design principles” as the lumbering twin. A few of the type are still used in commercial service as water bombers and cargo planes, and several museums keep flying versions. The company thinks there is still a niche to be filled in civilian and military service.

The news release says the company plans to build two models, a civilian aircraft with an all-up weight of 30,000 pounds and room for 34 passengers and 12,000 pounds of cargo. A more powerful military version will weigh in at 40,000 pounds. “Interest in the rebirth of this legendary amphibian has been extraordinary,” Lawrence Reece, president of Catalina Aircraft, said in a press release. “We are looking forward to moving this program forward rapidly.” They hope to be flying in 2029.

Great news!!
My first trip to Ketchikan, AK. I flew into Annette Island on a triple tail, Super G Constellation, we stepped off on the tarmac and walked over to the waiting PBY, we loaded into her and rolled off...15 minutes we splashed down in downtown Ketchikan... offloaded on the dock... and into town!! Great trip!!

With the FAA kyboshing the future of the Martin Mars for fire bombing, the military version will be a natural for fire fighting!!

Propjets will be a powerful and easy maintenance... but sad to see the round engines going away!!

They will need a new breed of flight instructors and check airmen!! We lost one of the last old PBY instructors to COVID after the 75th Armistice airshow celebration in Honolulu... they loaded 2 PBYs on a carrier at North Island, CA, with many other warbirds...and sailed them over to Ford Island...4 of 40 pilots got COVID after the show... one didn't make it...not many Typed CFIs left, one Check Airman...

Better start training now!! Big floaters are scarce!!

CheerZ,