PBY-5a 9767 "Catalina" - Ride-along Water Takeoff and Landing

[@PeterNGloor]

the sound of the Pratts is very comforting. I could listen to them endlessly. I am thankful I could fly with this type quite a few times.

[@Rembrant65]

Nice video. Love the Catalina. The bubble windows are awesome but they have to be drag monsters.

[@AVMamfortas]

Thank you. So much. It is the closest I will ever get to the experience.

[@scottbrown771]

I was in Ketchikan Alaska in the summer of 1967 and was flying to Seattle. The trip started with boarding a PBY on the waterfront, taking off on the water and then 5 minutes later landing at the Ketchikan airport where I caught a regular plane to Seattle. I remember sitting in the blister and the water rushing in around my feet as we took off. Thinking back on this today it seems just unbelievable. Last summer I hiked to a 1944 PBY wreck outside Tofino on Vancouver Island. It’s a popular destination and makes for an interesting afternoon.

[@morsebusters5361]

Great tale - I can visualize that water in the blister compartment :-) the good news is that the bulkheads between the compartments could isolate it - like the bulkheads in a ship.

[@windowcreek1798]

There is a Catalin sitting in a hangar in Gananoque Ontario Canada. Its been there since 1968. Fully intact. Very impressive. Cheers.

[@hotttt28]

Thanks to folks responsible for saving this bird !

[@mcnut1]

Excellent. Well done. Thank you.

[@johnpoutier8826]

Absolutely fantastic. You are very lucky to have gotten such an opportunity. My father-in-law was a Navy radio operator in the Pacific in PBYs as I recall. He was never an amateur radio operator but when I gave him some CW in the 1990s he still knew it like it was his native language. I wish I knew more about his experiences. I flew A-7Ds, A-10s, and F-16s but this kind of flying is truly magical. Thanks for posting. 73 John KQ4BZY

[@morsebusters5361]

Hi John. Very cool about your father-in-law! The intro to my book, The CW Way of Life, describes my connection to Morse Code - and PBY's :-) 73 Chris NW6V

[@johnpoutier8826]

@@morsebusters5361 Great book Chris, I have a copy. It's helping me quite a bit as I'm trying to be more consistent attending the LICW classes. Maybe we'll have a QSO sometime. 73 John KQ4BZY

[@jonnybanger]

This is incredible! Thank you!

[@kenmackenzie3803]

My grandfather flew 9767. This be awesome to go in!

[@TheLjh73]

Super jealous. That was magnificent

[@robertmannel4446]

Just absolutely loved this vid. Jealous!! In a good way. Love this airframe and it's rich history!

[@drportabledave]

That was fun! Well done.

[@rEdf196]

As a teenager I saw a firefighting PBY Canso, (as their called here in Canada) in the summer of 1979 fighting a fire on the Beaufort range unfortunately the portside engine burst into flames almost buzzing the treetops near my area until doing a emergency landing on Sproat lake where a nearby helicopter with cable water bucket extinguished the burning engine. The planes wing was a burned out wreck. it was salvaged and scrapped at the Martin Mars bomber base.

[@morsebusters5361]

Wow. Terrible.

[@grahammonk8013]

@rEdf196 Wow! Shades of the movie Always! Which is one of my favourite movies simply for the opening scene which features a PBY. Those guys from NZ, are they from the place that has the DH Comet replica awaiting restoration? I saw that in a barn in Beiseker Alberta where the older gentleman was building it.

[@morsebusters5361]

That must have been interesting. I don't know if those fellows are connected to that activity. I'll try to learn more.

[@grahammonk8013]

@@morsebusters5361 I saw the barn from the road while on a bike trip. The first thing i saw was complete Dragon Rapide, so I dragged my friends to see it. Met a guy who was using the grass strip to fly his homebuilt, and he took us around. When he mentioned the Comet I didn't at first know what he was talking about. When I saw it I was flabbergasted. The fuselage was mostly complete and the outer surface is made up of many small birch (I think) strips. He had a DH Dove in pieces (for the engines) and a Staggerwing needing some repairs. We spent about 45 minutes there. I would have been happy to stay for the weekend.

[@MachTuck]

Very cool footage!! ..since I was a kid, I wanted to own a Catalina someday, didnt know how difficult it is to become wealthy enough to own one so, plastic model works for me lol

[@johnclarke2553]

Greetings from Australia. An excellent video, thoroughly enjoyable! My uncle was a Flight Engineer on Catalinas in the RAAF during the war.

[@motoalchemy]

my most favorite airplane ever....i have stacks of literature and books of this AC

[@James-i6h]

The pilot turns the engine, usually one blade of the prop goes by 12 times, to get the oil up out of the bottom (sump) of the engine before he flips the ignition switch.

[@morsebusters5361]

Exactly right.

[@motoalchemy]

absolutely excellent video

[@richardsoane6192]

wonderfull

[@tristesskartoffel8677]

What a Beauty 😍👍

[@dhall4363]

G`day all. I got to see one of these at the lake Boga museum. lake Boga is a little way out from Swan Hill Victoria. It was during the second world war a repair facility for flying boats. They are a large aircraft when you see one up close. Good to see one in flying condition.

[@jonmartin6451]

What a great airplane

[@Andrew-h8j2v]

Wow that is a really nice pby black cat 👍

[@Andrew-h8j2v]

Sweet a p40 warthog very nice

[@PeterNGloor]

when I flew in one, there was no low side door like here. We had to board through the real blister.

[@drunkdrummer107]

COOL!)))))

[@MrSquidd88]

It sounds like the engines are now turbo props. eh?

[@morsebusters5361]

Nope. Dual 14 cylinder "Wasp" Radial Piston R-1830-92d Engines capable of 1200 bhp each. Amazing sound. The recording (by cell phone) doesn't begin to do it justice. :-)

[@davidhill1931]

I saw this exact aircraft tail number N9767 at KEUG during flight class, You can't see me, but I was right behind it in a C152. I'm putting my video on my page. Lane Aviation Academy.

[@morsebusters5361]

Thanks for posting that David! Really nice to see her from that perspective!

[@PeterNGloor]

i wonder what that whirring sound is - fuel boost pump?

[@morsebusters5361]

Not clear. It was not so prominent on board - but the very mediocre microphone in my 4-year-old camera was not up to capturing the low-frequency content.

[@motoalchemy]

never seen one with the airstair in back

[@morsebusters5361]

Yes, clever use of the "tunnel" - intended for tail gunning. It made boarding easy - even for an old coot with bad hips :-) As I 'm sure you know, later, it was also converted for use as a water exit chute in firefighting application.

[@PeterNGloor]

those landing gears would be too heavy for hand-operation.

[@morsebusters5361]

There is a crank that can be used to raise and lower the gear by hand - but if memory serves, it turns the hydraulic system - it is not a gear-driven mechanical system. It is my understanding it took two men to operate.

[@hotttt28]

With enough money anything is possible !

[@guaporeturns9472]

Turboprops😂

[@jaywinters2483]

Mistake to abandon these. How we gonna do long range rescue & observations if satellites go down? Even with a satellite, helicopters won't fly that far. We need this airplane in the military.

[@PeterNGloor]

filming a turning prop will never be successful with todays "cameras".

[@morsebusters5361]

Yes, camera phones and such do a poor job with spinning props because of sync rates. But it doesn't bother me.

[@pogonomyrmexrugosus6240]

Turbo props...yeah.

[@morsebusters5361]

No, these are not turboprops. They are original 14 cylinder Pratt and Whitney "Wasp" radial engines that put out 1200 hp each. The roar is not picked up by the mics, the whines are various electric motors, fuel pumps and the like.

[@abmbarry]

TurboProps? Really! Why dont you learn about Radial startup. You wouldnt be talking so much BS

[@williamhudson4938]

Didn't your mom tell you to keep your mouth shut if you didn't have anything constructive to add to the conversation? But .NO. you gotta be a dick and tear someone down to satisfy some inane need to always be right. You'd be a lot happier if you just swallow the need to correct people and let 'em abide in ignorance. You might even live longer if you change your attitude and decide it's not up to you to teach the world to sing.