PBY-6A Amphibious Take-off (Part 2/2)

Part 2/2 PBY-6A Catalina starts up its engines and taxi's into the water at Naval Airstation Whidbey Island's Seaplane Base in Oak Harbor, WA. After taking off from the water, it makes a water drop for the crowd at the Seaplane base. September 25, 2009

[@Randiego]

Lieutenant George Robert Lockett, USN flew these amazing craft in the patrol of the Caribbean and South America before he and his squadron headed over to Morocco for D Day North Africa. There he met my mother and she became the first war bride to emigrate to the US towards the end of the war. When I was little, we were in NAS Virginia Beach and got to go aboard one of the surviving PBYs that was on the tarmac. This was in the late 50's. To a little guy, it was HUGE. Our family always were treated to his stories of his days behind the controls of the PBY, but to go aboard a PBY and see and smell the plane is an indelible memory that I will never forget. 20 years ago, I was in San Diego when they brought in one that was en route to Texas. To hear those engines running will give you goose bumps. Now most are relegated to air museums. We have one here in San Diego hanging inside the atrium at the Air and Space Museum in Balboa Park. One of the most produced air craft, so few are left.

[@morinjuncker7681]

P

[@psiddey]

I was going to mention that very plane in San Diego, I went to that museum over 10 years ago and was in awe of how large the wingspan was, I believe the plane took up most of that atrium. Unfortunately my camera was stolen not long after so I only have my memories to go by. Doesn't that museum also have a model of the Horten flying wing though I believe it's a small scale model? Not sure if I got it mixed up with another museum as my memory is a bit fuzzy🤔

[@undrcoverlouky]

I can't put my finger on it, but there's something I find very beautiful about this plane. I don't have a single favorite plane, but I do have a list of favorites. The Catalina is pretty high on that list. It pleases me that people are keeping these old girls airworthy. The Catalina story deserves to be told, now and in the future.

[@dunnyraildunnybahn5481]

PBY’s one of the greatest understated planes from WW2, made great reconisence planes in the Pacific due to their massive range. My Dad lucky fellow in WW2 flew in one from UK to Italy to take up his next assignment, reckoned the views from the Blisters were amazing.

[@abrahamdozer6273]

My father patrolled the Indian Ocean in one during WWII after he and his crew ferried it from Lakefield New Jersey to Ceylon in nine LONG legs (including Newfoundland to Scotland) RCAF 413 Squadron His didn't have wheels, though.

[@zedwms]

Everything but the take-off, in a take-off video. Good job.

[@dekiser]

I owe my life to this plane, my father survived a ship sinking (torpedo) in the Gulf of Mexico in WWII. Picked up after two weeks on a raft.

[@fubarmodelyard1392]

dawgsrock salute to your dad

[@michaelnaisbitt1639]

Glad your dad was saved. It’s lonely in the middle of the ocean and then a CAT comes into view Countless sailors must have saved by these birds. Best wishes to ur dad

[@norrishude6177]

Thankyou for this video. My Dad asked to be able to fly Catalina's during the war, he was told that under no circumstances that the way he flew planes he was not going to be able to fly with other people's lives at stake, So he was relegated to flying fighter planes only. Catalinas are such a beautiful bit of engineering, and they look fantastic to boot..

[@jamesbachreeves]

My dad also flew PBYs, after years as a flight instructor at Pensacola and Gros Isle (sp?). I remember his telling me that they flew half-way to Hawaii and back as training exercises. In the summer of 1945 he had a B-25 (I think) and a crew in San Francisco, ready to support the invasion of Japan, so it may be that I owe my life to the Bomb. Sad but true.

[@suziedupuis8232]

We visited the PBY museum for first time yesterday. It was very interesting. I had no idea these were the seaplanes my dad talked about when we first moved here with the Navy. We will definitely visit the museum again

[@roadsweeper1]

Was talking to an old ground crew mechanic that worked on PBYs and Sunderlands. Apparently they very very rarely did a transition from ground to water like that. They preferred to crane them into the water with the undercarriage already up if they could or use a trolley like they did on the sunderlands. The wheels sealed the wheel wells, going into the water with the wheels down, got seawater all over the inside of the hull of the aircraft, and upon landing again, you absolutely HAD to rinse it out with fresh water and dry it out, or corrosion would become a nightmare. If at all possible, they would avoid extending the undercarriage while in the water.

[@bluarcher5941]

that's interesting...makes sense, though.

[@Pouk3D]

I was just thinking about it.

[@bomberaustychunksbruv4119]

If I was rich like Bill Gates or Geoff Besos, I would have one of these and fly it whenever I could. My Grandad was a RAF Squadron Leader flying these planes, and I loved him so much. RIP.

[@freedomforever6718]

Fantastic piece of American history.

[@tristesskartoffel8677]

What a beautyful plane the Engine Sounds amazing;)

[@whidbeyben]

Apparent propeller rotation is an artifact of shutter speed, frames per second and propeller rpm's. The naked eye can't see the props spinning (but you can certainly hear them and feel the prop wash.

[@lamportnholt9509]

Does RPMs stand for Revolutions Per Minute's........

[@natehill8069]

Starting a radial is more art than science.

[@tedsmith6137]

A fine example of using the curvature of the earth to take off.

[@Rickinsf]

Notice how the nose pitched up, briefly, when the water was released? My father was on B24's during the war and said this was a problem on bomb runs. After they'd dropped their load, the now-lightened plane would go up, but the pilot, wanting to dive and gain speed, had to struggle to make it descend and 'get the hell outta there.'

[@johnjusko-l5x]

What a surprise that one of these old seaplanes can still fly much like the others like the UH-16 Albatross seaplanes.

[@lorenzodunn3226]

Excellent film footage and sound. Great scenery.

[@robbieb.4927]

Gosh damn, I just Love this Airplane so much!. It has its own beauty and finesses about it!.

[@Makermook]

That porpoising must not have felt good.

[@markfrance9924]

Cleaned sand out of one cartwheel’d into Sylvan Lk,Alberta,🇨🇦 in about 1978 for Ken Borek Air Reclamations, YYC. It flew again.

[@dkruitz]

My grandfather was a radar technician for these in World War II in the RCAF and said these were incredibly loud to fly in.

[@MsLuisguillen]

I read a book about this plane. They called it the Sea Witch.

[@kriley9386]

Near the beach in Cairns, Australia, is a war memorial with a bronze PBY. These planes flew everywhere.

[@afishcalledwanda]

Send planespotters to video classes! :-) The guy ruined the take by missing the very take-off moment.

[@ssn608]

All tha applause when the guy flushes his toilet during flyby at end.... LOL

[@Imnotyourdoormat]

great video....i never new the cat rode so low in the water at low-speed....must be some view for the pilot.

[@whidbeyben]

The siren was apparently mounted on the PBY, as if to alert bystanders nearby to beware of taxiing plane.

[@clubbythe]

The FPS of the camera makes the propellers look as if they aren't moving. It's called a stroboscopic effect.

[@F.Krueger-cs4vk]

What a beauty. They had one parked at the end of the air strip Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. I think it was left there after the American forces pulled out in 1945. It was taken away in the 1970's, dont know who removed it.

[@MarsFKA]

More on the Port Moresby PBY: I saw it out the window of my flight from Brisbane in 1971, still parked in the grass at the end of the runway, but minus its wings and looking terrible because, as I found out, it was used for fire drills by the airport fire and rescue people. It was still there when I left Papua-New Guinea a year and three days later. In 1981 I visited the Museum Of Transport And Technology in Auckland and saw the PBY fuselage there - I recognised it by the burn marks. The fuselage is now housed in a storage hangar of the Air Force Museum at the former Wigram Air Force Base in Christchurch. When I saw it again, nine years ago, the fuselage had been extensively restored and is looking pretty good. Our tour guide said they have a large stock of parts for the aircraft, but it will still be a long time before it is fully restored to display condition. The museum has a lot of skilled people working on the aircraft that they have there and one of their restorations to display condition is a Hudson that spent several decades on a farm a few kilometres south of Oamaru. When I sat in it in 1967 it was being used as a hen house and you don't need a diagram of what it looked like. Now it looks amazing and the Port Moresby PBY will one day look the same.

[@fourfortyroadrunner6701]

Magnificent old airplane. Must be a maintenance nightmare operating them off salt water

[@diogenes5381]

We make a point of ignoring utube commercials & refuse to buy from advertisers who waste our time insinuating themselves into our lives!

[@rEdf196]

When I was 15 in the summer of 1979 A PBY Canso waterbomber plane nearly crashed in my backyard flying over at treetop level with its starboard engine in flames which caused a small forest fire nearby from burning falling debris. The plane landed safely on Sproat lake. The buning engine was extinguished by a Jetranger helecopter with a cable and water bucket.

[@richpaul8132]

What happened?! The video card run out of memory?! Or did the guy shooting have a short attention span? One minute he's running down the runway and then suddenly, one frame later, the plane's in the air and banking to the left in a turn. Where's the "take Off"? The title of the video was "... PBY-6A ... Take Off", not "... PBY-6A... water taxi". Oh Well... what are ya gonna' do?

[@vincent7520]

What's the use of dumping water on water ???

[@mattd1142]

R-2600s on a PBY??? Actually it should have built them with those. More power

[@quickfoxxes]

Part 1 of 2 seems to have disappeared. If so, what is left in 2 of 2 would seem to complete the previous landing sequence. Too bad!!

[@elanthys]

@shedboyz21: N85U is a "Super Cat", with two 1800hp Wright Cyclone R-2600 replacing the original P&W engines.

[@apxpandy4965]

A great vid - thanks!

[@jefftheriault7260]

You'd think they'd keep the nose gunner's turret for a water drop operator.

[@SCRB1GR3D98]

Nose gunner turrets were restricted to fighting roles and the black cat aircraft. Recon didn't have them

[@stevealacavage2321]

--- The perfect RV!!!

[@jamescooler5089]

Good vid, nice engine sounds.

[@summitcountyrider]

You forgot to film the takeoff!!

[@beegee22]

It sits so low in the water you wonder how it is ever going to get up on the step! 😮😮

[@JDS11ify]

Sounds like B25 engines. Are they standard for that model or upgrades?

[@biukucanoe]

I saw the stills from your iphone, did you run home to get your dv camcorder for this?

[@ajiejumanoy4815]

love the take off bro more videos soon

[@diogenes5381]

Siren insulting radial music. We know the type!

[@ThunderAppeal]

The amount of time they spent getting this plane warmed up the war would have been over by then.

[@johnbeckman492]

My dad flew in PBYs in WWII out of the Aleutians. Says his claim to fame was testing the side blister gun and accidentally shooting off an antenna wire strung from wingtip to tail.

[@notabadog]

just before the drop, 8:50, in the background is Mount Baker, (looks like a cloud, but is a mountain)

[@bobwhite8149]

Mount was my morning view Every morning from the seaplane base side 19 53-54.

[@agnostic47]

Interesting. A take-off with no take-off.

[@natehill8069]

Dont mean to be picky, but your video of the takeoff didn't include - the takeoff...

[@DragerPilot]

It should be a criminal offense to take one of these beautiful warbirds and convert it into a water bomber.

[@bearbon2]

Man it really rides low in the water. Must have the water tanks already loaded! Seems like it would make for a lot shorter takeoff run and less stress on the hull to get airborne first and then fill the tanks by skimming. Nice video.

[@raymondbertrandjr.9805]

bearbon2 and o

[@bigfish7493]

The tanks were being purged, they were full of Barbancourt 5-star Haitian rum!,

[@levelat350]

I heard sirens in the video,what did they mean?

[@coolleo149]

WHAT?!!! It’s a water bomber too?! 😮😮😮

[@EVAUnit4A]

Majority of surviving Catalinas are water bombers.

[@fredtedstedman]

i'm watching this thinking "thats a great model , wonder what scale it is ? " Duuuuuuuuuh ! Love the Catalina . Wales UK

[@shedboyz21]

What on it for engines? They run too ruff to be 1830's. also, they ride like that in the water when empty

[@arodrigues2843]

Why they allways delete the nose turret from those civilian a/c ??? It would be a very nice observation post, and much more an original plane. If I had one, I will put it completelly original, even the instrumentation, (besides the now mandatory), and all the original interior coulors.

[@SuperUltimateLP]

better visibility for the pilots

[@jockellis]

Could use the bow chasers to break the surface tension of a glassy sea as they did in WW II.

[@831BeachBum]

A Rodrigues A lot of them were used for hauling cargo, or fire bombers after they saw service in the military when owned by civilians. When the turret was removed and that nose area faired over with sheet metal the nose was called the ," Clipper Nose" for better airflow. In 1993 my friend, the late Gus Vincent that owned PBY-5A, N9521C, myself, and a couple of other guys on the crew modified the nose back to accepting a turret. Was lots of fun standing in the nose of the plane during flight with the top cover of turret removed (original gunner had his head up in slipstream. Also, a detachable plexiglass bubble could be installed to protect gunner from the elements). Turret parts were hard to come by in the 90's.

[@checkyoursix5623]

Lots of porpoising after he gets it up on the step ... bet that's uncomfortable ... then never saw it break free of the water after the porpoising diminished ...

[@jerrydoolittle9747]

Thanks for sharing...! Is the seaplane base still open? My dad worked on the avionics of P5Ms out there many years ago. We used be able to see the base across the bay from where we lived in Oak Harbor....

[@whidbeyben]

The ramps are still there and open for active military and dependents to launch crabbing boats, but no sea planes other than the rare PBY visit.

[@Dog.soldier1950]

Jerry Doolittle the massive hanger is now a Navy Exchange

[@ljimlewis]

Maybe. Before / After Takeoff?

[@JeffDoan-h3e]

What happened to Jimmy Buffett's PBY?

[@MsLuisguillen]

The SeaWitch

[@antoniojosecoelho4432]

É o transporte ideal pra Amazônia!

[@RoadartamFluss]

How cool is that?

[@shanbadg697]

Can the PBY land on runway or is it not designed that way? Would love to own one! You’re only limited by your imagination (and, $$$$$) but, to fly to a secluded lake and camp out! I’d see some new turbo propjets. Stronger suspension. But, would lbe awesome!

[@Пионер-я5э]

На таком летал мой отец...Прекрасная машина..👍

[@pascalchauvet7625]

Can it maintain height on one engine?

[@wingmanjim6]

Looks like the Super Cat conversion- Wright R2600 QECs from B25s replace the original P&W R1830s. Considerable extra power.

[@W1LDWESLEY]

Does it have a water rudder to turn it or is it pushed air turning by air rudder

[@rangerman375]

Siren's for alerting any ground crews of a water drop.

[@jefftheriault7260]

Someone's car alarm, set by engine vibe, set off by buffet from prop wash.

[@Ravenscaller]

The old seaplane base is now the public marina at Oak Harbor.

[@franciscosilva1672]

chow amigo parabéns.

[@theGoonezone]

ONLY GREAT ! Looks Scale and a cool Sound! Rc hounted! 😉

[@marquamfurniture]

A lot of wasted time first 2/3rds.... but missed the take off. Sheesh!

[@craigpennington1251]

Shut that car alarm off.

[@gregbolitho9775]

Heres me thinkin those engines'd be to young to smoke!

[@DriveSafeDon]

Never saw the plane put flaps down wonder why 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@AceInvader]

Don Drone doesn’t have any to put down

[@everyone5724]

Kinda hard to put flaps down when you don't have any, buddy. The thing is heavy enough and flies slow enough at cruise that the wing floats are enough to slow her down enough in the water.

[@triplanelover]

how nice it would be without all the extra sound effects

[@hartmuthekmann4681]

Isn´t that the "Tanker 85" wich was used in the first Edition of the Television-Series "Spencer´s Pilots" back in 1976?

[@harryhill688]

Could even be R-2600 engines.

[@mattd1142]

They are

[@tbamagic]

What take-off??? None seen!

[@stephenastell3288]

Take off ??? What take off

[@carolosten995]

I'm building a Lego one

[@harryhill688]

Those engines sound and look to be R-2000 engines not R-1830 engines

[@mattd1142]

R-2600s actually. Same as a B-25

[@jamescollins908]

She Is Gorgeous !!! XXX

[@АлексКа-з8ю]

Красивый самолёт

[@scopex2749]

Who is the idiot with the Police siren? 3:27 😡 I LOVE these aircraft. I was looking at a crashed one to rebuild but could afford to ship it back to UK 😕

[@michaelshaffer9051]

That was a taxing alert alarm so that people wouldn't get in the way of it while I was maneuvering .

[@PeterNGloor]

engines? P&W R-1800?

[@robarnum7180]

They're wright R2600 1500hp. Normal rated a rather common re engine over the1200hp p&w.

[@bertiewooster3326]

Gee these folk are noisey pipe down!!

[@ele4853]

Porpoising on smoth waters once skiing over the step shows how little this pilot knows about this aircraft. Terrible and sad to see...

[@russellwayne7154]

The non event video maker

[@badassYJ69]

I wish I would have still been there to see this. I was a MA there 02-06.

[@oscarjonesxxx2893]

One of the engines sounds wrong to me.

[@Guideonbearer]

A plane that has served Americas Navy for decades rescuing untold downed airman in the ocean and was the first reconnaissance aircraft to identify the Japanese Invasion Fleet during the battle of Midway in June of 1942. It's entire wing was a fuel tank and it could stay aloft for 24 hours. It also served as a "Black Cat" night attack bomber during the war in the Pacific. It's high wing has several benefits: It keeps the wing clear of the waves and spray and lets face it, gravity is the best fuel pump of all. The outrigger wing tip pontoons stabilized it in heavy seas and then folded into the wing for increased aerodynamic efficiency. It is claimed to have one top speed: 100 knots, straight and level or in a dive.

[@wilburfinnigan2142]

shedboyZ21 Unless the engines were swapped they were built with the PW R1830 with various HP from 800 on the original to 1200 on the later models.

[@MrAlwaysright77]

this are not the original engines, are they?

[@dcb1138]

Most likely ...not.

[@MegaBoilermaker]

@@dcb1138 No, these engines are Wright Cyclones not P &W's

[@1956tati]

Where did they left the floats from the wings or do they change airplane?

[@derBergmann42]

It is the same airplane. The floats retract to form the wing tips.

[@jongunnarsson9384]

Fernando Castillo