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gallery should have been named, "They gave me a Catalina for the
morning"!! Courtesy of the very kind invitation of
Plane
Sailing Air Displays Co.
and the Catalina
Society, SEAWINGS
was granted uninterrupted total access to their beautiful Canso (PBY-5A)
for the morning prior to a Duxford Air Show. Not being the one to waste
the opportunity of the year, I went all-out to get these 282 images of the
exterior - and more importantly the interior as well - to assist modelers and
enthusiasts understand the complexities of this craft.
My grateful thanks goes
to the head of the organisation, Paul Warren Wilson, for allowing me to
crawl all through her in the first place and particularly to Catalina
Society stalwart and altogether really nice bloke, Doug, who on the day
could not do enough for me to facilitate my sheer pleasure. You will see
from the images that he even raised and lowered the wing-tip floats so
that I could get all the shots I wanted. Thanks Doug, and I hope I will see
you on the sales stall next year!
For those who wish to
know more about the Catalina Society, and this PBY in particular, please
visit their web site by clicking here.
Give them your support to ensure that she continues to fly for the
foreseeable future so that we can all enjoy such a nostalgic site.
Finally, this year she
was re-painted in a cracking all-white scheme and I was fortunate enough
to see her again and added a few images at the end - and, Yes, if you look
through all the cockpit images carefully, the flying boat 'nut' with the
stupid grin is yours truly fulfilling a private ambition to sit in the
cockpit of a Catalina.....priceless. Thanks Guys!!
(It
was a very sad day when I learnt Doug passed away after this Gallery
was made; I respectfully dedicate it to him and will never forget his
kindness in making this Gallery possible. He didn't know me from Adam,
but a flying boat enthusiast immediately recognises another one, and
his help in gaining some of these images was beyond the norm. A really
nice bloke. Thanks, Doug - God Bless You)
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