Monday, March 29, 2010

Wellington Aero Club Open Day 2010 #12: The Cat - post 1 of 2

A huge highlight for many people [including myself] was the arrival of the Consolidated Vultee PBY5A Catalina, ZK-PBY.

The Catalina is one of those aircraft that is simply unmistakable. There's nothing [in this part of the world at least] that comes even close to the sight or 'presence' of the Catalina... which is probably why the Catalina Group of New Zealand were able to run 5 flights for visitors instead of the planned 2.

I understand that this is the only operational Catalina in Australasia. It is probably also one of the few times it has been in to Wellington, although maybe we will see it here more often from now on... here's hoping :-)

Needless to say, after marshaling the aircraft in, and throughout the day, I took a lot of pictures. There will be a second post up very soon so that I can cover of some of the better ones. In this post are pictures of the arrival, followed by a picture of the cockpit and through the blisters in the rear of the fuselage.

If you ever get a chance to have a look, or even go for a ride in this aircraft, I'd suggest that you take your chance!

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