Flightpath - May 2018

FLIGHTPATH|49

CLOCKWISE FROM MAIN:
Canso C-FNJE was fighting fires in the Inuvik,
Northwest Territories area, in 2001 when it started
taking on water and sank. It was pulled to the
north-east shore of Sitidgi Lake where the engines
wereremovedandsalvaged.Itwaswrittenoff,but,
seven years later, it was recovered by the Fairview
Aircraft Restoration Society, famously formed by a
groupofsixlocalfarmers,whomodifiedasetof
Beech18skissotheaircraftcouldbetowedoverice,
snowandtundramorethanfortykilometrestothe
nearestroad.Itthentravelledmorethan2000
kilometres by barge and truck to get to Fairview
where restoration to airworthiness commenced. The
Canso flew again on 18 June 2017.[David Musselwhite]

Chilean water bomber ‘32’, operating in Spain, empties
itsbellytanksthroughtwodoorstodeliver4000litres
ofwater.TheCatalina’sspeedofsome90-100knots
ensured the ine dispersal of the water over a large area
interrainwheretherewereoftennoroadsortracksfor
ire ighting vehicles. Freshwater loads were picked up
from nearby lakes or broad rivers, allowing a rapid
turnaround time.

Geophysical survey equipment equipped ‘Super Cat’
VH-UMS with Wright R-2600 Cyclone engines and
non-standard spinners. The various aerial arrays around
thehullandwingfedthemagneticieldgaugesthat
mapped an area for the presence of metals or oil. This
particular aircraft, registered to Selco Exploration
Companyatthetime,isseenhereonpublicdisplayin
Meekatharra,WesternAustralia,duringAugust1964.
Note how it retained the rare RCAF glass dome on the
‘clipper’bow.ItleftforCanadainlate1964andcontinued
toperformsurveyworkintotheearlyeighties.Itis
currently under restoration for the Cavanaugh Flight
Museum as N287.
[Graydon West, via Jim Leppitt]

This former Royal Canadian Air Force Canso A (serial

9767)attackedandsankU-342on17April1944.Itlater

became an airliner and a ireighter before being

acquired by Canadian Air Legend and lown to France

where,attheendof2017,itcouldstillbefound.Inlate

1998, it lew to South America to commemorate the

1930smaillightscarriedoutbyAirFrance.TheCanso

wore the airline’s livery for the duration of the

re-enactment.

The recognisable, but battered, paint scheme on this

Catalina (N5590V is barely visible on the tail) reveals

this aircraft to be one of the three luxury lying yachts

converted by Californian industrialist Thomas Kendall.

Having made his fortune in air conditioning, Kendall

wanted to make a business out of converting the

aircraft and leasing them out. After some adventures,

his plans died with one of his aircraft of the coast of

Saudi Arabia when the moored Catalina, and its

occupants, came under ire from militants. This aircraft

survivesasaderelictontheedgeoftheRedSea,butis

now rapidly deteriorating, and has been the subject of

several series of haunting photos. N5590V, the subject

of this photo, lew into San Diego Air Force Base in May

1986withBobKendall,Thomas’son,atthecontrols.

TheKendallsdonatedittotheSanDiegoAir&Space

Museumanditwasrestoredtoamilitaryconiguration

prior to going on display in 1988.[via The Kendall Collection]

80Years,ATributetothePBYCatalina

isavailablefromtheSeattleBook

Company. Use the code ‘Flightpath

magazine’togeta20%discount.

http://www.seattlebookcompany.com/80-

years-a-tribute-to-the-pby-catalina/