Nice, but I’d rather have an Albatross.
The Albatross Lady - Florida Airparks, Airport Properties, Aviation Real Estate, Aerodrome, Property for Sale
(Really, I’d rather have a PBY-5A Catalina.)
That’s what Jimmy Buffett said, too.
Yeah, an Albatross would make way more sense. I saw one at Oshkosh that replaced the radar nose with an observation bubble.
I just keep imagining what it would be like to lounge in luxury looking out those huge observation bubbles on a Catalina. Plus they remind me of the Sikorsky S-42 flying boat.
You can put a Twin Otter on amphibious floats. And how much cabin room is there in a Catalina? It doesn’t really look like it would be all that spacious. Among the Twin Otter, the Catalina, and the various Grummans I’d be curious how much payload and usable volume each one has inside.
Ah ha! I found the more in depth article I was thinking of yesterday:
As you can see from the pictures, the Catalina has a much higher BAR than the Twin Otter (Bikini Asspect Ratio)
Otter (300): Length: 51 ft; empty: 7514lb; MTOW: 12,500 lb (military 14,000 lb)
Catalina: Length: 63 ft; empty: 20,910 lb; MTOW: 35,420 lb
Note that the Otter specs are I believe the land version and floats are going to add weight
(IMHO flying boats are just cooler than float planes)
Brian
The Catalina has a much farther range plus a better bomb load than the Twin Otter.
I love the view of the Pyramids through the observation blisters. That’s got to be one of the greatest aviation photographs ever.
Until you realize those models would be around 90 years old today, if still alive at all.
Yes. Millionaires own Twin Otters. It might take a Billionaire or a dedicated group of people to keep a Catalina going. There are a number of WW-II military aircraft running around. You have to really want something like a B-25 to invest the time and money to own it.
The nice thing is it’s getting easier to reproduce a part when it breaks. I’m amazed at what Jay Leno has done with some of his cars. it wasn’t too long ago that some of them were beyond repair.
I meant the girls in bikinis, not the planes.
Flying boats do have a certain retro appeal, I admit. But I did an internship at a company that builds floats, so I have a soft spot in my heart for them.
DOH. I’m definitely getting older. I spent more time looking at the lines of the plane. Maybe it’s the giant bulbous observation blisters. Yeah, that’s it.
For something more modern (though smaller), there is the Dornier Seastar – it might even get made (don’t hold your breath):
Or retrofit a Canadair CL-415?
Brian
I was thinking of the same plane but couldn’t think of what it was called.
As for the Dornier Seastar, maybe a tail number change before trying to sell the concept to investors.
^ Heh. Good point. I’d missed that.
Interesting - the one in your second link has four engines, not two.
Aha! Thank you, Johnny.
Good eye. I completely missed that. Only one of them made. And they used Lycomings. A very odd arrangement. Why bother if it exceeds water landing capacity. I’d love to see the restoration pan out with just the 2 engines.