Fantastic PBY photos from CatDriver

[mar]

http://groups.msn.com/FantasticFlyingPhotos

The man (CatDriver) was kind enough to email me some beautiful PBY photos from Africa and South America but too humble to post them himself.

So he gave me permission to put them up for your enjoyment.

Enjoy!

 

[Boeingman]

Now that is cool. What is the story behind the aircraft and it's restoration?

 

[cj610]

Pby

I think I saw a PBY flying around YIP today. I was off in the distance. Couldn't see what color it was.

 

[Cat Driver]

The first picture was taken in the Senegal River in N.W. Africa by a French TV camerman just as we were starting the take off.


The second picture was taxing down river in St Lewis Senegal

The third picture was taken in the Tibesti Mountains in North Western Chad, it was shot from a Russian MI 8 helicopter that was our camersa ship.

The fourth picture is lake Kariba in Zimbawbe.

The Airplane sank a U boat during the war off Iceland, then went into commercial flying in Canada including being used as a fire bomber.

It was bought by a French warbird collector and restored and equipped as a camera ship for the TV series Ushaiwa and we flew around Africa filming for that TV series.

It was then painted in the white and blue scheme ( Air France ) and we flew the French Aeropostale mail route in 1998 from Toulouse France To Santiago Chile in memory of the French mail pilots in the 1930's

I have been flying it since 1996 the last time was 1998/99 as a executive toy based in Rio De Janeiro and the ferry flight back to North America.

It is presently back in Paris and slated for a round the world trip. When the round the world trip is finished I am going to finally retire and do something interesting.
Cat Driver

 

[501261]

Very Cool

 

[mar]

Any big ideas?

When the round the world trip is finished I am going to finally retire and do something interesting.
Cat Driver

Any big ideas on the career change? I think your spelling and grammar is darn good enough to put your experiences to paper.

Ah hell that's what editors are for anyway. Or you could just hire yourself a secretary--sorry, 'personal assistant'--and she could take dictation...

...if you get my drift. Sounds like a nice way to finish up a lifetime of flying.

 

[Boeingman]

The first picture was taken in the Senegal River in N.W. Africa by a French TV camerman just as we were starting the take off.


The second picture was taxing down river in St Lewis Senegal

The third picture was taken in the Tibesti Mountains in North Western Chad, it was shot from a Russian MI 8 helicopter that was our camersa ship.

The fourth picture is lake Kariba in Zimbawbe.

The Airplane sank a U boat during the war off Iceland, then went into commercial flying in Canada including being used as a fire bomber.

It was bought by a French warbird collector and restored and equipped as a camera ship for the TV series Ushaiwa and we flew around Africa filming for that TV series.

It was then painted in the white and blue scheme ( Air France ) and we flew the French Aeropostale mail route in 1998 from Toulouse France To Santiago Chile in memory of the French mail pilots in the 1930's

I have been flying it since 1996 the last time was 1998/99 as a executive toy based in Rio De Janeiro and the ferry flight back to North America.

It is presently back in Paris and slated for a round the world trip. When the round the world trip is finished I am going to finally retire and do something interesting.
Cat Driver

Interesting, thanks for the info.

 

[nikoz1200]

Cat Driver:

Nice photos and story. By chance, do you know if this plane was in St John's a few months ago on its way to the Azores? If so... then I saw it.

 

[Cat Driver]

Nikoz1200 :

No the airplane you saw in St Johns was an ex Sasketchewan water bomber that was converted back to passenger configuration by Plane sailing. Plane Sailing is a group that are keeping a Catalina flying with twenty members owning it, they are based in Duxford England.

There are several Cats that have been restored around the world, the latest of which is in Holland and I have been doing type rating training with them for the past several months. I left it in Schipol a couple of weeks ago for a paint job and am leaving on Friday to go back and finish the training and do some publicity flying with it.

Last summer I finished delivering a real nice Cat from Johannesberg S.A. to Suffolk Va. for a collector, you can see it at this link. www.TideTech.com/fighterfactory/

For those of you who wish to read about that Cat there is a complete story in this link on its history up to and including the ferry from J.Berg.

Cat Driver

 

[wingnutt]

When the round the world trip is finished I am going to finally retire and do something interesting.
Cat Driver

lol..."something interesting" he says. well, i hear theres a golf course down in south florida looking for an experienced cart washer