By Doug Rozendaal
Friday, June third, 1994 was a muggy morning in Midland, Texas. Walking through the door of the ATR 72 on which I arrived, the air hit my face like a basket of half dried laundry. Hot, Heavy, & Soggy. This was a prophecy of things to come.
When we landed I had seen the PBY Catalina sitting on the ramp by the CAF bomber hanger awaiting our arrival. The CAF's new Headquarters in Midland can be described in only one way; First Class. Anyone traveling in that part of the country should make an effort to stop by and see the facilities.
Randy Sohn, Chief Bomber Check Pilot for the CAF, had arrived on an earlier flight and Denise Van Grunsven, another CAF pilot, had arrived the night before. Our mission was to pick up the PBY and begin the long trip to it's new home with the Southern Minnesota wing of the CAF in the land of 10,000 lakes (airports). Denise and I would receive training on the trip. We had worked hard to find airshows on the way home to help defray the expenses of the trip. Only 3 days before we left for Texas we were able to book a stop in Lexington, NE for an airport dedication.
Denise and I spent an hour climbing over the big boat. One of the most impressive aspects of the Catalina is her sheer size. 104 feet wide, 64 feet long, and 23 feet to the top of the tail. I would never admit to a fear of anything, however, I am most happy when not farther off the ground than I would like to jump. There are provisions for climbing down the back of the wing, down the backbone, and up the tail to inspect the horizontal and vertical stabilizer. I can tell you there are parts of a thorough preflight on a PBY that I will never see. I also learned quickly that unless your Tony Lama's have been retrofitted with Topsider soles they are not part of the PBY pilot's uniform. The combination of oil, polyurethane paint, leather soles, and sloping surfaces at the altitudes above my jumping distance give the words "slip-slidin away" a whole new meaning.
The first take-off in any new airplane is always approached cautiously. Nothing I have ever flown prepared me for the PBY. To say you fly it is a bit of a misnomer, it is more like you herd it. 12 ounce curls are not a satisfactory exercise program for the muscle which is mandatory for rotation. The ailerons are manageable but the elevator is almost unbearably heavy.
The southerly flow of Gulf moisture was pumping enormous amounts of moisture and energy into central Kansas and Flight Service had provided one of those, "You can't get there from here," briefings. We went west over Tucumcari, NM and never hit a bump but the unstable air kept the rudder pedals moving 6 to 8 inches fore and aft if they were not attended. The Catalina will truly go where ever it pleases and for no apparent reason. It is like following a puppy in a forest of fire hydrants, you don't know where it is headed next, but it is always moving.
Some 5 hours later we arrived at Lexington circled a lovely lake south of town and were seriously tempted to put her on the winter, but the CAF has decreed that she is a land plane, we obliged and headed for the aerodrome.
I had heard that this was a demanding airplane to fly. The PBY has no flaps. Speaking with Pete Ettinger, her previous owner, I had asked, "how do you slow it down?" His response, "why would you want to?" I appreciate challenging airplanes, I further appreciate discriminating airplanes. The PBY is both. The problem is it was discriminating against me. The secret seems to be a stable approach, power response is very slow. All responses are slow but the power is extremely slow. The converse is true in pitch control, the speed builds if you let the nose down. Finally with 1400 square feet of wing and the slightest amount of excess airspeed it will float, and float, and float. We did land and get stopped. I hope there is no video tape.
The People of Lexington made us welcome in a Grand way and we had a wonderful time. The Heartland Military Museum is there. If your travels take you across Nebraska on I-80 I would recommend a stop. Often we flyers forget that there was more to these wars than airplanes. This museum is dedicated to the all the vehicles of the Wars, especially those with tires or tracks. We rode on an M-60 tank with a V-12 diesel. I financed my college education as a Dozer Driver. I was impressed.
Lexington was our first opportunity to judge the public response to the Catalina. It was a hit. Everyone was awe-struck with it's size and interesting shape. Sure enough there was a PBY pilot in this small town. Gordon Berthelson works in the local hardware store. He flew 1800 hours patrolling out of New York off the east coast and few of his friends or neighbors knew it. He had not seen a PBY since he got out in 1945. He was very excited to see the big boat in his home town. One experience like that will keep me fired up for an entire year.
We left Lexington for Ankeny, Iowa. Enroute we sampled the slow flight, (all flight is slow flight in a PBY) stalls, single engine performance, and steep turns. The adverse aileron yaw is a big factor in all of these regimes. The airplane behaves more like a glider than anything else. Little by little we learned. Denise's airline experience was beneficial to her and she had better success than I.
We arrived in Ankeny and joined our B-25 "Miss Mitchell" for a week of touring with the newly formed Iowa Hawkeye State detachment of our Southern Minnesota Wing. The crowd there was receptive and interested in the Catalina as well. From there others flew the airplane to my hometown airshow in Mason City, Iowa with Randy. They found similar frustrations and challenges. I began to realize that I was not the only person to be challenged by the big boat. In Mason City we did more training. Even though I was not pleased with my performance, it was safe and satisfactory and I received a type rating in the PBY-5A and recommendation for a Letter of Authorization for the PBY-6A required because of her experimental registration.
From Mason City she flew to The Quad City Airshow for another big weekend. Finally on June 26, 23 days after we left Texas, the Catalina arrived home at Flemming field. A reception was held at the hanger and several people came out to welcome the Catalina. Much discussion and planning has already gone into further restoration. I am certain that a year from now the big boat will be a much different airplane than it is today.
Recently, I had another opportunity to fly her. I finally made a consecutive take off and landing that while not perfect, were acceptable to me. A young instructor once said of a particular popular trainer which has three wheels, all the same size, "The airplane is remarkably easy to fly poorly and harder than any of them to fly well." This is the finest explanation of the PBY that I know.
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