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N-9767
28-5ACF (Catalina PBY-5A)
Baujahr / Built in:

1943

Pilot oder Besitzer / Pilot or owner:

Jay Philippe

Stationiert in / Stationed in:

Melun Villaroche LFPM

Motor / Engine:

P&W R1830-92S
Leistung / Performance:

110 kt
Abmessungen / Measurement:

WS : 32 m L : 20 m H : 6,40 m

Max. Abfluggewicht / Max. takeoff weight:

12 000

Weitere Informationen / More information

Shortly after being delivered to the Royal Canadian Air Force, Canso A, serial 9767 (build by Boeing of Canada - Sea Island... the last of the Canso build by the canadian branch of Boeing in flight condition in the world), was being operated by 162 (BR) Squadron as aircraft 'S'. On 17 April 1944, whilst it was under the command of F/O T.C. Cooke, the U-boat U-342 was attacked on the surface, south-west of Iceland. U-342 was on her maiden voyage, having sailed out of Bergen some two weeks previously.Eventually struck off charge in April 1946, n°9767 was soon acquired by Canadian Pacific Airlines and registered CF-CRR. During its fourteen-year tour of duty with Canadian Pacific Airlines, it flew as a passenger and freight aircraft with the fleet numbers 233 and 933. Early on, it had its blisters and nose turret removed. just before being disposed of by Canadian Pacific Airlines, on 23 April 1959, CF-CRR suffered substantial damage in a cross-wind water landing at Terrace, BC, and as a result, the Canso had to divert to the nearby land airport and make a nose-wheel-up landing. There followed a succession of Canadian airline owners, including Northland Airlines, Midwest Airlines and Ilford Riverton Airways, before acquisition by Avalon Aviation for use as a water bomber. Initially based at Red Deer, Alberta, from 1977, it was later to call Parry Sound, Ontario, its home, and it was there that it entered long-term storage when Avalon ceased operations during the late 1980s. As a water bomber, C-FCRR carried the hull code '1' and, later, '791'. In the rough and tumble of fire-fighting operations, accidents will happen and C-FCRR was involved in two of note. The first was at Sylvan Lake, Alberta, on 27 May 1978, when serious damage was sustained after stalling onto the water whilst carrying out water pick-up training. The aircraft was hurriedly beached before it sank. The outer section of the starboard wing was destroyed in this incident and was replaced with an unused wartime component complete with original RCAF roundels! The second accident was on 30 May 1981, when the left hand nose wheel door tore off during a water pick-up on Complex Lake, NWT. The aircraft nosed down and sank but was salvaged to fly again! Other scrapes included an overrun on take-off from an airfield in Saskatchewan that resulted in the damaged airframe having to be airlifted out by helicopter, and a nose wheel collapse on landing in the mid-1980s. All in all, an eventful period!During its time in storage at Parry Sound, it was the subject of several purchase attempts by groups keen to preserve it, particularly because of its wartime history. However, all failed, and in 1994 it was acquired by Franklin Devaux of Dijon based Canadian Air Legend. He had blisters replaced on the aft hull and other over haul work carried out by Tom Reilly of Kissimmee, Florida, and then, in the spring of 1995, C-FCRR left Canada for France. Upon arrival, it was initially overhauled at Dinard by “LAB - TAT Industries” (now SABENA) before flying to Toulouse, where it was resprayed by “Aerospatiale” in a striking grey and blue scheme. In October 1995, it departed for Africa equipped as a flying TV studio for use in a French TV natural history series called “Operation Okavango”. Its initial destination was Djibouti, followed by the Comoro Islands, then Kenya and Ethiopia. The operations in Ethiopia were not without incident whilst being filmed taxiing out of the water affer a lake-landing, the bow became stuck fast in mud and the Catalina had to be ignominiously lifted out of its predicament by the Mi-8 support helicopter that was accompanying it on the trip. Even this was not straightforward, as the downdraught damaged the Cat's port aileron in the process! After a period at Harare in Zimbabwe, C-FCRR returned to France, and by mid-1997 was at Arcachon / La Teste de Buch minus its Okavango titles but named “Capt Tom Cooke”, after its illustrious wartime captain. It was later repainted in an Air France colour scheme with the name “Princesse des Etoiles” and flown to Le Bourget, Paris, on 23 August 1998, where it was dismantled by the British firm Edwards Brothers Aviation, previously involved in the African filming, and trucked to the “Place de la Concorde” on the “Champs Elysées”. There, it was placed on public display during September, along with a great number of other vintage aeroplanes, to celebrate 100 years of “Aéroclub de France”, but also to promote the commemorative flight to Chile. The object of the flight is to commemorate the postal flights from France to Chile during the thirties. The route take the Catalina to the following places: Malaga, Agadir, Saint-Louis de Senegal, Dakar, Fernando de Noronha, Natal, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Soa Paulo, Porto Alegre, Buenos Aires, Mendoza, and Santiago du Chili….And effectively, with its Parisian appearance over, it was taken back to Le Bourget and flown south again ready for its next adventure a transatlantic flight to Chile and Brazil via West Africa! The main reason for this epic flight was to commemorate the Aéropostal mail flights flown by Jean Mermoz between France and Dakar, Sénégal, instigated in 1930. The Catalina left Toulouse on 14 October, and by 28 November 1998, C-FCRR had arrived in Santiago of Chile, a follow on flight to Brazil being made on the 3rd of that month. For these flights, many sponsorship logos adorned the Catalina's hull and tail, including that of the Brazilian airline TAM, which was taking delivery of new airbus aircraft, the PBY being involved in the handover ceremony. At the completion of the mission, C-FCRR flew north and spent some time at Oshawa, Ontario, where maintenance was carried out before leaving on 8 june 1999, crossing the Northern Atlantic via Reykjavik and Shannon, before arriving at Dinard in Brittany. A few weeks later, it was being kept busy as an aerial camera platform for the 11 August total eclipse of the sun…She was then based at Orly-Airport in south of Paris, newly registered N9767 when a new adventure began with its new owner, C.A.T. or Catalina Air Trust. Mark Edwards, from AirVenture Ltd did the last phase of maintenance and preparation to get the US certification. Plans were made to fly N9767 from Orly to its new base, Melun-Villaroche, and then on December the 22th, 2010, the Princess took off... Before there has been extensive maintenance, thanks to the Canadians & Americans engineers (Jim Van Dyk, Peter Houghton & George Perez). After the aircraft’s arrival at Orly, they gave 9767 a new engine, new propellers, new avionics system, overhaul hydraulics, cables, and a lot more. Almost all of 9767 parts have been checked & replaced when necessary. The outcome was a testimony to the mechanics work. Operating will be done with help from Angel One-Five (AOF) and everybody’s waiting for springtime, when the meetings season will start. We will be very proud to show our N9767 flying to aviation enthusiasts. The beginning of a new adventure!PBY story:The Consolidated PBY Catalina was an American flying boat of the 1930s and 1940s produced by Consolidated Aircraft. It was one of the most widely used multi-role aircraft of World War II. PBYs served with every branch of the US military and in the air forces and navies of many other nations. In the United States Army Air Forces and later in the United States Air Force their designation was the OA-10, while Canadian-built PBYs were known as the Canso.During World War II, PBYs were used in anti-submarine warfare, patrol bombing, convoy escorts, search and rescue missions (especially air-sea rescue), and cargo transport. The PBY was the most successful aircraft of its kind; no other flying boat was produced in greater numbers. The last active military PBYs were not retired from service until the 1980s. Even today, over 70 years after its first flight, the aircraft continues to fly as an airtanker in aerial firefighting operations all over the world.The initialism of "P.B.Y." was determined in accordance with the U.S. Navy aircraft designation system of 1922; PB representing "Patrol Bomber" and Y being the code used for the aircraft's manufacturer, Consolidated Aircraft.