|
Post by baz62 on Apr 3, 2012 10:40:50 GMT 12
Harry that's a very appropriate logo! Once you have a link up on your website I'll make a donation, from one aircraft owner to another! ;D
|
|
|
Post by Chris F on Apr 3, 2012 11:17:41 GMT 12
Has the Catalina Club thought of basing the aircraft in New Plymouth as a perminant base for the aircraft....may be worth considering this and then approaching TSB Bank to see about a communitie grant towards building a hangar to house her in....also to be considered here is the vast amount of oil and gas companies based in New Plymouth who if approached may become valued sponsors to her future....this is well worth some phone calls.
|
|
|
Post by harrysone on Apr 3, 2012 11:44:37 GMT 12
While our Chief Pilot (Brett Emeny) is based there and most of our engineering work has been carried out there, most of the Club's operating committee and crew is Auckland based.
A Hangar would be great (we actually own one but cannot find sponsers to help us re-assemble it) as things stand however, without proper hangar protection, New Plymouth climate is very harsh on the airframe. If the appropriate sponsorship plan came about from the Taranaki region we would of course re-consider.
Note that we didn't leave the aircraft in New Plymouth by choice, its just that its now virtually impractical to re-assemble it for a ferry flight to a location with friendlier weather conditions.
We are about to go to tender for the airframe work that is required to get a better handle on how much repairs will be likely to cost us, without this we cannot hope to enter discussions with prospective sponsors without being able to tell them how much work and $$ will be required to return the aircraft to the air. Our initial quote did not appear to be at all realistic
Harry
|
|
|
Post by Chris F on Apr 3, 2012 16:21:50 GMT 12
Thanks Harry. I feel confident if with the proper avenues followed a decent proposal could be put forward within Taranaki to have the hangar erected at the New Plymouth airport with help from the TSB Community Trust and the assistance of the New Plymouth District Council whom part own the airport land. Taranaki you will find as a province would get in behind this and there are plenty of possible sponsors within oil and gas industry and the dairy industry as well. Personally I think this can happen...just needs someone to grab hold of it and sell the concept to those who control the purse strings.
|
|
|
Post by Chris F on Apr 3, 2012 16:24:31 GMT 12
Harry also as for re-erecting the hangar I am sure this could be done with donated work hours from local builders who would be happy to assist...as I said you gotta sell the concept hard and knock on some doors the push your case...never say never...trust me it works!
|
|
|
Post by harrysone on Apr 3, 2012 17:00:52 GMT 12
Thanks for some of these ideas , they may well be worth considering more in detail.
While I digress some, we purchased the hangar in Canterbury back in 2001. It is actually the old Mount Cook Airlines/Canterbury Aeroclub hangar which is a twin of the main Wigram Museum display hangar (the one with the C-47, Devon, Spitfire Canberra etc.) We tried very, very hard for a number of years to campaign to get it erected at Ardmore and (later also at Tauranga I believe), however these plans ultimately came to nothing. The cost to erect the building (at that stage) was in excess of $2M. The building is large enough to house most if not all the NZ Warbirds aircraft (including DAK) but unfortunately we even struggled to bring the rest of Warbirds on board with the project.
If the hangar was ever constructed it could provide shelter for a 'living museum' for a diverse range of aircraft, not just the Catalina.
|
|
|
Post by gunny on Apr 4, 2012 2:05:07 GMT 12
Harrysone THAT is a Brilliant logo!! Expect some AUD's from me!! It just be using some aus money earned for guarding aus air security being transferred to protecting N.Z air history, no big leap really
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Apr 4, 2012 10:05:19 GMT 12
Harry, was Hamilton airport considered for erecting the hangar at? They seem much more progressive than many airports these days and they already have a few big hangars there so it won't mar the landscape. Plus there's a good maintenance hub and it's central. It sounds like a very good idea, I hope you succeed.
|
|
|
Post by shorty on Apr 4, 2012 10:21:39 GMT 12
Wondered where the Mt Cook hangar ended up. Worked there for over a decade. The Airport company wanted it gone so they could use the area as a bus park! When it went so did our jobs and the Mt Cook Group and what was the oldest airline in the country became just a name on the nose of anonymous ANZ aircraft.
Would love to be able to help out with the catalina repair (I used to be i/c the skin bay at 1 RD) but I am moving to the Otago Peninsular so the commute would be a problem!
|
|
|
Post by harrysone on Apr 4, 2012 11:25:41 GMT 12
Dave, I believe that Hamilton was considered, the late Dr. David Clews (the club's Deputy Manager at the time) was based in Hamilton & was also an active member of the Waikato Aeroclub and was lobbying for the Hangar's construction there.
While we would love to be able to put the hangar up, understandably it is somewhat on the back-burner at this particular time
|
|
|
Post by flyjoe180 on Apr 4, 2012 11:40:09 GMT 12
Hamilton would be ideal, it is central and free from salt air.
|
|
|
Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Apr 4, 2012 14:22:14 GMT 12
There is also plenty of room at Hood Aerodrome! ;D
|
|
|
Post by kiwibear on Apr 22, 2012 10:11:10 GMT 12
Why do you ask? Are you offering us some assistance Damon To be brief, the trailing edge sections of the stbd wing and centre section (1/3 of the chord of the wing sections) were scheduled for removal and refabricing (fabric is ceconite and has been there for over 20 years) and this inefitably requires the reconstruction of much of the lightweight aluminium extrusion in this section. In addition it has been acknowledged by the group that the lower wing skins of the stbd wing required replacement. The stbd wing has been removed to facilitate this work. It should be pointed out that the structural integrity of the wing spars and major stuctural members has not been in any way shape or form compromised by corrosion. Repairs that are to be undertaken are associated with skin repairs and the replacement of associated sundry members and this requires extensive re-riveting and many, many 100s of man-hours to complete the work. The cost of the man-hours is more than the group can afford to wholly fund Is this still a fair appraisal? Has thought been given to metalising the rear sections? This seems to be almost standard practice on PBY's when the fabric is past its time. I'll make some enquiries with regard to the extrusions. I can't recall which ones are used there, but I have a sneaking suspicion that there are different types in different areas. While it is a fair amount of work I cannot see why volunteers, suitably trained and supervised would not get that done relatively quickly. Materials cost should not be excessive but it depends on how the bank balance is looking I guess. Let us know how we can help.
|
|
|
Post by harrysone on Apr 30, 2012 16:58:04 GMT 12
Hi
Thanks for your ideas, however the metalised trailing edge sections on catalinas you speak of can only generally be found on Super Catalina conversions, not the standard R-1830 powered cats. The Super Catalina was a post-war civilain conversion of PBY airframes for firefighting, geophysical survey work and some passenger versions (Alaskan Coastal and/or Ellis Airways). They added B-25 powerplants: Wright R-2600s (1,700hp instead of the Pratt's 1,200hp a side). As you could imagine the improvement in performance was significant maximum AUW increased from 28,000lbs to 40,000lbs in civil use!
The trailing edge of the wing (centre section only) was metalised as the increased engine power was found to quickly degrade the fabric.
There appears to be some more positive news in the pipeline regarding ZK-PBY, I can't elaborate yet but we are working with a party to help repair the aircraft at significantly less cost than we originally thought. It is still likely however that we will require public assistance to help meet these ends. I will keep everyone informed as things develop.
|
|
|
Post by ZacYates on May 6, 2012 10:19:24 GMT 12
Thanks Harry. I know many of us are keen to hear the details and find out how we may help.
|
|
|
Post by ZacYates on May 16, 2012 12:10:16 GMT 12
|
|
|
Post by The Red Baron on May 16, 2012 15:07:29 GMT 12
Great article there Zac..
|
|
|
Post by ZacYates on May 17, 2012 18:22:59 GMT 12
Thankyou Sadly three paragraphs, including details about the paint scheme and PBY's own history, were cut. Funnily enough that was the first thing someone at the Catalina Club's Facebook page suggested I could've put in -_-
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on May 17, 2012 18:54:05 GMT 12
Welcome to the world of newspaper journalism. Chop, chop, alter, alter, suddenly the article is no longer your own.
|
|
|
Post by ZacYates on May 18, 2012 15:46:25 GMT 12
My piece on PV270 from 2004 ran totally unadulterated, same with my Wanaka 04 and Omaka 05 reports. Things may have changed in my time away from the industry.
|
|