Ben Kalka's PBY project: N84857?

Tue Mar 27, 2007 3:18 pm

Hi everyone,

I tried a while ago to see if anyone knew about the PBY-5A that was being restored at Skagit/Bayview Airport in Washinton but didn't get any responses.

i'm curious about this PBY and what's going on with it. Their website is http://www.projectpby.com/ but hasn't been updated in a while. It's a frustrating site too, having no way of contacting anyone involved in the project.

By chance does anyone know if the project has been completed? Does anyone know if the plane is still there or has it gone to a museum or private owner?

Any information would be much appreciated.

Cheers,

David

Tue Mar 27, 2007 9:08 pm

David,
As far as I know Mr. Kalka's PBY is still in his posession, still at Skagit and should be pretty close to completion.
I was in contact a year or two ago with the project webmaster, David Hodgkins. david@projectpby.com. As you have noted they had some problems with email server and the first webmaster mismanaged it into getting the whole file deleted by the server.
David Legg, a newcomer to WIX is ed. of the Catalina News and pretty knowledgeable about current PBY's.
A good place to find PBY news is also PBY@yahoo. David L. and I are both regulars.
BTW, my dad is a PBY veteran and I am plane captain of Lone Star Flight Museum's static 5A, N68740, ex RCAF9742, hence my user name "Canso42"
Floats up!
Doug Ratchford "Canso42"

Tue Mar 27, 2007 9:20 pm

Hey Doug,

Thanks for passing on all that contact information. I had heard about Mr. Kalka's PBY several years ago and had gotten in touch with them but before I could go visit them I ended up moving to Northern Alberta. I am back, and have been for a while, and always wondered about the PBY at Skagit/Bayview Airport. But of course, their website didn't help at all.

I just checked out your museum's website and I wasn't aware of what an excellent collection you guys have. I will be putting your museum on my list of museums to visit for sure!

Thanks again,

David

Wed Mar 28, 2007 10:14 pm

Davey,
Thanks for the good word. Our website is in rebuilding mode now, so keep watching.
I was down there last weekend the first time in a while so it was good to get back. Helped move some planes around, worked on the Spit (arrrgh- little fiddly bits!) and met a real live 8th AF B-17 vet. It was especially moving since I was familiar with a painting "Little Willy Coming Home" of his a/c struggling back from Berlin to Knettishall base on two engines. He was the copilot in painting. I took him on board the Thunderbird and set up a ladder outside for his grandsons to take pix of him in the cockpit.
Guys like that are what it's all about, you know.

Doug-Canso42

Fri Apr 06, 2007 11:29 am

I see I had a namecheck a few days ago but I have been working in Dubai and not had access to my-mails or time to look at WIX until now. The N68740 project is sttill at Skagit County and, the last time I had contact, was proceeding apace with the restoration far advanced (static condition), on its u/c and in a nice looking US Navy c/s.