Flying Boat artifacts needed for display

Warbird Kid · **Posted:** Tue Jan 31, 2012 12:07 am

Hey guys,

Figured I'd let you see what I've been up to:

Currently at the CASC shop I'm reconditioning 5 showcases that we generously had donated to us for display. The first being this one below.

This case will be going on display in the Summer at a local seasonal seaside restaurant / bar / venue known as Captain's Cove. The display will be called "History of the Seaplane" and will give the viewer and interesting look into the history of this particular type of airplane. The display itself will be a combination of high resolution imagery, and some artifacts that pertain mostly to Sikorsky.

What I'm looking for our a few additional interesting artifacts or model seaplanes. If anyone out there would be interested in donating some piece small to medium size (anything that could fit in the showcase) please let me know as this would be a very big plus for us and a generous contribution on your behalf. Also don't mind to ask a few questions if you have any!

Pathfinder · **Joined:** Tue Nov 10, 2009 7:35 pm **Posts:** 587

As a conversation piece maybe include a wad of pencils to your seaplane exhibit.....why?

I was made painfully aware, after revealing in the A-2 jacket thread that I had been involved in living history, and that that is something of a black mark on this site. But since I have never really cared what other people think about what I do, here's a little something I LEARNED while doing USN living history at an airshow back in the early 90s.

Three or four of us were working with the Catalina one afternoon. One of our guys portrayed our "Chief"...very much in the William Bendix mode...anyway...a grizzled veteran Navy Chief came up and shook hands with our Chief and they were having an animated conversation. The old Chief looked our guy up and down and said something to the effect that he had it completely right...hey wait a minute..."Where's your bunch of pencils?" Excuse me? "You're supposed to have a wad of pencils in your pocket." Uh....Okay, Chief, why is that?

"Well, h*ll," he said with a laugh," you know when these things hit the water you almost always blow a rivet or two....and when that happens you shove the pencil in the hole and snap it off till you can get the Metalsmith to fix it."

Next day our Chief had a pocket full of pencils and must have answered the question fifty times!

Never read that in any history book...

The other thing I learned that weekend while working with the SBD, first from a Navy back seat gunner, and 20 minutes later, from a Marine backseat gunner is that back seat gunners wore flak vests...

Never read that in any history book...

Warbird Kid · **Posted:** Tue Jan 31, 2012 4:57 pm

Thanks for the reply Pathfinder!

I never knew that "trick" before about the pencils but that is quite fascinating. Thanks for sharing it! And yeah, I see a lot of people here (but definitely not everyone!) look down on reenactors, which I'll admit I'm an amateur to but still take part in. A shame too. I see reenactors (if there not getting there facts wrong and aren't trying to be to over the top or goofy) as additives to the "scenery" of the aircraft.

Anyway I might just have to take you up on that idea!

Jerry O'Neill · **Posted:** Tue Jan 31, 2012 5:07 pm

I like the pencil detail! Nice! I've been a reenactor since the early 1980's, so you keep on not caring what people say!
Jerry

Jiggersfromsphilly · **Joined:** Fri Jun 17, 2005 3:15 pm **Posts:** 951

Good stuff Dave !!! Its the details that are so interesting to me .

Canso42 · **Posted:** Sun Feb 05, 2012 9:22 pm

All the PBY guys know about the pencils. My dad was a PBY radioman and he said that "Pencils?" was an unofficial part of pre flight. Jam it in the rivet hole, break it off and go back to radio/nav to the pencil sharpener.

Warbird Kid · **Posted:** Wed Apr 04, 2012 10:46 am

Reanimating this post:

Again, if anyone has any artifacts / models of seaplanes (all scales, all variants) we'd love to have them to put on display in the near future! Your name would be attached to said object / model / artifact you decide to donate. Please PM me or email me @ curator@ctairandspace.org to let me know of any leads, suggestions, ideas, or artifacts you may have!

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Flying Boat artifacts needed for display

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