Warbird Information Exchange

Hi everyone,

I recently learned that the PBY-5A Canso (CF-NJB) which has been located in Nanaimo, BC for the last several years has an impending sale by the end of January.

It had been my intention to raise money to purchase the airplane on behalf of the Canadian Museum of Flight, but it seems someone beat me to it.

If anyone knows more about this sale, like where it's going, let me know.


Cheers,

David

I spent a summer waterbombing in the Northwest Territories on NJB got about 200 hrs in rt seat that summer. It was owned by Kenting in Toronto. We picked it up there and ferried to Yellowknife and then based where ever the contractor wanted us. Great memories!! Hope she comes to a good end..

So, at the CMF auction last night I spoke with Gord, our museum president and he mentioned that he had recently spoken with the family of a man that flew this exact Canso during WWII.

Gord mentioned the initial interest of this man's family to help our museum finacially in order to acquire the plane. Right now it is quite a long shot and the details quite vague, as not too many people I know have the funds to single-handedly purchase a beautiful war relic like this, but the chance is there. So, through co-operation with the Ministry of Heritage and through the man's family, and hopefully several other sponsors we stand a chance of adding this airplane to our aircraft collection here in Langley.

As it stands right now, this is all I know, and I have no idea how serious these people are in helping us purchase the airplane. Through communication with them I will determine how we may or may not be able to achieve this goal. At least now we have a good motivator to acquire her. I will let you all know how things are going as soon as I find out.

Don't you think it would look amazing painted in RCAF Coastal Patrol colours? I sure do. And if we can get her flying? I sure do!

Cheers,

David

Hopefully you guys are sucessful in acquiring the PBY as it would look awesome in the correct ww2 coastal patrol scheme.

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Cheers,
Peter

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Hey Peter,

Thank you for your words of encouragement.

If I had my way, upon acquiring the airplane I would work towards replacing it's currently smashed up tinted blisters with original framed turrets and rebuild the nose turret. There's something about that nose turret that makes any PBY look that much better, ya know?

AND, if money was no object I'd get her flying.

I originally had the idea of acquiring her and flying her up and down the BC coast to small communities bringing educational displays and presentations for the school kids. Obviously, as a kid living in Prince Rupert, Masset, or Kitimat you don't get the opportunity to see educational attractions like museums, aquariums, science centres, etc. that kids in the big cities down south (Vancouver) do.

I even made up a really cool logo for the program. I'd post a little picture of it now, but I'm at work... Maybe I'll post it when I get home.

Cheers,

David

P.S. If anyone's interested, if you google map Nanaimo Airport, BC you can see the big yellow Canso!

That would be a neat idea. I hope that she gets preserved and goes to Langley Bc.

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Cheers,
Peter

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She definitely deserves to be treated better than she has been over the last several years. It's really sad to take a look at her close up.

I would certainly like her to find a home at Langley, but operationally, Boundary Bay would be safer considering its longer runways. Then again, that's a long ways away, especially since we haven't acquired her yet.

-David

Anymore ppics as I dont see the damage?

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Cheers,
Peter

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So, the damage to the airframe include:

Both tinted blister are smashed and need replacement. They were damaged a couple winters ago when the snow on the tail was heavy enough to force the tail to strike the ground.


In this same incident the keel of the airplane was damaged. For those unfamiliar, that is a tie-down ring that has been crunched flush with the fuselage.


In this shot you can see one of the small side observation windows (just forward of the blister) replaced with some sort of fabric duct-taped in place. This too was damaged, but quite some time before the winter tail strike.


All the tires on her look pretty lousy. I don't know much about the serviceability of tires on aircraft, but I can only imagine that long periods of time in the deflated state while still supporting the weight of an airplane is never good.


In communication with the Plane Sailing guys in Duxford (Who purchased the other Canso that was located at Nanaimo Airport) they said they needed to do significant work on the engines and propellers to make their Canso flyable. I can only imagine the amount of work this bird will need if we want to get her flying. She's been sitting at Nanaimo Airport for at least a couple years longer than her sister ship in Duxford.


An interesting modification to this airplane is the air-stairs that were put for easier passenger loading/unloading. Funny enough, this is a big hurdle for getting her flying too. The modification was only partially completed and still requires Transport Canada certification. For the guys in Duxford it cost them a pretty penny and a lot of hoop jumping to complete. Neat addition though if you ask me.


So, there you have it. I think that's a pretty good listing of the damage and problems with the airplane. On top of that there's rust on a few areas. Nothing structural, but around the landing gear, etc. As well, I would venture a guess that some if not all of the fabric work could use re-doing.

Cheers,

David

If it is to be a non flyer then the damage would be easily repairable, For flight then the mounds or red tape to wade through would be worriesome!

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Cheers,
Peter

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In the photos above,the caption to the second states that the tie-down point has been crushed. I do not believe that, strictly, it is a tie-down point. It is in fact the attachment point for a tail steady strut that prevents the tail from settling back if, for some reason, there is too much weight aft. Which is of course ironic because if there had been one in place at the time, the weight of snow on the tail would not have caused the hull to settle back and cause the damage!

And, as one of the "guys in Duxford", I can confirm that the air stair mod is worth having!

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David Legg
Editor, The Catalina News
The Catalina Society
Author: Consolidated PBY Catalina - The Peacetime Record

Hi guys,

yeah, the damage, if for static display would be nearly negligible. If for flying, indeed, it would take a fair amount of work.

Very sorry about the mis-information regarding the damage in image #2. I was only asssuming it was a tie down point. It sure would have been nice to have a tail steady strut to avoid that damage.

The air stairs do look like a real benefit. There's also the after market mod. of the big door on the port side. I can only imagine the pain in the butt of having to climb through the blister all the time, especially when it's a one piece. Speaking of that, David, are you guys at all considering replacing the one piece tinted blisters with more original style ones?

Cheers,

David

Daveymac,
I wish you the best in your quest for a P-boat. If you and your group are outbid for NJB, those guys better at least do a good job on her. RCAF coastal command would be cool. Ol' 740 at Lone Star (RCAF9742)flew with the Coastal patrol, Atlantic command. I included some color pix of a similar aircraft in the interpretive display since it's now wearing generic USN colors.

A bit of advice, punch a hole in the hull at the rear of the keel; it helps crud drain out better.

Canso42

Ok, so this specific airplane has been protected under the provisions of the Canadian Heritage Ministry.

It has been deemed a piece of Canadian Cultural Property and is currently being blocked from export while other Canadian museums are given the chance to bid on it. If no museums are interested or able to come up with the funds to purchase it, its export will be granted.

As most of you know, I've been interested in trying to acquire this airplane for the Canadian Museum of Flight for a while and hopefully with the help of the family of this Canso's former crew member, this dream of preserving her in BC will be possible.

I still need to get in direct contact with the family and then I'll see how they might be able to help. I'll keep you all posted. There's also the possibility that we might be able to get a grant from the federal government. This might really help us in preserving her in BC, where there were a large number of PBY's stationed during WWII.

In fact, there was a large number of Cansos stationed at a large base at Jericho Beach on the west side of Vancouver, minutes from where I live.

Cheers,

David

Hi;

Just a couple of points of clarification from what I know...

The Canso blisters were apparently damaged in a windstorm, they were not properly latched closed and blew open in the wind, not damaged by snow.

Also, there were never Cansos or Catalinas based at Jericho Beach. Jericho was an operational base in the pre-war years and in early WWII (Mostly with Blackburn Sharks). However, it was the home to #3 RD (Repair Depot) during the war and the odd Canso or Catalina would be there on occasion for repair - but to my knowledge none were ever based there operationally.