Kiwi family cares for one of world's last 'Dumbos'

Jo Bailey

It has been photographed flying past the Statue of Liberty, the Twin Towers and the Egyptian Pyramids. It has even floated up the Amazon and between icebergs. But for the last 16 years, the world’s most famous Catalina flying boat has been “lovingly” cared for in its semi-retirement by a group of Kiwi enthusiasts.

Lawrence Acket, operations and club manager of the Catalina Club of New Zealand, says the club’s volunteers put a lot of their own “money, time, sweat and tears” into keeping the historic lying boat airworthy and displaying it at aviation events.

“The Catalina’s last excursion was to the Warbirds over Wanaka Air Show where we were delighted to have the opportunity to land it on Lake Wanaka. This is a rare occurrence these days as water landings can cause wear and tear on the 66-year-old aircraft.”

Rare sight: 'Dumbo' the Catalina lands on Lake Wanaka.

As well as going to air shows, members of the Catalina Club regularly fly the plane to airfields in “as many towns and cities as possible” to allow people to see and experience it.

“One of the great appeals of the Catalina is that you don’t have to be a pilot to enjoy it,” says Acket. “And when we do land on water, it makes all the hard work of maintaining it worthwhile. It is such a special and unique experience.”

The Catalina is one of only two left in the world that still operates on water and is the only airworthy aircraft of its type in Australasia.

Acket says it is “easily” the most famous Catalina in the world.

“A number of books have been written about her and documentaries, including the BBC’s The Last African Flying Boat, have been made about her. She has flown in more than 40 countries, which is pretty amazing for this particular type of aircraft.”

The Catalina was built for the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1944 and remained in service until 1947.

Its two huge ‘blister’ windows were designed for observation during flight when the craft was used in anti-submarine missions.

“During the war these aircraft were known as ‘Dumbos’ after the Walt Disney character. This was because of the ungainly manner in which they flew and the role they played in rescuing airmen who were downed at sea.”

The Royal New Zealand Air Force operated 56 Catalinas between 1943 and 1953 in anti-submarine, shipping escort, transport and air-sea rescue missions. Sir Edmund Hillary crewed in one of these aircraft during World War 2.

Despite the aircraft’s place in New Zealand’s aviation history, no airworthy Catalina remained in New Zealand by the early 1990s.

Flying identity and author Ross Ewing (founding member of New Zealand Warbirds Association) “had a dream” to search the world for a Catalina that could be brought to New Zealand, flown here, and shared with others.

A syndicate formed from the aviation fraternity bought a Catalina, but it was lost following an emergency landing near Christmas Island in the Pacific in early 1994. The syndicate reorganised as
the non-profit Catalina Club, and found a replacement in Zimbabwe. This Catalina had been owned by French entrepreneur Pierre Jaunet since 1988, and he was using it as a sightseeing craft between Egypt and Zimbabwe with The African Safari Company. In 1993 the Peter Stuyvesant organisation had hired the
aircraft to fly an ‘Odyssey’ across the Atlantic and back.