Catalina Flying Boat & Man
Old-style flying boat plane (PBY Catalina) that can also land on solid ground with the wheels. I think it's Ron standing by it. There is a framed photo (which I think another family member has) showing his father standing by a similar aeroplane.

For many years there was a Flying Boat Base at Rose Bay in Sydney Harbour, and my childhood home was under the flightpath of the large Catalinas coming in to land. We were some floors up in a block of flats, and at night sometimes they were so low I could see the people behind the lighted windows in the passenger cabin. My memory is they flew to Norfolk & Lord Howe Islands.

The base closed down a few decades back, but has since reopened for much smaller planes. They run a more local service, e.g. to the Hawkesbury River, and probably joy flights around the Sydney area. I saw a similar small plane in Strahan, Tasmania (see TAS_4212).

[permalink][comment] - posted by Mez @ 5/11/2007 12:14:00 pm