Celebrating Canada Day with Style

Celebrating Canada Day with Style by Shannon Lee Mannion
	Imagine this scenario. Soon-to-be retired commercial pilot, Art Gillard, 69, calls retired pilot, Jim Pengelly, 70, and says, ‘Hey Jim, how about flying to Ottawa for Canada Day. We’ll take the Canso and be back in time for supper. Bob’ll come with us as crew.’
By this time, 58-year-old Bob Patello, a private pilot in his own right, has his flight coveralls by the door and is making arrangements to get to Hamilton International Airport for early Saturday morning to where the Canso is parked.

arked or berthed? Although the 1944 Consolidated PBY-5A Canso is amphibious and could just as easily be bobbing on Lake Ontario, it spends most of its time on land at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton. Although Art and Jim are both Canso pilots, Art will be captain on this trip. His flight plan includes two fly-by salutes to Canada Day crowds assembled at Canada Aviation Museum and Rockcliffe Air Base in Ottawa. The world-renowned Snowbirds will also be in the skies, the Canso playing Zamboni to the jet team’s precision acrobatics.

Art, Jim and Bob are volunteers with the warplane museum, giving up their Saturday to make the five hour return trip between Hamilton and Ottawa. At a maximum air speed of 170 mph, it’s slow-going. Each fly-by takes less than ten minutes so the return on the investment of their time is minimal. Art jokingly suggests that no one who’s young and smart wants to do this but anyone watching the Canso make her mid-morning landing at Gatineau Airport would have given their eye-teeth to be on board. Even the Snowbird pilots came over to give her a look-see.

The Canso’s lines are inimitable. Bulbous, it squats on three nitrogen-filled tires. Twin engines are mounted above the swollen fuselage on top of a 100 foot wing-span. Add four more feet when in the water with floats down. It is now that the sobriquet, the Flying Boat, fits. The aircraft resembles a broad-chested sea gull, smug with the ability to do land and water equally well.

Jim says with a smile, “She looks like a pregnant duck.” He is an expert in these matters with 5000 hours in a Canso, variously flying freight or passengers and for 16 years, piloting one modified to be a water bomber. A versatile airplane, Jim commented, “The remarkable thing about the PBY is its reliability. If you have to, you can fix it on site. It is so well-designed, you can change an engine on the water.” Of course, with a huge cargo area, carrying spare parts is no problem.

1944 Consolidated PBY5-A Canso

Type: Amphibious Reconnaissance Bomber
Length: 63 ft. 10.5 in
Wingspan: 104 ft.
Engines: two 1200 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1830-92 Twin Wasp (same as DC-3)
Speed: 179 mph
Armament: six .303 Vickers machine guns
Ordnance: 2000 lbs of bombs or depth charges
Value today: approx. $350,000

The Canso joined the Snowbirds at a small rural airport in Gatineau, a stunning counter-point to the sleek, red, white and navy CT-144 Tutor Trainers. There is nothing streamlined or flashy about a Canso. Cumbersome and stark white, the only other colours used are grey and green camouflage for the top surface of its wings, yellow-tipped propellers and a squadron mark, a red maple leaf set against a light blue background, as well as an English Royal Air Force bull’s-eye on the tail. The nose is soft black rubber for, what else, docking.

The Canso calls the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton home. The original museum was started in 1971 in a wooden hangar but a fire subsequently decimated the hangar and several valuable aircraft, including a Hawker Hurricane, a Spitfire and an Avenger were lost. The current space-age building is large enough to house the museum’s 30-some aircraft of which 26 are fully operational. Holdings include one of two remaining Lancaster Bombers in the world. The site also contains Canada’s largest aviation gift shop and a restaurant called the Holland Liberation Canteen.

Art and his colleagues are volunteers without whom the Warplane Museum would not be viable, “Ours is a flying museum but it costs mega-bucks to do it. This is why we have a membership plan so that people can help keep us going.” On the lay-over at the Gatineau Airport, Art explained the background of the Canso that came to Ottawa for Canada Day.

What is the background of this airplane?
This Canso was made by Canadian Vickers. It served with the Royal Canadian Air Force until 1961 when it was sold as surplus to the Quebec government and used as a water bomber. The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum bought it about four years ago and is restoring it as a Reconnaissance Bomber in the colours and markings of 162 Squadron.
Is there a story behind why the museum’s restoring it in keeping with the 162 Squadron’s colours?
Yes, this airplane is dedicated to the memory of Flight-Lieutenant David Hornell, VC, who was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross. He and his crew bombed and sank U-1225, a German submarine, on June 24, 1944. Their Canso was also shot down and the crew spent more than 20 hours in the ocean. Unfortunately, Flight-Lieutenant Hornell died shortly after being rescued.
People seem to know this aircraft by different names.
Americans call it a Catalina, for the Strait of Catalina off California while we call ours the Canso for the Strait of Canso off Nova Scotia. They were originally built as flying oats and designated PBY-5. When wheels were added, they became PBY-5A, the A standing for amphibian. Consolidated manufactured at least 800 under license to Boeing, Canadair and Canadian Vickers.
Are there many left in the world?
There were 3,431 made, of which 2,020 were the amphibious PBY-5A. Of the original number, there may be maybe 35 left in the world, including one in Holland, one in France and another in New Zealand.
What does it cost to operate?
It is expensive. It carries 1,500 gallons of 100 octane, low lead gasoline. At about $3.00 a gallon, it adds up. The great thing about the Canso is that it can stay in the air for about 25 hours before having to refuel. This made it particularly good for reconnaissance work over water. [In 1939, the RCAF replaced the Supermarine Stranraer with the Canso.]
Do you think you’ll ever stop flying this marvellous airplane?
I don’t want to but I’m going to be 70 next April and [he says with a grin] I’m just about mileaged out.
For information on how to become a supporter of the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, call 1-877-FIREFLY (1-877-347-3359) for 24-hr. recorded message OR Email: museum@warplane.com Web site: www.warplane.com