Consolidated Vultee PBY Catalina

Our current major restoration project is our 1942 Consolidated Vultee PBY-5A Catalina, also a real war veteran. While she has not been airworthy in many years, it is our hope to restore the Cat to her former glory and operate her alongside Placid Lassie as a memorial to both wartime and postwar history and aviation.

History of the PBY Catalina

From search and rescue missions during World War II to protecting vulnerable communities as a fire bomber after the war, the PBY has a nearly century-long legacy of service to the nation.

Our Cat

Our PBY has a long and notable history, from DUMBO missions out of Puerto Rico during World War II to a brief but memorable spell operating for Greenpeace.

The Restoration

Though the Foundation has owned the Cat since our inception in 2017, we did not previously have the hangar space or the resources to begin a restoration to airworthy status. However, between fall 2022 and spring 2023, we successfully relocated N423RS from our prior base in Florida to the new hangar in New York and began what will be a lengthy but thorough restoration. We currently estimate it will take about 10 years and $1 million to return N423RS to airworthy status, of which we have already raised more than $500,000. Please contribute if you can and follow along as we return the Cat to the skies!

Put a Catalina Back in the Air – Contribute Today!

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