Seaplane PBY Catalina will be upgraded and returned to the series
Design appearance of the aircraft Catalina II in the military version
American company Catalina Aircraft, engaged in the repair of old aviation technology, announced a bold and interesting project. She plans to develop a project for a deep modernization of the PBY Catalina amphibious seaplane and launch mass production. It is expected that the flying boat of the Second World War, having received new units and systems, will be able to interest modern customers.
The story continues
Multi-purpose flying boat PBY Catalina was developed in the first half of the thirties by the American company Consolidated Aircraft. In March 1935, an experimental aircraft took to the air for the first time, and mass production began the following year. In October 1936, Catalina officially entered service with the US Navy, and after that deliveries began to other structures and customers.
The production of PBY Catalina aircraft was mastered by several enterprises in the USA and Canada. In addition, several dozen aircraft were assembled in the USSR from vehicle kits transferred under Lend-Lease. Production continued until the middle of 1945, and by this time more than 4 thousand cars had been assembled. All this equipment was actively used during the Second World War in different theaters and solved certain problems.
After the Second World War, the Catalina aircraft received the necessary documents for operation in civil aviation. The US Navy and other operators began to reduce their fleet and sell decommissioned aircraft with a large balance of life. In total, they were operated by more than 80 organizations and companies from more than 40 countries.
In the future, the rights to the PBY Catalina project were repeatedly transferred from one company to another. The holder of the airworthiness certificate also changed. In 2009, the newly founded Catalina Aircraft became responsible for the project. She was involved in supporting the aircraft remaining in operation, and in addition, several previously decommissioned aircraft were restored to flying condition.
Deep upgrade
On July 25, Catalina Aircraft revealed its plans for the future. Now she is not going to be limited only to maintenance and repair of equipment from the Second World War. The company intends to carry out a deep modernization of the existing amphibian, bring it into line with modern requirements and launch mass production.
A project with the working title Next Generation Amphibious Aircraft (NGAA) or Catalina II has already been launched. The general tasks of the project were formed, the appearance of the future aircraft was determined, and units were preliminarily selected to replace the existing ones. In addition, the development company has published the first image of the future aircraft.
Catalina Aircraft believes that upgrading instead of developing a new aircraft will provide technical and bureaucratic benefits. So, she will not have to re-develop the airframe and part of its systems. In addition, new approvals will not be required - for the Catalina II product, an addition to the current certificate will be issued.
Hypothetical fire modification
Plans for the future
Development of the Catalina II project has already begun, and its authors are scheduling further activities. The design will be completed no later than 2024-25. Then, on the basis of one of the surviving aircraft of the old construction, a prototype of a new modification will be made. Its first flight is scheduled for 2025, but the exact date cannot yet be named.
For further testing, six completely new amphibious aircraft will be built - three each in a civilian and military configuration. It will take several more years to produce and test this technique. These activities will only be completed by 2027-28.
By the end of the decade, Catalina Aircraft plans to start mass production of new aircraft. The company does not have its own facilities for full-fledged construction and plans to place an order at another plant. Several enterprises in the USA and Canada are considered as a future site for production. According to current plans, the first Catalina II aircraft will be handed over to customers in 2029.
The development company claims that it has already managed to find the first customer for the flying boat under development. Who exactly is going to buy Catalina-2, in what quantity and at what price, is not specified yet. However, the launch customer may be announced at the end of this year.
Replacement of aggregates
The developer company revealed the main ideas of the modernization project being created. The Catalina II aircraft will be similar in appearance and architecture to the basic design. The existing airframe as a whole will be retained, but finalized in accordance with the updated requirements. The existing propulsion system, avionics and other systems will be replaced.
Original issue PBY Catalina in pre-war US Navy livery
The possibility of creating several modifications with different features and different characteristics is being considered. For civilian customers, a cargo-passenger aircraft will be developed. They will also make a heavier multipurpose military flying boat. Based on it, a fire-fighting version with appropriate equipment can be made. In addition, the development of unmanned modifications of the seaplane is not excluded.
In all versions, Catalina-2 will receive a fuselage-boat 19,5 m long with characteristic contours and the maximum possible internal volume. A straight wing with a span of 32 m will be mounted on the pylon and with the help of struts. In the military version of the aircraft, it is planned to refine the wing mechanization to increase its efficiency. The tail of the traditional design with a stabilizer in the middle part of the keel will be preserved.
The aircraft will remain twin-engine, but regular piston engines with a capacity of 1200 hp. replaced by modern turboprops. According to some reports, these can be General Electric Catalyst products with power up to 1600 hp. The modification of the engines will depend on the design of the aircraft - the military version will receive a more powerful power plant.
The increase in power is used to increase the mass of the aircraft and its load, as well as to improve flight performance. Thus, the original flying boat PBY Catalina had a takeoff weight of no more than 16,1 tons. The military version of Catalina-2 will weigh more than 18 tons. Its payload will exceed 7,2 tons, of which more than 1,1 tons under the wing on beams holders. Depending on the needs of the operator, the aircraft will be able to carry optical, radio or hydroacoustic means for solving various tasks, as well as weapons.
"Catalina" in the coloring of the period of the Second World War
The civilian version of the flying boat, with the same dimensions, will be lighter. Its maximum takeoff weight will not exceed 14,5-14,6 tons. The payload will reach 5,4 tons. It is possible to organize a passenger compartment for 34 seats.
For the commercial version of Catalina II, the estimated cruising speed is 343 km / h, for the military - 370 km / h. The range of a passenger / cargo aircraft will exceed 2800 km, a military aircraft - more than 7 thousand km with the possibility of flying for 17-19 hours.
old new
At the moment, no more than 15-17 Catalina aircraft of the old production are in flight condition, and several more aircraft are being restored. Most of these amphibians are no longer used to solve real problems and are a kind of museum exhibits. In addition, the number of flying cars is gradually decreasing for objective reasons.
Catalina Aircraft monitors the condition of the surviving Catalinas and studies the market. In her opinion, seaplanes of this kind may still be of interest to the customer, and this niche must be filled. For this purpose, a project is being developed for a deep modernization of the old aircraft, which provides for the replacement of key units to improve the main characteristics.
The idea of updating an old aircraft to meet modern requirements in general looks interesting and promising. However, the prospects for such a project depend on a number of factors - from the correctness of the proposed technical solutions to the market situation. It is quite possible that the calculations of "Catalina Aircraft" are correct, and the NGAA Catalina II aircraft will go into series and become quite massive. However, the opposite scenario cannot be ruled out yet, in which the project will not reach a large series. How exactly events will develop will become clear only in a few years.
Information