Catalina Aircraft, holder of the Type Certificates for the 28-5ACF Catalina, during AirVenture announced the rebirth of the iconic and legendary Catalina as the Catalina II Amphibious Turboprop. A production re-start program has been formalized for the Next Generation Amphibious Aircraft (NGAA) Catalina II twin turboprop amphibious flying boat, and the company is preparing to take pre-orders as part of the turboprop production re-start program.
Based on the design fundamentals of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) & Transport Canada (TC) Large, Transport Category certificated 28-5ACF Catalina amphibious flying boat, Catalina Aircraft is offering two new production variants, a NGAA Civilian Variant and a NGAA Special Use Variant, both of which represent the quintessential standard in airborne amphibious operations for the private, commercial, government and military sectors.
“Interest in the rebirth of this legendary amphibian has been extraordinary. The capabilities this modernized iconic platform offers, being capable of performing so many unique missions, and in a variety of market segments, speaks to the heritage of the Catalina product line. The NGAA Catalina II is a modern amphibian with advanced engines and avionics and will offer capabilities no other amphibian can provide today.” said Lawrence Reece, President Catalina Aircraft. “We are looking forward to moving this program forward rapidly.”
The NGAA Catalina II targets two major aircraft client groups, the civilian/commercial operator and the Government / Military customer. The NGAA Catalina II will be the largest, fastest, longest range, highest payload, and most capable amphibious aircraft available worldwide with Western Certifications. Capable of operating from runways, grass, dirt, lakes, rivers, bays, and open water. Utilizing green energy power initiatives, the NGAA Catalina II provides civilian, commercial, government, and military operators a significant capabilities expansion over many current platforms employed in amphibious operations today. The NGAA Catalina II provides unmatched precision, speed, and flexibility from land to air to sea.
The NGAA Catalina II Civilian Variant is a new production 32,000-pound Maximum Take-Off Weight (MTOW) unpressurized, twin-turboprop, sea state 2 capable, amphibious flying boat designed to accommodate up to 34 passengers or 12,000 pounds of cargo operating in the private and commercial market segments.
The NGAA Catalina II Special Use Variant is a new production 40,000-pound Maximum Take-Off Weight (MTOW) unpressurized, twin-turboprop, sea state 3 capable, amphibious flying boat geared to support government and military type CONcepts of OPerations (CONOPs).
Both the Civilian and Special Use Variants are constructed using modern corrosion-resistant materials, assembly practices, and supportability initiatives to ensure the Material Availability and Operational Availability (Ao) remain at the highest rates possible. Many existing and proven in-service systems are employed to minimize logistics footprint growth and provide for commonality of components between the NGAA Catalina II and existing/emerging in-service aerial platforms. With an almost limitless multi-CONOPs potential from a single platform, the NGAA Catalina II offers a single asset solution capable of replacing several existing platform types, thus reducing overall Acquisition, Operational, and Sustainment costs.
Pricing has not been announced yet, while deliveries are anticipated to begin in 2029. For new production twin turboprop NGAA Catalina II inquiries please visit www.catalinaaircrafttrust.com or contact Catalina Aircraft at businessdevelopmentcatalinaaircrafttrust.com.
"To compel a man to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical."-- Thomas Jefferson
For some reason I've always loved those planes, one of those unsung hero things where they weren't fast or flashy but served as real mutlipurpose workhorses all over the Pacific - reconnaissance, S&R, supply planes, even did pretty darn good as the Black Cats night bombers, not to mention a lot of anti-submarine duty in the Atlantic. They could stay in the air a long, long time.
Gunnery, gunnery, gunnery. Hit the target, all else is twaddle!
I would expect a bunch of them will be purchased around the world for fire suppression if built in the "Super Scooper" configuration similar to these, but I assume bigger.
Avião Canadair CL-215
Canadair CL-415
I do not know which model they were. I watched a flight of four working a fire in central Idaho a few years ago. They came in single file and dumped their loads, then disappeared over a ridge to the west. A few miles away in that direction was a reservoir on the Snake River. Within 15 minutes they were back and dumping the next load.
I pulled off the road and watched them make four runs. I wish I could have seen them load.
People who choose to brew up their own storms bitch loudest about the rain.
For some reason I've always loved those planes, one of those unsung hero things where they weren't fast or flashy but served as real mutlipurpose workhorses all over the Pacific - reconnaissance, S&R, supply planes, even did pretty darn good as the Black Cats night bombers, not to mention a lot of anti-submarine duty in the Atlantic. They could stay in the air a long, long time.
If I’m not mistaken a Catalina discovered the. USS Indianapolis survivors.
Not quite. A patrol plane spotted the first group of survivors and alerted a PBY that was in the same general area. The PBY landed in 12 foot seas and began picking men out of the water. That plane pulled over 50 men out which was all it could hold and stayed on station until surface ships arrived a few hrs later. That PBY was so heavily damaged from the landing that it was unable to fly again and it was destroyed after unloading the men. PBYs were not rated for waves over 3 ft high so that pilot putting down in 12 foot seas was extremely brave and it is a wonder they survived the landing at all.
You get out of life what you are willing to accept. If you ain't happy, do something about it!
The father of an Air Force bud was an Enlisted PBY crew member at Ford Island during the Dec 7 bombing. Later, he was in one of the PBYs on the mission that was searching for the Japanese fleet.
NRA Life,Endowment,Patron or Benefactor since '72.
“The Catalina II is a new production aircraft. We are not refurbishing and upgrading old birds in the turboprop effort,” a company representative told Popular Mechanics. “Our initial flight test bird will be a product-modification of an existing aircraft to prove out initial design concepts. Production flight test may include as many as 6 test vehicles, 3 for each variant [civil and military]. We are expecting to start turbine-powered [ie. turbprop] flight tests in 2025 with new production deliveries beginning in 2029," they added.
"To compel a man to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical."-- Thomas Jefferson
That would be a cool vacation plane for a rich dude that liked to fish. They could make the interior into a nice living space, and a person could fly all over the world's oceans and live aboard.
Very cool! There was a PBY base here in Fort Worth on Eagle Mountain Lake. Ramps running to and from the water. I was able to deer hunt it for a short time.
Make Gitmo Great Again!! Who gave the order to stop counting votes in the swing states on the night of November 3/4, 2020?
For some reason I've always loved those planes, one of those unsung hero things where they weren't fast or flashy but served as real mutlipurpose workhorses all over the Pacific - reconnaissance, S&R, supply planes, even did pretty darn good as the Black Cats night bombers, not to mention a lot of anti-submarine duty in the Atlantic. They could stay in the air a long, long time.
Let's not forget that they rescued many downed pilots and crews during wartime.
There's something almost magical about an amphib, especially the Catalina.
"There's more to optics than meets the eye."--anon
"...most of us would be better off losing half a pound around the waist than half a pound on our rifle."--dhg
My wife's grandpa was a tail gunner in a torpedo plane in ww2. He was shot down at coral sea. Midway, and 1 other time. One of those planes picked him up at least once. I need to read the family history again to get the details right but I know he was floating in the ocean at least 3 times. He took the tail gunner gig because it paid an extra $20 a month. I guess those single engine torpedo planes were really slow and easy to shoot down.
We had a PBY stuck at a local reservoir for over a month. It had been to a nearby airshow, and had a problem after takeoff for the trip home. They landed and taxied out at the boat ramp. When it got fixed (it took weeks to find the needed part) it drew a crowd to bid it farewell, myself included. I couldn't manage to wangle a peek inside because they were too involved with pre-flight. But I did get a very close look at the old girl and see her fly.
The new version ought to be a huge hit in Alaska. Especially since Avgas is getting increasingly hard to find while Jet fuel is common.
catalinaaircrafttrust.com.
