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Detroit, 8:32 AM
Tue Nov 10
27 posts in the last 24 hours
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09/21/09
09/21/09
[translate.google.com]
09/21/09
Kendall was not the only one to have this concept. About 15 years ago, some rich Brit spent about a bizillion dollars converting a Catalina into a Caribbean island-hopper, complete with luxury suite, wine cooler and swim ladders. He was sure he'd do a land-office business renting it to pop stars, movie moguls and others among the rich and famous eager for unique a getaway.
The bad news is that word quickly got out that a 50-year old WWII patrol plane, no matter how well appointed inside, is still an uncomfortably noisy, smoky, vibrating hulk under power. He only got 2 or 3 clients before the concern folded.
I learned about it from the listing in Trade-A-Plane not too much later. I can only wonder who finally ended up with it, and what it's used for today.
09/21/09
09/22/09
09/21/09
This one, while sad, is a reminder that a generation is dying. A generation of vehicles and aircraft built for the express purpose of defending liberty. A generation of people who gave much of themselves and sacrificed because it was the right thing to do. Not because they were forced or coerced, but because their fellow humans were in trouble.
This Greatest Generation begat a generation that grew up in relative peace. No longer were copper, rubber and steel directed solely to a war effort. No longer were war bonds sold. In many ways, this is great. However, in some ways this has made us soft, self-centered, and with little appetite for fighting for what is right.
09/21/09
09/21/09
[www.artificialowl.net]
09/21/09
Hey! I've seen this before on ArtificialOwl too, I wondered if it would ever get to be on Jalopnik! I love this plane. The PBY-5A Catalina is a beautiful plane when fixed up. One of my favorites. I would love to fix one up like this and turn it into a modern luxury boat/plane.
09/21/09
09/21/09
09/21/09
OK, someone had to do it....
09/21/09
09/21/09
09/21/09
I wish my parents were that hardcore.
09/21/09
09/21/09
Too bad here we only have the dead planes of bankrupt airlines.
09/21/09
09/21/09
The link below is to a google image search for Davis-Monthan, and many of the pics really do highlight just how big that place is.
[images.google.com]
09/21/09
09/21/09
@bkdlays: Brazil, that one must be in BrasÃlia. Vasp left a lot of airplanes all around the world. There are a few in Sao Paulo too.
09/21/09
09/21/09
The dry desert heat is the perfect place to store those planes, as it minimizes corrosion.
09/21/09
09/21/09
In point of fact, there probably is something in the real world like that. If you dream it, it can happen.
09/21/09
09/21/09
@bmoreDLJ: There must be, there are a few restaurants in planes, even a 747 in Korea. That one above pictured in Sao Paulo is one of a few locked between Vasp's buildings in Congonhas airport, waiting for the legal process. The planes probably will go to scrap but there are a lot of eyes in the buildings.
09/21/09
09/21/09
The most interesting thing about this show is that it is held on a grass runway, and the planes are parked in a huge field. You can go waling among the planes, even when they start their engines to taxi up to the runway. Listening to those Curtis-Wright, or Pratt&Whitney radial engines start up and rumble is a sight to behold.
Here's a picture of a Catalina in great condition.
09/21/09
09/21/09
All it needs is John Goodman in the pilots seat.
09/21/09