totm may 2020 The Cat's out of the Bag - the PBY Catalina

[Servo]

The Queen of the Pacific Theater

Ask any Allied sailor or pilot in the Pacific which plane they'd most like to see overhead and they'll speak the glories of a most un-glamorous twin-engined flying boat called Cat, Canso, or Dumbo. The Consolidated PBY went by these names and more as it did everything except the shooting in the Pacific. It ran search and rescue, flew aerial reconnaissance, raided convoys, harassed enemy troop encampments, hunted submarines, and carried personnel long distances overwater. It was a workhorse which could handle any job you threw at it, and every downed pilot, sunken ship survivor, or military planner would tell you, it did more than any number of fighter planes could ever do.

I've loved the Catalina for a long time, so I took GameplayReviewUK's 30's challenge as a sign to finally give the PBY a replica worthy of its legendary service. I pulled no punches here, so I hope the craft speaks for itself.

Craft Download:

https://kerbalx.com/servo/PBY-Catalina

Flight Manual:

Spoiler

This is a large, complex plane with a lot going on. This manual should clear things up, so take note.

FANCY TAKEOFF
1. Engage brakes, set throttle to 0
2. AG 0 starts the sequence
3. Throttle up to 30%
4. After the engines spool up, release the brakes to taxi
5. Go to QUICK TAKEOFF step 2

QUICK TAKEOFF
1. Select each propeller engine (inside the front cowling) and set max RPM to 400 rpm
2. Hit ABORT (backspace) to trim the propellers for takeoff
3. Stage to activate the jet engines (oil coolers)
4. Throttle to full to begin the takeoff run
5. Rotate into a shallow climb at 40m/s
6. Gain speed to 45m/s before beginning a full climb

The landing gear and floats include the unlocking and toggling on the same action group. Therefore, each AG needs to be activated twice
LANDING GEAR OPERATION
To Raise Gear
1. Hit action group 3 twice to retract the nose gear
2. Use GEAR action group twice with a ten-second pause in the middle
3. with gear retracted, use action group 2 to lock gear
To Lower Gear
1. Use GEAR action group twice, with a ten-second pause in the middle
2. use action group 3 twice to lower the nose gear
3. use action group 2 to lock gear. If not all elements lock, repeat this step

FLOATS OPERATION (toggle)
1. Hit action group 1 twice, with a two-second pause in the middle
2. use action group 2 to lock floats. If not all elements lock, repeat this step

IN FLIGHT
Trim pitch up 15% and fly at full throttle. There is enough electricity for 10 minutes of propeller thrust. Use Infinite Electricity to extend this as desired

Happy flying, and sail on!  - Servo

Edited May 1, 2020 by Servo

[Castille7]

What a beauty man, excellent build. I am a huge fan of this craft also.

Edited May 1, 2020 by Castille7

[James Kerman]

Congratulations @Servo, you have been awarded Thread Of The Month for this gorgeous replica and for the squirrelly take off in the video.

[eorin]

I Always tought the Catalina was a pretty plane, even if i can't exactly Say why, She Is Just graceful and give me a gently looking feeling.

You nailed It! Goodjob

Edited May 3, 2020 by eorin

[Nightside]

Hahaha! Great video , beautiful plane!

[Servo]

On 4/30/2020 at 10:52 PM, Castille7 said:

What a beauty man, excellent build. I am a huge fan of this craft also.

 

On 5/3/2020 at 7:03 AM, eorin said:

I Always tought the Catalina was a pretty plane, even if i can't exactly Say why, She Is Just graceful and give me a gently looking feeling.

You nailed It! Goodjob

 

On 5/6/2020 at 12:16 AM, Nightside said:

Hahaha! Great video , beautiful plane!

 

Thanks all! This craft was an absolute pain to put together, so I'm glad you guys appreciate it

 

On 5/1/2020 at 3:06 AM, James Kerman said:

Congratulations @Servo, you have been awarded Thread Of The Month for this gorgeous replica and for the squirrelly take off in the video.

An honor as always, even if the safety standards leave something to be desired on takeoff.

 

I suppose I should also post here the second (well, first) video I made for the Catalina. This was still somewhat in the testing stages, but it's another good view of the craft.

[Triop]

Awesome dude !