The Vision and Journey Behind Our Project

Consolidated Catalina PBY S/N 417 was built in San Diego, California, and delivered for wartime operations as Canso 9746 with the 162nd Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force. It served in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia during 1941-1942. Her wartime service was coastal patrol and convoy duties along the eastern coast of Canada and between North America and Iceland.

Post WW2, Howard Hughes partner Glenn Odekirk saw a future for glamorous travel using the roomy Catalina PBY. He envisioned the PBY as a flying yacht and named it "Landseaire"--an aerial yacht you could travel almost anywhere in the world with all the comforts of home. He purchased the best of the surplus Catalina PBYs to make his vision come to fruition. The Landseaire is absolutely a magic carpet.

Catalina S/N 417 was purchased from the Canadian War Assets Administration by Glenn Odekirk's Southern California Aircraft Services in Ontario, California, and modified under requirements of FAA Type Certificate #785 as a Consolidated 28-5ACF, certified in the Standard Airworthiness Category. She was extensively upgraded to the "Landseaire," with seating for 17 passengers and two crew. All major options of the "Landseaire" conversion were included in N5PY's upgrade. Catalina N5PY has dual underwing support boats, aft airstair passenger entry door, passenger emergency exits, Vista Lounge View Blisters, and upgraded Pratt & Whitney 1830–94 engines producing 1350 horsepower at Take Off power. The aircraft has been further upgraded with the installation of the Super Cat Rudder, metalized trailing edge wing sections, and boosted aileron trim tabs. Catalina N5PY is the last surviving "Landseaire" conversion. N5PY is not only a piece of aviation history, but she is also a magic carpet.

Since her wartime service, N5PY has always served as a corporate aircraft. Some of her missions were as a flying medical classroom, corporate aircraft for Permex Oil, and a whale watching expedition from Seattle, Washington, down the Pacific coast to the Patagonia region of South America. N5PY has never been modified as a fire bomber or magnetometer aircraft. Its corporate life is reflected in a spotless aircraft without the corrosion, dents, and dings normally associated with high airframe stress operating cycles.

The current owners operated N5PY (affectionately known to them as Peggy Sue) for a short time before deciding to modernize some of her systems and freshen the interior. They further decided that since N5PY was the last "Landseaire" PBY, she deserved even more consideration, and the work of an IRAN (inspect and repair as necessary) began.