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Aviation History
1953
1953 - 0956.PDF
no FLIGHT, 24 July 1953 AIRBORNE YACHTS Luxury Conversions of Wartime Catalinas By MAURICE F. ALLWARD SINCE the war there has been much talk—if nothing else—of bringing flying within the financial reach of the proverbial man in the street—of attempts to pro duce aircraft costing less than cars and with comparable running costs. But little has been heard of special aircraft being produced for people at the other end of the scale—those who have come up on the Treble Chance or who are still one jump ahead of the tax collector. It is thus with pleasure that I pass on details of some good work being done to rectify this sad state of affairs by Glenn E. Odekirk, head of the Southern California Aircraft Corporation, who is busy converting ex-government PBY-5A amphibious Catalinas into air-yachts. With over 4,000 hours in his log book, Odekirk has his own ideas of what an executive-type of private aeroplane should be like— and be able to do. In his own words, "It seemed that no one was getting real utility out of a private aeroplane. Normally it's just a means of transportation in which you ride from here to there with varying degrees of comfort. So I decided to build an aerial luxury yacht in which you can land and live almost anywhere in the world with all the comforts of home." After numerous flights, in almost all types of weather, Odekirk thinks his "Landseaires," as he has named the rejuvenated Cats, are the near-perfect answer. The face-lift which he prescribes transforms the austere interior into a concentration of extrava ganza seldom equalled and rarely surpassed. Little remains that would be recognized by any wartime crew who flew in these eminentiy trustworthy amphibians. The first step in the conversion is the moving forward of the flight engineer's controls into the cockpit. This enables the air craft to be handled by pilot and co-pilot alone and provides more "living space." Sleeping accommodation is provided for eight persons in three double beds and two singles. Near each bed is an individual light, radio switch and speaker, curtains, vents for air conditioning system, and a telephone. Occupants may con tact the shore by means of a marine ship-to-shore telephone. In addition to this item of electrickery, the convened aircraft are fitted with no fewer than seven communications receivers, two transmitters, a broadcast receiver, FM-AM radio and—a built-in television set! Passengers can thus communicate anywhere in the world—to ships at sea, to another aircraft in flight, or to a private telephone on land. During the day the two single beds in the aft or "observation" cabin serve as seats. This cabin occupies the former mid-gun positions. On the starboard side, in place of the wartime blister, is a special one-piece blister typical of the luxuriousness of the other innovations: it is of specially free-blown Lucite to achieve good optical qualities without distortion and costs over £1,000. Measuring 7ft in length by 4|ft deep at its widest point it also has a permanent camera tripod in the centre, permitting panning of 180 deg up and down, fore and aft. A door to the rear of the observation cabin leads to a built-in stairway. This gives comfortable access when on land and can also be lowered afloat, when it makes an ideal diving board. Much of the I04ft-span wing can be used for sunbathing. Noise is kept to a remarkably low level by a 4in-thick lining of Fiberglass. Over-all carpeting adds further to the comfort. A showerbath, in waterproof plastic, runs hot and cold water. The w.c. is electrically flushed when on water; in the air a chemical toilet is used. The galley, in white porcelain and stainless steel, rivals the equipment of the most modern kitchen. A three-plate cooking range, oven, large refrigerator and frozen-food unit are installed. Externally, few alterations are made. The nose gun-turret and bomb-aimer's window are replaced by a sleek clipper-style bow. Slung under each wing, where bombs and torpedoes used to hang, are two 14-ft dinghies. Each boat fits snugly against the wing and is raised or lowered by a built-in electric hoist. Cruising speed with the boats in position is 175 m.p.h. The maximum range is, as might be expected, exceptional for a "private" aircraft, and is given as 3,000 miles. A Landseaire costs a lot of money—$265,000, the basic price— means something not far short of £100,000. This, coupled with heavy operating costs, virtually lifts the craft beyond the reach even of most millionaires. King Farouk had one on order before his abdication, but mostly it is the executive class of wealthy cor porations that are attracted by these fabulous toys. The fact that the Landseaires are amphibious does, however, mean that they have a considerably wider scope of usefulness than more conven tional "executive" aircraft. Those sold are said to fly quite use fully on cross-country trips for plan and location inspection, using airfields, landing strips, lakes, waterways and rivers. (Left) Stately entrance: the retractable stairs fitted just aft of the planing bottom of the "Landseaire" Catalina conversion. When the amphibian is afloat, the steps make a useful diving-board. (Be/ow) Slung under each wing, and fitting snugly against it, is a 14ft dinghy for normal— not necessarily emergency—use. The dinghies are raised and lowered by electrically operated hoists.
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