Photos of Consolidated PBY Catalina at Pikes Peak Regional Airshow

Photos of Consolidated PBY Catalina at Pikes Peak Regional Airshow. These photographs were taken at the Pikes Peak Regional Airshow in Colorado Springs. The amphibious Consolidated PBY Catalina was a versatile, highly-effective military aircraft before, during and after WWII. They were used in anti-submarine warfare, bombing missions, convoy escort duties, search-and-rescue missions, and cargo transport. The last active military PBYs were not retired from service until the 1980s. These photos of the Consolidated PBY Catalina at Pikes Peak Regional Airshow were taken on September 21, 2019.

Development of the PBY Catalina

PBY development began in 1933 when the U.S. Navy contracted several companies in October 1933 to build competing prototypes for a patrol flying boat. Consolidated’s winning design had a wing with external bracing struts mounted on a pylon over the fuselage called a “parasol” wing. Wingtip stabilizing floats were retractable in flight. The wings were metal leading edge and braces with 1,300 sq. ft. of fabric. The first prototype had its maiden flight on May 19th, 1936, and during a demonstration set a record for nonstop flight of 3,443 miles. The PBY was the first production airplane with fuel storage in the wings.

The plane shown in the photos on this page was delivered to the Royal Canadian Air Force, which used it for anti-submarine patrols flying from Reykjavik, Iceland. Post-war, the plane served at various locations around Canada before it retired from military service in 1962.

Consolidated PBY Catalina Photo Gallery

Photographs of Consolidated PBY Catalina Aircraft

The following camera gear was used in the Aviation Photography of the Consolidated PBY Catalina Aircraft at the Pikes Peak Regional Airshow in Colorado Springs, Colorado:

• a Nikon D850 with the Nikon MB-D18 Multi Battery Power Pack,
• F-Stop Gear Aloe Green Tilopa 50L Back Pack (with large Pro ICU),
• a Really Right Stuff TVC 34L tripod,
• the Movo GH800 Carbon Fiber Professional Gimbal Tripod Head with Arca-Swiss Quick-Release Plate,
• with a Really Right Stuff BH-50 LR Ballhead,
• a Nikkor AF-S NIKKOR 24-120mm f/4.0 lens,
• and an AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR lens with a Really Right Stuff Tripod foot.

The static display photos shown here were all taken with the AF-S NIKKOR 24-120mm f/4.0 lens. The in-flight photos were all taken with a Gimbal and tripod set up using the 200-500mm lens. The D850 exposures for the images average between 1/80 and 1/640 of a second at f/7.1 and f/8.0. The native ISO of settings of 64 was used on the Nikon D850 and all images captured as RAW files. We also used Adobe Lightroom Classic CC to process all of these images. Since this was a sunny blue sky day with very few clouds, we used Adobe Photoshop’s new new sky replacement feature to add clouds to the header photo on this page.

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