The Lake Superior Squadron has two PBY’s on permanent display. Our Blue PBY Catalina is currently undergoing a full restoration to become airworthy.
The Blue Plane combines the airworthy wing and engines of the red bird (Bureau 64092) with the repaired fuselage of the blue plane (Bureau 64097) and is undergoing restoration back into flight worthy condition. It is a massive undertaking, but the team has made remarkable progress since the project began in 2009. They have already grafted the two aircraft together and are well on the way to forming one airworthy air frame. Since the fuselage came from Bureau No. 64097, that will be the identity of the aircraft (N7179Y) once the restoration is complete.
The plane is being restored to give it the look and feel of what it would have looked like in June 1942 prior to the Battle of Midway.