Quest to purchase Avid Catalina N157AB.
In early March, Norm Vienneau noticed an ad for an Avid Catalina and 3 more aircraft for $20,000 US, which appeared on Barnstormers. Researching N157AB Norm found a number of YouTube videos of its construction and flights off of water of other Catalinas, as well. After the building of the Catalina, you can see a video of the pickup by a new owner here:

With a few parties interested in his Kitfox, Norm thought this might be a great project. The Catalina owner had several aircraft and engines for sale. He only wanted $5500 US for the Catalina. One engine was a 2100-hour Rotax 912 ULS (100 HP) which I was interested in. I have no idea why, but I am a bit of a collector of aircraft stuff.

After online discussions with the owner, Mitchell Tucker, Norm thought he might purchase the Catalina. Our plan was to leave Calgary on Monday April 15, drive to Sedro Wooley Washington (just 50 Km south of Abbotsford BC), pick up the Aircraft, and maybe the engine and return.

I had offered Mitchell payment via bank transfer, but he was understandably not comfortable with providing his bank information. I had arranged to borrow a truck and trailer from the owners of the airstrip where I hanger my aircraft. On Friday the 12th, I went to the Royal Bank to get a bank draft and was told US Bank drafts were no longer available and we would have to do a money transfer. So I asked for US cash and was told I would not be able to pick up the cash until the following Wednesday. I then went to my TD bank and withdrew some US Cash.

The Truck and Trailer arrangement had to be postponed, as the owners had another use for it that weekend. Perplexed, Norm and I decided to drive to Sedro Wooley just to look at the aircraft. Leaving at 5 AM, we arrived in Sedro Wooley at 4 PM, met with Mitchel and looked at the aircraft and engine.

Mitchel told us, he bought but never sold things. Mitchel Tucker’s aircraft and other toys were housed in a 60’ by 120’, 60′ high building. To visualize this size, imagine a 6 story apartment building covering all of a city lot. One half of the building was a complete open area. The other half had three levels of storage. On
the bottom level were Ocean Going Yachts that he used to visit Alaska.

The other levels had aircraft in various states of restoration, hardware supplies and tools. The open space had equipment that was used to lift 10,000-pound items to the top floor. Up to 7 aircraft could be parked in the open area. The Avid, hanging in the top right-hand corner of the open area, looked like a model hanging in the Calgary Flight Museum.

Norm was undecided about the Catalina, as the person that was purchasing his KitFox did not commit. However, I did purchase the 912ULS. The 912 logbook revealed the engine had been removed from an Evektor SportStar that had a serial number indicating it was built less than 6 months after my SportStar.

Rotax, in Vernon, will rebuild it to “as new’ for about $12,000. Not bad for an engine that now retails for
about $22,000 USD (31,000 CDN). I might have a project that I want to use this motor on.

Two photos of the Catalina are before its wings were removed and stored in Mitchell’s hanger. The next
the interior and complete aircraft as it now exists. The engine is a reworked Rotax 670. The aircraft
can be reassembled and flown with just a few weeks work.