Connel Cat

Today was the second day of the Oban Air Fair at Connel Airport. Not a sunny day but reasonably bright, and having been unable to go yesterday I was there at 11.15 this morning to join in the fun. Not a huge amount going on, but the amphibian Catalina G-PBYA was the prime exhibit, unfortunately not flying this time. Built in 1943 she served originally with the Canadian Air Force - she's now owned by 'Plane Sailing' and based at Duxford in Cambridgeshire.

During the war Catalinas as well as Sunderlands were based in Oban and flew on convoy duties. There may still be local residents who remember seeing the Catalinas taking off and landing in the Sound of Kerrera.

When she last visited Oban in 2013 she made several circuits of the town and I managed to get a number of pictures from my viewpoint on Battleship Hill. Today she was a static display and for £5 one could clamber inside and look around, though not in the pilots' seats. She's leaving after 10am tomorrow so I might pop along to watch her depart.

There were a number of classic cars on display too. Someone remarked to me that you know when you're getting old when the classic cars are ones that you used to own! A good day all round and a place to catch up with like-minded friends.