PBY-5A Catalina "Gigi" Final Take Off

The move of the PBY-5A Catalina, "Gigi," is one of the most legendary sights in Oak Harbor’s recent history. It has actually been moved by a CH-47 Chinook twice: once to bring her home to Whidbey Island and another time to move her to her final resting place at the new museum site.
​Here is a breakdown of those incredible "vertical lifts" that you can use for your video:

​The First Lift (June 2010): The Homecoming
​After sitting in storage in the Skagit Valley for years, the PBY-5A (BuNo 33968) was finally ready to return to Whidbey. Because the plane was not in flyable condition and the wings were too wide for the local bridges, the museum coordinated a massive airlift.

​The Mission: A Chinook helicopter from the Washington Army National Guard (Joint Base Lewis-McChord) hooked up the PBY near the Skagit County Airport.
​The Flight: Thousands of people watched as the "flying boat" lived up to its name once again, dangling from long lines beneath the Chinook as it crossed the water to the NAS Whidbey Island seaplane base.
​Fun Fact: The move was kept relatively quiet by the base commander at the time to prevent massive crowds from blocking the base gates!

​The Recent Lift (January 2026): The Final Flight
​Just this morning (January 2026), Gigi made history again. After spending over a decade in a parking lot in downtown Oak Harbor, she was moved to the museum's new permanent location at 545 Ault Field Road.
​The Delay: The move was originally scheduled for January 20th but faced a slight delay due to fog at JBLM and a minor mechanical sensor issue with the helicopter's heavy-lift hook.

​The Route: Once cleared for takeoff, the Chinook lifted the PBY from the downtown staging area near Bayshore Drive and carried it over the water, around Polnell Point and Dugualla Bay, before gently setting it down at the new museum facility.

​Why a Helicopter? Moving a PBY by road is a nightmare—it requires dismantling the massive 104-foot wing and navigating tight city corners. The Chinook allowed the museum to move the "Cat" in one piece, preserving its structural integrity.


Chapters
00:00 Intro screen
00:05 Basic History
00:28 First Storage spot
00:30 Second Storage spot
00:37 Preparing to move the third time
00:47 First attempt at Taking off with CH-47 (practice run)
08:37 Unable to move
12:22 Second attempt at taking off
12:23 Thick fog, waiting to clear
12:43 CH-47 Chinook helicopter coming in to land
14:41 Chinook helicopter preparing to taking off
19:31 Chinook Helicopter Taking off
22:38 PBY-5A off the ground
24:05 PBY-5A almost home
24:36 Looking good
25:22 great picture with Mountains in Back
25:27 Chinook helicopter lowering the PBY-5A to new home
26:32 Credits


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