Bird Innovator
Bird Corporation · United States · first flew 1967 · light aircraft
The Bird Innovator was an American four-engined executive amphibious aeroplane modified from a Consolidated PBY Catalina by the Bird Corporation.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | High-mounted, tapered |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 4 × piston, wing-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | 19.46 m fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Amphibious flying boat with a parasol wing
- Two extra Lycoming engines outboard of the original Pratt & Whitney radials, four engines in all
- Fully reversible propellers on the Lycoming engines
A PBY-style amphibian with a high parasol wing carrying four engines.
Specifications
- The Bird Innovator has a length of 19.46 m (64 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 31.7 m (104 ft).
- Typical crew: 2.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
In the late 1960s Forrest Bird and his Bird Corporation developed a conversion for the PBY Catalina that added two 340 hp Lycoming GSO-480-B2D6 engines outboard of the original Pratt & Whitney radials to improve range and performance. The wing attach fittings were strengthened and fuel bladders added to the outer wing panels.
Variants
Only one Innovator was converted, a Canso A built in November 1941 under a contract for Canada.
Where you'll see it
It cruised at 152 mph on four engines and could hold 124 mph with one main engine feathered, but gross weight rose above 29,000 lb. Bird sold it in 1976 and it was later converted to a camera platform to count whales along the west coast of the Americas.
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