Bud Zylstra can still remember the roar of the PBY engines over Oak Harbor.
He shared some of those memories during the opening of the PBY-Naval Air Museum’s new aircraft display exhibit Wednesday.
“When we were sitting in church and the preacher was preaching, when the plane came over he’d just have to quit,” said Zylstra, a graduate of Oak Harbor High School’s class of 1941. “As soon as it went by, he started in again.”
Zylstra and Harvey Lasell, both World War II veterans in their 90s, attended the opening to represent the PBY Memorial Foundation as well as to get a closer look at the PBA-5A Catalina and other artifacts that now rest in the new display across from the museum on Pioneer Way.
The plane, once stationed at the Seaplane Base in 1945 at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, is still missing its outer wings. They are expected to be back in place by the summer following maintenance and repairs.
“Eventually, later in the summer, we’ll have the plane open for tours,” said Wil Shellenberger, president of the PBY Memorial Foundation. “The biggest need there is we need more volunteers to do that because of insurance requirements.”
For now, visitors may get up close and personal, but can’t climb the stairs to get a peek inside.
The massive amphibious aircraft is joined in the display by a few more aviation-related artifacts, including 750-pound bombs and an aircraft mooring buoy.
Also featured is a World War II-era Ford staff car, a replica built by the Whidbey Kruzers car club; and a runway supervisory unit, better known as a “wheel’s up shack,” among other items.
But the plane was the main attraction for Wednesday’s gathering and is hoped by foundation members to be the catalyst for bigger plans in the future.
The PBY Memorial Foundation’s goal is to raise enough money to build a hangar-style museum in Oak Harbor to properly display the PBY and other aircraft that are part of NAS Whidbey history.
“We have so many more artifacts we could display,” Shellenberger said. “The goal sometime in the next four or five years is to acquire some land and start working on building the hangar-style museum.
“We’d love to have more aircraft than the PBY. We’d love to get hold of the A-6, the EA-6B, even a P-3. We might have to put that outside. So we’d like to get enough land to really have an air park-style location.”
Shellenberger called the opening of the aircraft display another step toward their ultimate goal.
“The real challenge is to get the community’s support,” Shellenberger said. “We’re going to need to build a firm base in the community where we can go into larger philanthropic organizations and get grants to help because this is going to be a multi-million dollar project.”
In the meantime, the museum’s present home is growing.
“It’s a big change but it’s good,” said longtime Oak Harbor resident Dennis Faber. “It’s very visible. It’s going to pull a lot of people in, that’s for sure.”
As part of the change, admission to the museum rose from $5 to $7 April 1 with $1 off for active duty, seniors and children.
The museum is located at 270 SE Pioneer Way in Oak Harbor. It is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, 1-5 p.m. on Sunday and is closed Monday and Tuesday.
Tours also are available by appointment.
To contact the museum, call 360-240-9500.
