John Love is our Volunteer in the Spotlight this quarter. He hails from Carrabassett, ME and served four years in the Marine Corps as an avionics technician. His aviation experience involved working on F-4 Phantoms.

Love works in the Accessioning department and states “I saw the ad in the newspaper asking for anyone with aircraft experience to work at the Museum so I signed up. I worked one day on the airplane and not a day since… I guess they saw I had additional talents and decided to put them to use.”

Love, amongst others, receives artifacts from the public, documents […]

Commodore Keven “KD” Long and Deputy Commodore Erin Osborne of Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 10 visited on Thursday, 9 Aug. (Photo by Richard Rezabek)

As we approach the end of 2018, many thanks to our PBY Memorial Foundation members who have renewed their membership. Thank you, also, to those who have included donations with their new memberships and with their renewals!

Our latest new members are:

Matthew Gammon, Oak Harbor, WA

Ardel Jala, Seattle, WA

Jim Lundak, Lincoln, NE

Kirk A. Tollefson, Anacortes, WA

Brad Morse, Bothell, WA

Stephen Binion, Brookhaven, GA

Richard Murray, Oak Harbor, WA

Joseph Kunzler, Sedro Woolley, WA

Hopeton and Terri Willis, Longmire, CO

Linda Brauneis, Mt. Vernon, WA

Timothy Green, Coupeville, WA

Philip A. Griswold, Sun City, AZ

Theodore Mann, Oak Harbor, WA

Patricia Hunter, Seattle, WA

Welcome back former PBYMF members from Oak […]

Eighteen members of the Class of 1971, 15th Company, US Naval Academy at Annapolis, visited the museum hosted by one of our long time members, Scott Hornung. Group Museum tours are always available – a great way to entertain family gatherings or other groups. 10 or more in a group get discount admission.

The Anderson family of Oak Harbor, including Angela , Jordan, Lincoln, Leyton, Greysen were participants in National Lemonade Day, an organization that sponsors young entrepreneurs with courses in money management, sales, borrowing and debt repayment as well as customer service. This is the third year the PBY Naval Air Museum has provided space for the venture.

A brand new WWII pilot Cmdr. Ault display is now in the museum. Volunteer Dave Strohmeyer constructed the site with materials provided by
Cmdr. Scott Hornung, USN (Ret.) Ault was a decorated pilot for which the Naval Air Station, Whidbey Island Ault Field, is named after. (Photo by
Mackenzie Taft)

They say that “Time flies by when you’re having fun” and many of us at the PBY Museum must be having fun since the years have slipped by so quickly. Our first (Annual) Volunteer Picnic was held at Bowman Bay near the Deception Pass Bridge on September 22^nd. Officers and Trustees coordinated burgers, hot dogs, fire pit grill, salads, chips, desserts and drinks and it was enjoyed by all.

To cap off this inaugural event, service anniversary pins were awarded that can be proudly worn on our official PBYMF shirts.

In attendance and receiving service pins were:

Five Year Award – Don […]

Summer 2018 has been busy and moved by quickly. All the summer events were successfully completed. The monthly speakers luncheon series continues to grow. Volunteer research turned up an historic icon in the bush – literally. The mid-year fundraising appeal wrapped up. After nearly one and a half years of due diligence, a decision has been made on the purchase of land located south of Oak Harbor. And, our new website is ready for launch.

From late June through early September we continued taking the story of Naval Aviation in the Northwest to eight venues throughout the area. While these […]

Laurin Bernard “Bud” Zylstra took his final flight on June 17, 2018. Bud was active with the Museum almost since its inception in 2002. He was born in Oak Harbor on January 22, 1923.

Zylstra joined the Army in 1943 and served with the 8^th & 9^th Army Air Corps Engineers stationed in Europe. He landed at Utah Beach in Normandy just after D-day and worked on airfields.

After being honorably discharged from the Army in 1945, he studied drafting at Edison Tech in Seattle (now Seattle Central CC). He then returned to the construction business on Whidbey Island. He earned […]

U.S. Navy Sonar Technician James Stutheit is our volunteer in the spotlight this quarter. He brings special skills to the project of restoring the PBY 5A Catalina as his experience is unique. “I was a restorations expert in San Diego before I joined the Navy. I did a lot of the older cars; Duesenberg, Delahey, Pontiacs, Cadillacs. If it was old and rare, I tried my best to restore it to make it a show car.”

On the PBY Restoration Team since March of 2014, Stutheit’s philosophy is simple: “ I want to get the plane in working order. She may […]