AFRICAN bees and logistical problems have finally been solved, and the first parts of a $20,000 Catalina found for sale on eBay in Puerto Rico have started to arrive at Kilaben Bay.
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The dismantled Catalina is being transported to Australia in five shipments.
One of the aircraft's two engines, a rudder, and a propeller blade have already made the journey.
The remaining parts, including the fuselage and wings, are expected to arrive next month.
The Catalina will form the centrepiece of a museum to be built at Rathmines by a group of locals dedicated to the memory of the aircraft and the RAAF base established at Rathmines in 1939.
Rathmines Catalina Memorial Park Association committee member Penny Furner said the shipments have been a long time coming.
"Having the first shipments arrive is proof that the museum and the Catalina that will be on display are not just a concept. This project is real," she said.
The committee hopes to have the museum up and running as early as this year.
Committee member Terry Woolard said a Google search led the committee to the Catalina for sale on eBay.
Mr Woolard was part of a three-man delegation who travelled to Puerto Rico to kick the tyres on the big bird.
Getting the Catalina out of Puerto Rico proved difficult.
"Firstly, there was no direct shipping to Australia for large shipments, it's all via the US," Mr Woolard said.
Because of its size, the Catalina had to be sent in five sections.
Three transport companies declined the job because it was too difficult, he said.
The discovery of a nest of African bees in the tail section delayed the project a further nine weeks.
Committee member Dave Swanson said the committee would restore the Catalina to static-display condition.
"This will be a hands-on exhibit," he said.
"People will be able to get into the cockpit, move the controls, and touch and feel the aircraft."
The committee is in negotiations for a building that would house the museum items, such as flight log books, a diorama of the Rathmines Air Base, and photographs.
The Catalina would be protected by a range of security measures, Mrs Furner said.
"This will be a museum of national significance and interest," she said.
Catalina Festival funding
FUNDS raised by the annual Rathmines Catalina Festival have been integral to the museum project.
The 2012 festival attracted the biggest crowd, many of whom came to see what could possibly be the last landing of a Catalina dubbed Felix the Black Cat, on Lake Macquarie.
Mr Woolard said about $27,000 was grossed from that festival.
The crowd and proceeds were almost halved in 2013, as the committee invested in better parking and entry measures, he said.
