G-PBYA —

Dang what an aeroplane. Built one out of balsa when I was 12 yrs old. Still love 'em~!

I would give almost anything to fly one of these! Maybe someone can help with this: Why is the Catalina touching down on water with the wing floats retracted? Is this one a fire bomber and they're scooping from the lake?

I would say its not a fire-bomber. Don't they paint those bright yellows, oranges and reds?
I'm gonna sound stupid here but why do you think it's not a take-off???

Touch N Go ?

Well, I don't know that it isn't a takeoff, but wouldn't the floats be in the down position for that, then retracted during climb-out? Certainly, at the speed indicated by the picture they would have some aileron authority, but it still seems early for them to be in the fully retracted position. What a beautiful airplane!

It was a Touch and Go!

And there's the authoritative answer from the person who uploaded the photo. Thank you! And that is a beautiful photo of a beautiful airplane!

The Flying Porcupine !

I don't think you want to extend the floats until water speed is quite lower. Only one tip would touch the water at a time, may cause a bit of a pirouette!