The Catalina features a strut-bracedhigh-wing, a three-seat enclosed cabin, retractable conventional landing gear, a boat hull and a single engine in pusher configuration. The aircraft is made from mixed construction, consisting of welded steel tubing, with its flying surfaces covered in dopedaircraft fabric, plus fiberglass for the hull and other parts. Its span wing has a wing area of and folds for storage or ground transport, without disconnecting the controls. The wing is supported by "V" lift struts with jury struts. The Catalina wings had the option of mid-wing sponsons, or the original Amphibian droop wing tip sponsons for water operations. The original engine used was the Rotax 582 twin cylinder two stroke powerplant. Other known engines flown have included the Rotax 618, Rotax 912, Hirth F30, Hirth 2706 and Verner 133MK engines. The Catalina has an empty weight of and a gross weight of, giving a useful load of. With full fuel of the payload is. While the fuel tank is standard equipment, the factory also offered optional and tanks. The earlier Amphibian model offered only standard fuel, with a total of as two tanks optional. The Avid Amphibian and Catalina could also be built without water operations capability. This variation of the aircraft was dubbed the "Landphibian", and was lighter without the inboard and outboard sponsons. In 1992 the Amphibian kit cost US$16,695, while the land-only version kit was US$15,695. The manufacturer estimated the construction time from the supplied kit as 700 hours.
Operational history
By 2001 the company reported that 100 examples of the Amphibian/Catalina were flying. In December 2013 eleven examples were registered in the United States with the Federal Aviation Administration. One builder, Rod Snider, of Boise, Idaho, wrote, "I completed the land version of the Avid Amphibian in January of 1987. Since then I have flown this remarkable little plane for 1960 hours. It is really a superb plane for sightseeing and flying slow and camping in back country airstrips. Three people of medium build can be carried comfortably, as can two people and all necessary camping gear with full fuel." This aircraft was reported as destroyed in January 2004.
