But this was no ordinary fly-past, with the 20m aircraft wowing the crowd with a series of dramatic ‘‘splash and go’’ exercises.

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A crowd of about 200 eager plane spotters gathered at Kanahooka Point just before 1pm to jockey for the best vantage spot.

Soon the Catalina appeared in the southern sky, taking a lap over the lake, then coming in for a spectacular ‘‘touch and go’’.

The plane gradually descended until its belly made contact with the water, skimming dramatically across the surface for about 500m, then again rising into the sky.

After circling for a second splashdown, the Catalina headed back to the airport before returning to repeat the sequence.

Illawarra Mercury photographer Sylvia Liber rode with the Bendigo Bank Aerial Patrol yesterday and photographed the Catalina's splashdown.

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Glider pilot and aircraft enthusiast David Hoffman travelled from Bowral to watch the Catalina and said the experience had been thrilling.

‘‘It was awesome, absolutely fantastic, it was great to see an old aircraft doing what it’s meant to do,’’ he said.

Built in 1945, the Catalina served with the US Navy and eventually operating as a water bomber before it sank in 1986.

It was salvaged and restored two years later, before finding its way to the Illawarra Historical Aircraft Restoration Society in 2002.

The Catalina will be one of many rare aircraft on display at Sunday’s annual Wings Over Illawarra Air Show.

Visit www.woi.org.au for a full program of events.