B-17s Lacey Lady, Sentimental Journey Turret connection ?

[Triplane102]

I know I still have an old CAF Dispatch where there is a story on how the CAF Sentimental Journey B-17 people way back in the late (?) '70s made a deal with the B-17 Lacey Lady (Art ?) people for turret/s from L.L in return for work done on L.L. Just wondering which of S.J's turrets started on L.L? Was this true or am I thinking of some other B-17?

[SaxMan]

I don't have my copy of "The Final Cut" by Scott Thompson in front of me currently, but from what I remember reading, the deal was made for the upper turret.

Final Cut is a "must have" book for anyone who is a fan of the B-17, and is probably the definitive resource for post-war Fortresses.

[Triplane102]

Thanks SaxMan, NOW I remember seeing a photo of the top turret being lowered into S.J AND it had a Green tinted glass section installed on it ! Is it Still Green ?, Sorry, couldn't 't help myself , just have to ask ! Thanks again, Tony

[SaxMan]

I haven't seen SJ in years, but last I saw her the plexiglass was still tinted...a necessary concession of authenticity for a plane based in Arizona, I presume.

[Matt Gunsch]

The top turret on Sentimental Journey is from Lacey Lady. Dave Dawkins and JW Moore drove up there and removed the turret and other parts that were later used on Sentimental Journey. The turret was not bought, but exchanged for repairs done to Lacey Lady, including some new plexi-glass. The deal was made because they offered to do something for turret instead of buying it as other had done. While the crew from AZ was there, Art received a call about selling the turret from another B-17 operator who wanted to buy it, he said that they should talk to the turret people and handed the phone to Dave. The buyer launched into a spiel about why the turret should be sold to them and how much did they want for it. Dave replied it was no for sale and they had a use for it. Oh, the caller, it was someone from the Texas Raider.. Beat to the punch again by the crew from the Sentimental Journey.

[SaxMan]

The top turret on Sentimental Journey is from Lacey Lady. Dave Dawkins and JW Moore drove up there and removed the turret and other parts that were later used on Sentimental Journey. The turret was not bought, but exchanged for repairs done to Lacey Lady, including some new plexi-glass. The deal was made because they offered to do something for turret instead of buying it as other had done. While the crew from AZ was there, Art received a call about selling the turret from another B-17 operator who wanted to buy it, he said that they should talk to the turret people and handed the phone to Dave. The buyer launched into a spiel about why the turret should be sold to them and how much did they want for it. Dave replied it was no for sale and they had a use for it. Oh, the caller, it was someone from the Texas Raider.. Beat to the punch again by the crew from the Sentimental Journey.

Is there a rivalry within the CAF between thei two B-17s crews? Sure sounds like one!

[Matt Gunsch]

The top turret on Sentimental Journey is from Lacey Lady. Dave Dawkins and JW Moore drove up there and removed the turret and other parts that were later used on Sentimental Journey. The turret was not bought, but exchanged for repairs done to Lacey Lady, including some new plexi-glass. The deal was made because they offered to do something for turret instead of buying it as other had done. While the crew from AZ was there, Art received a call about selling the turret from another B-17 operator who wanted to buy it, he said that they should talk to the turret people and handed the phone to Dave. The buyer launched into a spiel about why the turret should be sold to them and how much did they want for it. Dave replied it was no for sale and they had a use for it. Oh, the caller, it was someone from the Texas Raider.. Beat to the punch again by the crew from the Sentimental Journey.

Is there a rivalry within the CAF between thei two B-17s crews? Sure sounds like one!

There used to be, I have no idea now as I have not been a CAF for a long time and have had nothing to do with Sentimental Journey for a even longer time.
The CAF had Raiders since the 60s and had not done anything to make it look like a warbird other than a paint job. When the AZ wing was formed, Sentimental Journey was a stripped out firebomber named the Class of 44. In no time they gathered up turrets, radio gear, bomb bay actuators and started to make it look like a wartime B-17. Sentimental Journey was not restored in a hangar, but in the dirt parked along side a taxi way. The interior was paint stripped, the fuselage rewired, the top of the fuselage from the nose to the radio room was re skinned, the top of the bomb bay was re skinned. I was there thru most of it and have never worked on her in a hangar. I helped to install the top turret, tail turret and much more. It was so much fun working on a polished metal plane outside when the temps were in the high 90s and up.

So, in a few short years the AZ Wing took Sentimental Journey from a stripped out firebomber to what she is today, Texas Raiders has always been in the AZ wings dust when it came to restorations.

[hang the expense]

Hats off to S J crowd for their diligence it getting the bomber back to the status it is today in the amount of time completed. Out in the burning sun? I would have worked at night. Tough breed of cats out there in Arizona. Oh, and quick.

[Jerry O'Neill]

Didn't Sentimental Journey also get Lacey's the pumpkin from their cheyenne tail turret?

[Matt Gunsch]

Didn't Sentimental Journey also get Lacey's the pumpkin from their cheyenne tail turret?

They might have. The tail turret was put on a few months before the top turret. We did a massive amount of work that included reskinning, rewiring, paint stripping, installed the waist gun k mounts, installing the top turret structure, replacing the tail stinger. We had it all done but the install of the top turret before we had a airshow in Kingman, This was the same show that Dick Rutan flew his Long Eze at for one of the first fund raisers for the Voyager.
I did make sure that Sentimental Journey was well armed for the show

[C VEICH]

This was the same show that Dick Rutan flew his Long Eze at for one of the first fund raisers for the Voyager.

I recall seeing the Long Eze routine at Deer Valley if memory serves. I also recall some "hullaballoo" over the fact that it was painted light blue instead of the recommended white!

[Matt Gunsch]

This was the same show that Dick Rutan flew his Long Eze at for one of the first fund raisers for the Voyager.

I recall seeing the Long Eze routine at Deer Valley if memory serves. I also recall some "hullaballoo" over the fact that it was painted light blue instead of the recommended white!

That was Rutan. He flew off the wing of the B-17 on a wake up Kingman flight, I was standing in the window using the chicken as a gun and tracking the Long Eze. Dick could not see what it was other than it was something yellow, after we landed I saw him walking toward the 17 so I turned the K mount in his direction and grabbed the legs of the chicken and made like it was a machine gun. Dick got close enough to see what it was, laughed and walked away.
My last trip to Oshkosh I got to meet Dick and I mentioned that I read in Voyager he had flown a show at Kingman and asked him if he flew with the B-17, he said he had, so I had to ask if he remembered something strange about the flight, he smiled and said Yeah, a someone stuck a rubber chicken in the gun mount, I held up my hand and said that was me.