Warbird Information Exchange

Are there still plans to restore the Planes of Fame B-17 to airworthy condition?

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Ain't no sunshine when she's gone!

Yes, please donate money for the restoration.

http://www.planesoffame.org/restoration ... ngfortress

i was at the pof museum in feb. and was allowed to roam around and in the lilly. i was quite surprised to find how original and reasonably intact she seemed to be. she is going to need a LOT of work to bring her back to flying condition though. i have no idea how the structural integrety of the plane is but superficially she looks like a house that someone locked the door on and diddnt go back for 20 years. i mean no insult to anyone involved in the maintenance of the plane. i know that the veterans are doing what they can with what they have to work with to keep her in the best shape they can. in a nutshell i would say she looks very complete but neglected. considering the state of some of the planes that are being restored today i would consider this plane to be an ideal candidate for restoration. i have a lot of pics of her. is there anyway i can get them in here other than the photo bucket method?? cheers, sim.

Hi,

I think there is a thread somewhere here that kind of lays out the history of Piccadilly Lilly. From that I have heard that there is at the moment, a minor preservation effort underway to keep her from sliding deeper into neglect.

On the upside, I have also been told that yes....indeed...they do plan on restoring her and a fund raising effort is underway to do the work. Given Planes of Fame's rep of their work, I think that when the time comes, Lilly will get done in relatively short order, and will make an excellent addition to the flyable B-17's out there.

Just my 2 cents.

Paul

If someone has a million + dollars to donate, the plane could be flying by next year.

Some photos from a few weeks ago:














Note remnants of the serial number on the fin fillet.

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All right, Mister Dorfmann, start pullin'!
Pilot: "Flap switch works hard in down position."
Mechanic: "Flap switch checked OK. Pilot needs more P.T." - Flight report, TB-17G 42-102875 (Hobbs AAF)

I'm curious as to where the movie studio kept this B-17 during the years of their ownership.

Never owned by a movie studio. 44-83684's owners have been 1) Army Air Forces, later USAF (1945 until 1999), and 2) The Air Museum (1999 until present). It was on loan from the USAF to the Air Museum beginning in 1959 until the museum gained title in 1999. It's been consistently based at Chino since 1960, with perhaps a stint or two at nearby Ontario Airport. The filming of the TV series 12 O'Clock High using this airplane were all shot at Chino between 1964 and 1966. This airplane was operated as N3713G, since revoked by the FAA as the airplane has not been operational since the 1970s.

How did the Air Museum gain title in 1999? Did they flat out buy it or trade something for it?

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When all is said and done more is said than done.

The Air Force gave it to them.

They just flat out gave it to them? That seems odd.

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When all is said and done more is said than done.

Since it's been discussed recently on another thread, how is lilly's ball turret? Is it intact? Would they be able to make it function?

The turret looked complete externally; odd thing is that some years ago when I toured the inside of the plane, one of the docents (a B-17 veteran) mentioned that the turret was actually from a B-24 .

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All right, Mister Dorfmann, start pullin'!
Pilot: "Flap switch works hard in down position."
Mechanic: "Flap switch checked OK. Pilot needs more P.T." - Flight report, TB-17G 42-102875 (Hobbs AAF)

I suspect there was a difference of opinion which got officially sorted out.

how can one post pics directly onto the thread?? any help would be most appreciated!!