bombadier29 wrote:
JohnB wrote:
bombadier29 wrote:
The fiberglass B-24 at Lackland is an abomination. If you ever get close to it and take a close look, you will back away quickly. There are cracks all in the glass and many of them go all the way through. At one point a few years ago, the left vertical fin was just barely hanging on before it was repaired.
There is nearly as much bondo filling the cracks on that plane as there is fiberglass on it. It serves a purpose and looks fine from 50' but it just doesn't look like larger fiberglass airplanes hold up as well as the smaller ones. I don't know what kind of supports are built into the wings and such but it really isn't doing the job.
When I saw it in 2004, it was fine. No worse than the real B-24 it replaced.
If it has gone downhill since then, it's on LAFB, and not the concept of SFMs.
It did look fine for quite a while. But 2004 was a while ago and during that passing time the fiberglass has started to crack. That is due to the way it is put together or constructed. I vote for a little of both due to the fact that it is cracking where there are joints in the airplane. Some are around production joints in the fiberglass and some are in the severe angles that are molded into the fiberglass. It certainly isn't cracking because the airmen have been climbing all over it after their graduation parade. It's cracking because it appears to be too heavy for the way it is supported internally. It's cracking because of the way it was put together. Its cracking because of the way it is constructed. Please tell me how any of that is the fault of Lackland AFB. They didn't have anything to do with any of those steps. The paint, which they have redone a couple of times, is fine. Except for where the cracks are coming through.
The P-38 is in much better shape and doesn't seem to have the internal support problems that the B-24 has. Or maybe its just built better. Or maybe its both. More than one of the fiberglass P-51s around the country has been seen to have drooping wings. They were all made by the same company and they were the same company that built the B-24. The P-47 on Shaw AFB was built by the same company. After about two years on display one of the propellor blades started to seperate and fall out of the hub. The entire prop had to be pulled and beefed up before reglassing.
When you think about it, this is probably the largest free standing full size fiberglass airplane mockup. Right? Or is there a larger one? It's a shame to hear the fiberglass on this replica is such a mess, but what could someone have done to prevent it?
And for that matter (hypothetically speaking of course) what if you started with a brand new Tallichet B-24 replica with the goal of detailing it out to convince most viewers? This detailed replica would have a full inside fuselage, bombay, guns, turrets, equipment, etc. Given the metal framework inside, could you re-engineer the structure or modify it?
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