B-17 Boeing Bee gets a hangar again

[The Inspector]

I alwas considered the MoF to be the de facto Boeing Museum.
Witness:
-The Red Barn
-The Boeing 40 replicas..full...and partial in the Bed Barn (what other museum would fund those?)
-The prototypes (727-737-747)
-The bombers; B-17, 29, 47, 52
and who knows what else is in their archives and lots of money over the years.

My point exactly. This gets brought more to the forefront when you hear that the MoF wants to go in a different direction (space).

Boeing had quit using the old Plant 1 building (Red Barn) located downriver from Plant 2 in the mid 1960's(KBFI) and was about to tear it down or let SFD practice fighting a large wooden building fire, the old PHAAHF (I forget the exact letter arrangement) got the ear of a columnist @ one of Seattles then two daily papers and a reporter @ a TV station and started a grass roots campaign to give it to the museum foundation and got King County to donate or sell the foundation some dirt for free/cheap. As the idea gained steam, Boeing saw the P.R. and goodwill aspects of donating the building. A local tug and barge outfit donated a barge and the services of a tug boat (more free goodwill) and a house moving company lifted and shored the building and got it on and off the barge.
The museums 'collection' consisted of a small handful of older private aircraft, a pretty moth eaten T mark Vampire, the NORTHROP N-156 prototype (still hanging from the rafters in the Great Gallery), a few scale models of parts of the 2707 SST and a LINK Trainer all in a couple of rooms on the Seattle Center grounds a stones throw from SPOOKY THE CATS business on lower Queen Anne.

The original Model 40 was just a soft steel mockup of the fuselage tubing to show visitors what was under the skin on old airplanes. It was sort of a 'space taker upper' to cover part of the pretty bare floor and the prints were donated by Boeing Historical. 747 #1 RA-001 'City of Everett' was done as a test vehicle and was being pushed around KBFI sans engines and was considered as a ramp hog, again the foundation talked Boeing into donating it a tax writeoff and more good P.R. In the early 80's UNITED expressed interest in unloading E-01
#1 727 and the P.R. machine fired up again. NASA wound up with #1 737 PA-001 and flew the dweedle out of it doing early video screen flight and landing tests and gave it to the museum when it was done with the airframe.
In 1969 the Air Force donated a WB-47E instead of sending it to it's doom in Arizona, which sat on the East side of KBFI so long that blackberry vines were covering it over. The story of Swages B-17 has been covered and I'm not touching that tar baby, the Air Force donated the B-52G when they were being phased out because of SALT 2 and rather than turn it into beercans it was donated (I helped disable the aircraft to meet the requirements of SALT 2 over a couple of weekends along with a couple of co-workers @ BADWRENCH), now if the airport or museum wants to move it the Russians, Chinese, and the Air Force from Upper Volta all need months in advance notice so they can overfly with satellites before and after, and do the same in reverse to move it back, a huge P.I.T.A. I've half jokingly suggested that the airport paint the top of the 114 million gallon water tank with a huge eyeball so some Russian intelligence dweeb can ask 'do you see airfield Ivan?' "Yes, and comrade, but it also sees us!"

When the Wright Family selected MoF as the repository for the Wright Bros documents, it put a real crimp in the NASM's bananna and created a surge tide of bad blood between the two organizations, most of the third floor office space is archives and the museum had to plead with SFD to be allowed to raise the humidity a couple points so priceless documents wouldn't turn into chaff from dessication.
The origins of the museum was the salvage of one of Bob Reeves Boeing 80A's from a city dump in Anchorage, it's on display restored inside and out in B.A.T. markings.

The focus of the museum changes drastically depending on who's driving the bus, Howard Lovering who started the foundation was a 'golden ager' so the collection was 1930's civilian, then Nick Bonafacio who was a very good friend of Gen Utterstrom who ran NMUSAF so the focus turned sorta military (F-4, SR-71, T square 54, etc), then a period of 'nothing with guns please' and donations went down to nothing as did offers of aircraft/artifacts and resulted in Main floor space being given over to a plywoood mockup of an FA-18 2 seater turned into a sort of kids play toy with a slide and old car stereos behind plexiglass in the 'cockpit'. Then Bonnie Dunbar former Shuttle astronaut was made Director and suddenly the focus is space so the collection is pretty eclectic and odd in places.
It's isn't 'Boeings Museum' and the staff makes that point clear in a nice way to visitors.

[Sasquatch]

The former Champlin collection (owned by VULCAN/P.A.) is on loan to the MoF.

Is that really true? I thought MOF bought that collection outright.

--Tom

Further to this, I checked in with a pal of mine at the MOF and he stated:

Doug Champlin's collection does belong to the MOF through the [a private] Foundation , NOT Paul Allen. Paul Allen has his own collection ( FHC) at Paine Field. Doug Champlin is still on our board, though, "Emeritus".


--Tom

[Fight2FlyPhoto]

FHC alread has a B-17 that they have hidden away in storage.

Perhaps we shall see that aircraft come out of storage now with the new hangar built?

Not a chance. From what I gather, it seems to still be an unrecognizable pile of aluminum. Though maybe they will keep the ball and tail turrets on display. Those look real nice.

[TAdan]

FHC alread has a B-17 that they have hidden away in storage.

Perhaps we shall see that aircraft come out of storage now with the new hangar built?

Not a chance. From what I gather, it seems to still be an unrecognizable pile of aluminum. Though maybe they will keep the ball and tail turrets on display. Those look real nice.

That is a bit dissapointing to hear. I keep hoping the FHC B-17 would reappear sooner rather than later. Seeing as it arrived intact I hoped it would have been an "easy" resto. Although I do understand that to do it "right" it probably did have to completely come apart.

[JohnB]

It's isn't 'Boeings Museum' and the staff makes that point clear in a nice way to visitors.

Which is why I carefully said "de facto".
Of course it's not THE Boeing museum, but in Seattle, it certainly fills that need.
I recall visiting the PNAFH back when it was at/near/under the Space Needle...back when the N-156 was one of their few airframes.

Again, my comments should not be viewed as critical. I enjoy my regular visits to it.
But I certainly hope they give the B-17 and 29 a proper home and keep their focus on aviation.

[Fight2FlyPhoto]

That is a bit dissapointing to hear. I keep hoping the FHC B-17 would reappear sooner rather than later. Seeing as it arrived intact I hoped it would have been an "easy" resto. Although I do understand that to do it "right" it probably did have to completely come apart.

It's my understanding that although it flew in to Arlington, it was an utter mess and probably shouldn't have. lol Whenever it's done, it surely will be a sight to behold!

[p51]

It's my understanding that although it flew in to Arlington, it was an utter mess and probably shouldn't have.

I know someone who was with the people that B-17 was bought from, and he told me they were all shocked to find out it was going to be flown across the country. He said if he'd had to have moved it, he'd have yanked the wings and tail off and flown it inside another airplane to WA state.

Whenever it's done, it surely will be a sight to behold!

That restoration has been going on for what, over 15 years, now? I know there's a crew dedicated to that bird who's members are under strict 'don't tell nobody nothing' orders. And it's still a stack of metal and parts?

[Speedy]

I know someone who was with the people that B-17 was bought from, and he told me they were all shocked to find out it was going to be flown across the country. He said if he'd had to have moved it, he'd have yanked the wings and tail off and flown it inside another airplane to WA state.

I will echo that...as my recollection once the Brother's W brought it up from Bolivia, the 'restoration' involved stripping the faded blue and white paint off of it and cleaning the animal crap out of the interior. But I'm also pretty sure it was sold to Paul Allen 'as is' and not as 'restored'.

[Warbird Kid]

She at least looked nice on the outside when she arrived to Washington...

[APG85]

So what's the big secret with the restoration...?

[The Inspector]

One word is all you need-


VULCAN

Paul Allens corporation which sometimes operates like salad oil on a greased cookie sheet

[JohnB]

Still, the level of secrecy seems a bit odd...considering it's a 70 year-old airplane that isn't THAT rare (50 survivors), and it will eventually go on display in a museum open to the public (as opposed to a "secret lair" deep inside an extinct volcano or somesuch).

[The Inspector]

Still, the level of secrecy seems a bit odd...considering it's a 70 year-old airplane that isn't THAT rare (50 survivors), and it will eventually go on display in a museum open to the public (as opposed to a "secret lair" deep inside an extinct volcano or somesuch).

VULCAN of course came out of MICROSQUISH where things are so tight security wise as in every electronics outfit where new projects get goofy unrelated 'working names' so the guys own the road @ MEGAwhatever don't get wind of what it will be, that it naturally carried over when Allen set up his outfit. Parts of the legal team @ Vulcan have no idea what the other parts of Vulcan's legal teams do and that sometimes exists between floors in the same building.
'Advances in electronics driven by paranoia'

[rwdfresno]

Yeah, it is a real shame that someone spends several large fortunes restoring and preserving rare historic aircraft to flying condition, displays the completed ones to the public, flys them publically at his cost, meanwhile the side effect is employing dozens of industry workers with the infusion cash, and he doesn't even have the common courtesy to share with us every detail of his private business to our heart's content.

Ryan

[DaveM2]

Spot on Ryan. A bit less bitchin and moaning and a bit more gratitude would go a long way.
If and when we get to see the B-17 it will be a sight to behold, I would think it is a long way off considering the number of projects which are well into the restoration pipeline currently.
In the cold light of day none of it has anything to do with the 'lemmie see,' 'lemmie see' schedule of warbird anoraks