Warbird Information Exchange

Regarding Liberty Belle it has now been a little over 5 years since the trajic loss of this B-17. I've heard that this aircraft, or at least certain parts of the original aircraft is being rebuilt to possibly fly again is this correct? Also how far along is Liberty Belle in its road to recovery? Is this taking place in Douglas GA, and is the Dyke Lake B-17 also there as well being restored?
Next question out of about 20 B-29's left in the world among the B-29's that are being held at various museums could any of them under the right set of conditions be made flyable? Of course I know of Kermit Week's b-29, and the one that Aero Trader has had for sale forever. Assuming in that is a big leap counting those 2 plus FIFI and DOC that could make 4 flyable. Just a question on my part IM curious. Thanks in advance.

First you have to assess which B-29's are NOT owned by the USAF. You can rule out those owned by the military and on loan to other museum's, though some of them, specifically the one at Duxford, flew when donated and would be an easier candidate for flight than most others.

NEAM's B-29, "Jack's Hack", could never be a flyer even though it is owned in total by the museum. The replacement airworthy spare acquired to repair the tornado damaged spar was cut and spliced into the old spar. This precludes it from taking to the air with out a complete rebuild.
Jerry

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There is "Its Hawg Wild" at Duxford, that, I believe could be made airworthy. It did after all fly all the way over there. I think it has some corrosion issues so it would require some attention. Beyond that, perhaps the one in Seattle, but again, its got corrosion issues. I don't know who owns the one at Castle, likely still the AF museum. (In the Castle aircraft, its actually at least 2 different aircraft made into a static display.)

An interesting build that I'd love to see happen is the PoF B50. It would be epic to see a B50 fly.

Will

There is "Its Hawg Wild" at Duxford, that, I believe could be made airworthy. It did after all fly all the way over there. I think it has some corrosion issues so it would require some attention. Beyond that, perhaps the one in Seattle, but again, its got corrosion issues. I don't know who owns the one at Castle, likely still the AF museum. (In the Castle aircraft, its actually at least 2 different aircraft made into a static display.)

An interesting build that I'd love to see happen is the PoF B50. It would be epic to see a B50 fly.

Will

You will not see another B-29 made airworthy in our lifetime. FIFI was the best of the B-29s in China Lake NAS, and Doc was probably the worst. Doc needed a new spar machined and had to wait about two years for access to a milling machine capable to machine it. It took 16 years to restore Doc and several truckloads of money, so I seriously doubt anyone could do it again.

http://www.aerovintage.com/forum/viewto ... f=1&t=4513\

This link will take you to the update photos of the Liberty Belle, I haven't looked at it in quite a while, the progress is pretty impressive all things considered. AND it hasn't been really updated in a while so who knows how much progress he has made. Chuck Giese is working on the Labrador B-17 in Douglas...Chuck is a really nice guy, he gave Keough and I a great tour of the place a couple years ago. Unfortunately my photos are in my hangar in Ohio...and I'm in Seattle. The list below is all the active B-17 restorations (to airworthy) that I can think of. I gotta hand it to these guys for tenacity...when one part gets built they are doing 5 copies. Pretty spectacular effort.

B-17E 41-2595 Desert Rat
B-17G 44-85790
B-17G 44-85734 Liberty Belle
B-17C project
B-17F 42-3455 Lucky 13
B-17G 44-85813 Champagne Lady
B-17G 44-83684 Piccadilly Lily
Evergreen B-17.
Paul Allen E

As for B-29s...the previous comments ring true. Dave Tallichet had the lock on B-29s for a while. He had the "Mission Inn" flown to March AFB in the early 80s...and I believe he owned the Weeks' airplane which flew a few times before being grounded by corrosion issues. Kermit has had his other B-29 for sale through Aero Trader for years...personally, I don't see any current operators willing to foot a $10m restoration with no possible return on investment. Taigh would be the guy for B-29 info.

Hope this helps

Jim

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www.spiritof44.com

From my understanding, Liberty Belle is going to be completely rebuilt. There is a guy in the Carolinas that is rebuilding the tail section, and has posted photos of it in a jig. There are other photos floating around of a couple of noses and other parts in GA.

Was it ever determined what caused the fire on "Liberty Bell"?

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Keep Em' Flying,
Christopher Soltis
Dedicated to the preservation and education of The Sikorsky Memorial Airport

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Chicks Dig Warbirds.......right?

Thankyou.

...or maybe one should qualify that statement: "Not...in my lifetime" maybe?

Depends on how long they gave you.

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Matt Gunsch, A&P, IA, Warbird maint and restorations
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Looking at the Liberty Belle reconstruction photos, and the work done on the Champaign Lady, I'm heartened to see there are guys and group's out there with the desire, money and talent to build B-17s.

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Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.
Note political free signature.
I figure if you wanted my opinion on items unrelated to this forum, you'd ask for it.

Now if only someone was interested in B-24s as much.

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Keep Em' Flying,
Christopher Soltis
Dedicated to the preservation and education of The Sikorsky Memorial Airport

CASC Blog Page: http://ctair-space.blogspot.com/
Warbird Wear: https://www.redbubble.com/people/warbirdwear/shop

Chicks Dig Warbirds.......right?

http://www.avweb.com/news/pelican/182151-1.html

Randy Sohn wrote a letter to the editor of the CAF Dispatch in Jun of 95, in which he stated that flying FIFI is a "unique" (one of a kind) experience, esp with the unfortunate demise of the Kee Bird earlier that spring. In June of '95 Doc was still a hulk in the desert, and it was thought at that time that there would never be another flying B-29, until a group of people came along and decided they wanted one.