anything on the b17 c project ?

[groundpounder]

just wondering if anyone had any info yet on the b17c project that was on the horizon???

[DryMartini]

Seems that the project is still in its infancy.

It is a tall order to do as (obviously) there
are few pieces about and nothing except "The Swoose"
to copy from. I think money is the main
issue right now. Anyone have $100K burning
a hole in their pocket? Would give the project
a real boost.

[groundpounder]

how is your plane coming along bill?

[DryMartini]

It's Mike's plane - I'm just helping out.

We've got the frame for BLK #3 replaced, and
have the nose keel cleco-ed into place. Mike
has started repairing/replacing ribs 3A-3J in preparation
for hanging the nose back on the plane (for the
first time in about 60 years). We hope to have
that done my Christmas. Would be a nice gift.
I'll see if I can post a few pictures.

[groundpounder]

it would be great to see some pics of desert rat! tanx. sim

[Aircraft Mech Paul]

Hi all,

I second that. I am sure that when Desert Rat is finished it will be a magnificent aircraft restoration.

But, I am sorta confused here. I thought that there were a VERY limited amount of parts availibe via a very few wreck sites that could even begin to piece together a C model Fortress. And from what I was lead to believe, most of what it left of the known C model wreck sites has been subject to vandalism and is on US Park Service land. So, with that being said, what is actually "out there" to even think of putting a C model back together, let alone back in the air again ??

Just curious,

Paul

[Chris Brame]

Per Baugher:


"(40-)2078 crashed Duncan Ford, Texas Oct 11, 1941." Has this wreck site been checked out?

"(40-)3089 ...lost at sea Oct 21, 1942, central Pacific." (Eddie Rickenbacker's plane, good luck finding it!)

Per accident-report.com:

40-2094 ditched 130 miles from Oahu (again, good luck finding it!)

Also B-17Ds 40-3060 and 40-3090 were listed as crashed at Kualoa, HI. The Baugher site doesn't list them. Anything left there?

[Obergrafeter]

Duncan Ford Texas? Sure that isn't a typo, meaning Duncan Field, Tx which was a Kelly Aux. field and would surley have been scrapped or salvaged on a base.

[TimAPNY]

Isn't there a B-17C crash site in Norway or somewhere. If I recall correcly it was a British Bomber that crashed on a raid. Guess I'll start looking for a link that had some pictures.

EDIT:
Love google and slow work days:
http://ktsorens.tihlde.org/flyvrak/bygland.html

If you never looked around this site you should! Some great stuff there.
Tim

[DryMartini]

Paul,

I'm not sure - a C model project is definitly a Jurassic
Park kind of deal - create the plane from a few old fragments.
I'm sure it will be 99% new - just like many "restorations"
today. Still, there are some parts that have commonality
with the later models. The throttle levers come to mind.

[airnutz]

And from what I was lead to believe, most of what it left of the known C model wreck sites has been subject to vandalism and is on US Park Service land.

Yep Paul, the Tells Peak bird..."preserved in place"
www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/Tells_Pea ... _RWING.htm

And a little page from the red-headed stepchillun of aircraft recovery,2001
www.tighar.org/Projects/Histpres/course ... ourse.html

[Aircraft Mech Paul]

Paul,

I'm not sure - a C model project is definitly a Jurassic
Park kind of deal - create the plane from a few old fragments.
I'm sure it will be 99% new - just like many "restorations"
today. Still, there are some parts that have commonality
with the later models. The throttle levers come to mind.

Bill,

I agree....though the thought of "cloning" B-17C would be a very far fetched. But I guess that waiting for the Swoose's eventual restoration will just have to satisfy our "C model" dreams. And, as an aside, while the C model on the US Park service land likely will be allowed to eventually return to the earth....it would be a sad thing to allow that to happen. Hopefully, some enterprizing group could convince the US National Park Service to recover what's left of it.

Just out of curiousity, how many C models were manufactured, before Boeing decided to rework the aft empenage and tail structure to the more reliable D through G models ?

And, as an aside to this, having seen photo's and an old movie or two which featured the early B-17 variants, it seemed to me, from a structural point of view, that the tail structure of the early models all seemed too small and narrow to handle the aerodynamic forces that the vertical and horizontal were having to handle.

Just my two cents,

Paul

[groundpounder]

so i guess nobody really knows anything about this then? all i know is what was posted on the aero vintage web page. anything is possible.

[groundpounder]

so i guess nobody really knows anything about this then? all i know is what was posted on the aero vintage web page. anything is possible.

[Chris Brame]

Just out of curiousity, how many C (& D) models were manufactured, before Boeing decided to rework the aft empenage and tail structure to the more reliable (E) through G models ?

B-17C: 38
B-17D: 42

The D was nearly identical to the C; most notable change externally was the addition of cowl flaps, and internally, self-sealing fuel tanks.