B-17 Flying Fortress/44-83735 ~ the Duxford resto thread

ZRX61 · **Joined:** Tue Jun 14, 2005 10:16 am **Posts:** 2308

k5dh wrote:

An example of what NOT to do: In the latest group of photos, there are two fellows who are obviously working with chemical stripper. They're wearing protective suits and chemical-resistant gloves, as they should, but they're not wearing SAFETY GLASSES. Danger, danger, danger. . . :shock:

Or simply: Don't get the stuff on your face etc... it's REALLY not that difficult to use the stuff without getting it on yourself if you're a grown up..

bomberflight · **Posted:** Thu Oct 27, 2011 2:08 am

In the pix concerned ~ the guys are misting water into the nooks and crannies to loosen the last traces of paint from the chemical paint removal process ~ hence the rubber gloves .....

Another update soon :wink:

ZRX61 · **Joined:** Tue Jun 14, 2005 10:16 am **Posts:** 2308

bomberflight wrote:

What are they using that leaves all those swirl marks in the metal??

The Inspector · **Posted:** Sat Oct 29, 2011 10:54 pm

Probably SCOTCHBRITE pads, does the job, little to no damage or impact on the part and moderate amounts of Norwegian steam involved.

bomberflight · **Posted:** Sun Oct 30, 2011 5:13 am

The Inspector wrote .....

Quote:

Probably SCOTCHBRITE pads

~ yep that's exaclty what's being used !

Let's continue with the topic of paint removal ~ looking at the wing trailing edge sections sitting side by side .....

We never know what will be discovered when the paint comes off ~ purple headed English rivets mean this area underwent some
work at some stage during the original restoration

And I wonder what's the story behind these marks on the upper skin surfaces ~ and the attendant repair patches

Once paint removal is complete ~ work can begin on treating the surface corrosion

There's been good progress on the horizontal stabilizer conservation work and it's now being buttoned up using all the original
skins and appropriate american rivets

Meanwhile restoration work on the top of the nose has also neared completion .....

Riveting in this area is very much a team effort

While working on this area ~ mounting holes were found for Landing Approach Antennae ~ AN/ARN-5 system

And it's been decided to re-instate the antennae ~ using one held in the IWM stores .....

Another discovery made in the nose section is the stenciling on the back on the cockpit instrument panel ~
I always get a thrill when one of the staff comes over and says come and see this ~ and bring your camera !

It's difficult to photograph ~ so I've converted this image to black & white and boosted the contrast

What the date of April 30th 1945 signifies ~ I don't know ! The panel had been completed and instruments tested ?
When I check the history of 44-83735 in Scott Thompsons magnificent B-17 book ~ The Final Cut ..... it was accepted by the USAAF at
Long Beach on May 28th 1945. Another small puzzle to solve !

I'll include another couple if pix of this area ~ since it's not something you'd get to see very often

Right ~ where to next ? Ah .... lets go over the other side of the hanger to see the inner wing sections

Which have been masked up ready for the undercarriage legs to be painted

A task soon accomplished in the dedicated spray shop

I thought I'd finish this post with these images .....

The public walkway is located through the middle of the hanger ~ and this picture ~ you can just make out the red ropes ....

Is there anywhere else in the world where you can stand in the middle of a full time restoration of a B-17 housed in a national collection ~
seven days a week ! It's so nice to be back at Duxford again !

And ~ no matter how busy ~ there is always time to stop and answer questions from the public.

Another update soon :wink:

APG85 · **Posted:** Sun Oct 30, 2011 7:28 am

Always fantastic!!!

The Inspector · **Posted:** Sun Oct 30, 2011 7:50 am

Not sure about 65 year old rivet I.D.s but modern anodized rivets have meanings. Purple ones are Fluid Tight like wing spars into fuel cell areas, orange ones are usually conductive as static ground paths.

The instrument panel would have been done by a subcontractor, cabinet shop, coffin maker (lots of WACO CG-4's were built by coffin manufacturers, draw your own conclusions), etc. the date would be the completed date for time tracking I.D. purposes or in case something wasn't correct or a change had been made in the layout of the panel DAC would know who made the panel and what the completion date was so if necessary, they could have a 'chat' with them or their QC dept.

That left side pitot cut out is one raggedy looking hack out and that upper forward screw has no edge distance, the rear upper screw might have minimum E.D.

Loving this archaeological dig!!

JimH · **Posted:** Sun Oct 30, 2011 8:00 am

April 30th 1945, Hitler died....and it was the day my mother was born. not that it means anything to this grand old 17

jim

bomberflight · **Posted:** Sun Oct 30, 2011 9:38 am

Always good to hear from you Jim !

I think I found a way to live the dream :drink3:

b29flteng · **Posted:** Sun Oct 30, 2011 9:14 pm

Bomberflight, I can't thank you enough for the great photo essay. Keep them coming!

bomberflight · **Posted:** Mon Oct 31, 2011 3:19 pm

And so gentle readers we arrive at Halloween and the spooky tale of the spark plug twins ~ that were not twins at all .....

Our tale begins on a dark and stormy night under a full moon at a crossroads ..... ( or more probably Hanger 5 at lunchtime today )

Two B-17 spark plugs are laid out on the bench ~ to all intents and purposes ~ dead to the world :shock:

A cursory glimpse and it's obvious that they are different in a number of ways ~ but how can that be ?

The smaller of the two ( a LODGE RS19-2RS ) attached to a plug lead

The larger one ( Labelled AC-281 ) ~ with a bigger thread size and attendant different plug lead

We're in need of a dozen of the smaller chaps ~ for which we have appropriate plug leads to fit.

I must conclude this eerie tale wondering where on earth we might find such rarities ...... perhaps someone out there can help solve
this Halloween mystery :wink:

p40b#284 · **Joined:** Wed Nov 02, 2011 3:55 pm **Posts:** 2

Hello Mr Bomberflight,

Long time reader first time poster.

Just wanted to say I visited yesterday and there is some fantastic work going on. With regards to your spark plug quest, a quick internet search found: http://www.preferredairparts.com/ with 12 non serviceable ones in stock.

Hope this helps, will visit in person again before Christmas and in the interim keep an eye on this thread!

bomberflight · **Posted:** Thu Nov 03, 2011 2:04 am

Hello p40b#284 and welcome to WIX

I'm glad you enjoyed your visit to Duxford yesterday and many thanks for taking the time to share the link :drink3:

the330thbg · **Joined:** Wed Nov 14, 2007 3:06 pm **Posts:** 2713

I am just shocked that the frame of the instrument panel on a B-17 is friken PLYWOOD!

The Inspector · **Posted:** Thu Nov 03, 2011 3:33 pm

Why? Aluminum was a strategic material so why waste it where it's really not needed? The B-17, along with every other aircaft in the inventory wasn't expecteed to last more than a dozen miissions or a few months, They were as disposable as bullets and were never meant to survive 70 years so floor panels, ammo boxes, work stations were all plywood because it was cheap, available, adaptable via molding, and just about everyone in the U.S. had at least some experience with it.

Recall all the hoopla just 2 1/2 years prior to the assembly date of M.A. when MEMPHIS BELLE managed to beat very heavy odds and actually make it to 25 missions without raining down in pieces and chunks all over Western Europe. Since the design was set and proven why mess with it? It would have cost critical time to redesign and find another contractor who would have been busy already cranking out metal parts to produce the instrument panels in metal instead of what appears to be 3/4 inch plywood. Of course, that was a long time before 9 thousand dollar toilet seats and 6 thousand dollar hammers were required on military aircaft.

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B-17 Flying Fortress/44-83735 ~ the Duxford resto thread

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