Gas Station B-17 in Milwaukie, OR

[Connery]

My dad was asking me about the B-17 at the old gas station in Milwaukie, OR and wanted to know if it was still there or if it had been taken down to be restored. I did a search on Google Earth and see that whenever that photo was taken it's still there but the forward fuselage section is gone.

Can anyone tell me what the current status of this B-17 is? I searched for gas station B-17 here in the forums but didn't pull up anything obvious.

[tulsaboy]

Try searching for "Lacey Lady" or just Lacey and B-17. The plane is owned by Art Lacey's family. The front fuselage (cockpit) section was removed and has undergone some restoration. The rest of it is still sitting up there.

kevin

[Jerry O'Neill]

Check out this link.

http://www.warbirdregistry.org/b17regis ... 85790.html

It is being slowly worked on and is presently still in it's original location but with the nose removed.
Jerry

[rwdfresno]

Check out the p-82 thread.

[Connery]

Thanks for the quick responses guys. I knew I had read something about in in another thread, I just couldn't find it.

[aerovin]

For a reasonably current photo see http://www.aerovintage.com/b17loc.htm.

[Mudge]

I hope they're not going to go to all the effort and $$$ to restore it only to put it back up there.

Mudge the hopeful

[Jack Cook]

Am I allowed to post here???
Be warned that I might do this...............

[mustangdriver]

There were plans to display it indoors once it is finished, in a building next to the gas station.

[Jack Cook]

Scott Thompson covered the ownership issue fairly well here.
There would be an ownership dispute if the Air Force tried to reclaim the airplane. The Lacey's hold a bill of sale from the U.S. govt. that, I believe, technically gives them the right to display the airplane (not legal title, however). It was purchased with that limitation in 1948 from the WAA for $1,500 and the gov't would have a tough time trying to reclaim the airplane unless they could come up with the actual paperwork that granted the display agreement from its own records. Good luck with that, as those records have long been either consigned to some obscure box in the National Archives or destroyed. If those records were available, though, it would still grant Lacey the right to exhibit the airplane. I don't think there were any "condition of display" limitations imposed, so I think in the letter of the law Lacey is meeting his obligation. If he tried to sell or scrap the airplane, it would technically return to the jurisdiction of the gov't, except the gov't doesn't know nor care about it. At this point, I think the government would concede it is Lacey's airplane. Bottom line, however, is that it is a shame to see a B-17 go downhill like this in 2005 after we know better.

[Jack Cook]

There were plans to display it indoors once it is finished, in a building next to the gas station.

That fantasy died years ago!

[F3V]

The nose is on a long terme restoration to fly again:
here is one like: http://members.cox.net/b17brian/b17/Lac ... /index.htm
an other link:
http://www.thebomber.com/restoration.asp

I am wonderfull...

[P51Mstg]

I was there in Sept just before Reno 2007. I took a few pictures. I understand its the lowest time B-17 left with 30 or so hours, of course all the people that toured it over the years have also taken everything that was in it nailed down or not...... Cool tail guns though....

Mark H

[peter]

Whats the status of the project?She looks abandoned today!

[Jack Cook]

Whats the status of the project?She looks abandoned today

You just answered your own question
11 years since the nose was removed and you can see from
Mark's photos the progress made
The old nose was used has a pattern to make the new one which
is just a new shell on display in their 'museum' with trinkets arranged inside it.
The last I saw of the original nose it was laying outside at Aurora Airport in the weather