Grissom B-17 conversion to B-17F "Old Bill"

[sgt hawk]

Chris and All
I have kind of purused this thread to see what the opinions would be, and the diversity is interesting. As the son of a B-17G flight engineer/top turret gunner I thought I would see how this developed before throwing my 2 cents in. The uninformed "paying" general public is not going to understand the YB-40, drone or for that matter any configuration you display this old bird in. Uless you display this one in a combat configuration (weather "F" or "G") it would make more sense than anything. I like the "F" idea because so few are still around, and let's face it, those aircraft suffered the most losses and carried the burden of daytime strategic bombardment. The "Old Bill" concept is worth the pursual if the museum can afford it. Make it something that can be easily explained and an accurate representation. I'm sure you guys will do the best you can with the available funds. Good luck and keep us informed, after all, some of us have an affection for this particular bird!

[groundpounder]

[quote="sgt hawk"]Chris and All
The uninformed "paying" general public is not going to understand the YB-40, drone or for that matter any configuration you display this old bird in.


I would have to disagree with that statement.

[mustangdriver]

I first off want to thank everyone for the ongoing support of this effort. With the news on the grant, I think we are going to focus on preservation and restoration, and not make any large cosmetic changes.
There is some good news though. She is coming inside for the first time since the 60's. We are making an effort to research the story of Miss Liberty Belle which has an amazing story with it.