Kyleb wrote:
I was fortunate enough to tour Sal about 2 years ago. The level of detail in the restoration of the fuselage was incredible. They were very lucky in some ways, in that Sal was never restored, converted for civilian use, stripped, etc. so all of the wartime equipment was present, the dataplates, etc. were all there. On the downside, she was pretty badly wrecked from her years of exposure on the ice cap.
It was interesting to find that the walls in the cockpit and radio compartment are both fully upholstered, as was done on early B-17's. Obviously, the later models dispensed with this luxury, probably to save construction time, reduce cost and weight, and to remove flammable materials from the aircraft.
I've been up in Aluminum Overcast and Fuddy Duddy, and was surprised at how much more cramped Sal seemed than the other two. Why? Because all the go-to-war stuff is still installed in Sal. I'm 5'7", 155 lbs and found the airplane to be a tight squeeze. It must have been incredibly difficult to move around inside while wearing a heated flight suit and 'chute. I don't see how those guys did it.
Those two are G-models as well.
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The overall result should be a nice recreational space for the city, but may mean the end of the annual air show they hold there, since there would then be a populated area very close to the air space.
Take a look at Jabara Airport in Wichita. They hold an airshow there every year, even though we've got housing galore at one end of the runway.
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