Warbird Information Exchange

Text copied from the Air Classics Facebook page



YANKEE LADY HEADS SOUTH — WAY SOUTH

As viewers of this page well realize, the sale of the B-17G Yankee Lady has created a great deal of controversy. This controversy does not regard the new owner, who has the will and financial ability to care for this important piece of American aviation heritage, but from the fact that the museum sold the aircraft. Plans for the bomber are interesting. As soon as some mechanical work is undertaken at Willow Run, the B-17G will be flown to Chino Airport where Fighter Rebuilders will disassemble the Fort and prepare it for shipment.

The final destination is most interesting — Avspecs in New Zealand. We recently spoke with Avspec employees who were in the final stages of assembling the de Havilland Mosquito at Chino and one commented, “The Flying Fortress will certainly be a challenge. It appears our mandate will be to restore the aircraft to original WWII operating condition. That means everything will be made functional — all the turrets will work and all systems will be as they were during the war.”

A daunting prospect? Certainly. However, Yankee Lady is perhaps the finest of the flying survivors and it already has considerable WWII equipment installed so this is a big plus since these items have become increasingly difficult to source. At Avspecs, the bomber will be broken down even further as every inch is inspected and repaired as necessary. This is certainly a bit different from Avspecs creating their “wooden wonders” but we are talking about a group of workers that are committed to the task and who, we are certain, will do an excellent job. Challenge Publications maintains a very large B-17 archive and we have let Avspecs know that they are welcome to utilize what is needed for the restoration process.

When completed, the aircraft will return to the USA. There seems to be some discussion about flying the plane back to the States but shipping would make more sense given the value of this incredible artifact. We would like to get your opinions on all this. Our thoughts on the museum selling the plane are pretty much known and we think that institution will now be on a downhill slide. As usual, we look forward to your thoughts.

The plane will come back, most likely the most well run machine of all heavy bombers flying. Since this news broke I now have a good idea where this plane will end up. But it’s still speculation until proven. I’ll suggest this is a really good development so far.

The plane will still fly, and that’s the best thing.

[color=#BF4000][/color]With all due respect to Avspecs...
Why them?
Considering their location, I assume they don't have any B-17 experience... let alone jigs, tooling, parts.
Looking at their website they do not list large metal multi-engined aircraft as past projects.

Or is what they'll be doing non-structural?
I have read here that it has had the spar AD complied with.

If it's just take it apart, clean and paint it, then B-17 or ME experience might not be as vital as it would be in a full rebuild or restoration.

When I restore a car, I entrust it to a shop with relevant experience. I wouldn't take a Ferrari to a muscle car shop or vice versa. Most recently, my military Jeep was rebuilt by a guy who does them for a living, he knows how to put them together as well as their quirks and problem areas.

And while the concept is certainly the same, I'd suggest that there would be some differences between rebuilding fighters and a four engine bomber.

So, does it come down to:
Cost?...even consider shipping the aircraft round trip across the Pacific?
Availability?...US/Canadian/UK shops not available?

Again, I'm not saying they can't do it or do a great job, rather just that choice is unexpected.

Just curious.

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Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.
Note political free signature.
I figure if you wanted my opinion on items unrelated to this forum, you'd ask for it.

It's not speculation. Charles Somers has wanted a B17 for awhile , now he has one. He also owns a Mosquito built by Avspecs and a Spitfire and co owns the Mosquito that Avspecs just finished.

I didn’t want to name the owner quite yet as I had heard another owners name as well. But since Somers seems to be a supporter of Planes of Fame activities, I’m going to assume this B-17 will be showing up in Santa Maria from time to time during the POF airshow.

Mr. Somers has had a significant amount of exposure to the work that Avspecs can do, not only through the two Mosquitos he has ownership in (one fully, and on partly), but also his Spitfire, P-40C and de Havilland DH 89 were all restored by Avspecs as well. He has some prominent individuals in the warbird industry advising him, and I respect the incredible amount of confidence placed in Avspecs to do the work. Knowing Avspecs, however expansive the project will be, it will surely be accomplished in a very reasonable amount of time.

Sounds like an interesting project. Will this be the first time a B-17 has visited (or been based in) New Zealand since the Second World War?

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Tom

In a quick scan of this WONZ thread I spotted 1955.

https://rnzaf.proboards.com/post/205816/thread

Lots of moving parts to this operation, I wish them success.

I'm guessing one factor will be cost, or rather the USD to NZD exchange rate.....which might mean a lot more hours for your bucks in effect.

I do believe the cost of labor and available manpower also led to MAM's decision to send their SBD down to New Zealand in order to have the restoration "Expedited" so it wouldn't take years to restore to fly. I guess its just the most economical decision right now, even with shipping costs.

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Christopher Soltis
Dedicated to the preservation and education of The Sikorsky Memorial Airport

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