Warbird Information Exchange

Keep the faith Spanner

and keep these posts coming please !

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Blue Skies .....

Peter

Consolidated by US state ~ see if there's a heavy bomber tour stop coming to an airport near you ...... http://www.bomberflight.info

Warbirdapps on facebook ~ every day a new image from my personal journey thru the world of warbirds ..... https://www.facebook.com/Warbirdapps

Spanner,

Once you get that QA program fully implemented and operational you'll find that second set of eyes is a great thing. Adds a little beaurocracy up front, but I, personally, love that inspector back-checking my work, especially on safety-of-flight stuff and major structural work.

Keep coming with the updates, even small ones! Since our hangar is essentially a ghost town, it's up to you, Dan with the C-46 and PBJ, and Sabremech to keep everyone from tearing each other's throats out. Oh, lest I forget, JBrawner and CAPFlyer also have their turret restoration threads over in the Maint Hangar to check up on.

Scott

YES...YES...YES...
The Lord Loves a sinner come to his senses! (What movie??? was that from?)

It is nice to have someone besides myself preaching the Gospel of cleanliness is next to Bomberliness!

Anyway the Troll just wrote something for publication in our TR Newsletter Cowl Flaps...towhit:

TROLL TALK


In case you have been living on another planet, there's
a troll living inside TR. Contrary to popular opinion,
trolls prefer very clean living conditions and for the past
several months the TR troll has been plugging away removing
the dirt and grime thats plagued our beautiful Boeing B-17.
Its a labor of love and I would happily hog all the fun,
but TR deserves to get back in the air as soon as possible.

Your troll is making a call for help. If you are ready
to come out of the closet and admit that you are a troll at
heart, theres a place for you in TR.

What is a troll ? I am not going to sugar-coat this - a
troll is a human Q-Tip; a troll is not afraid of crawling
into the darkest corners of TR in search of grime and peeling
paint; a troll is not squeemish about getting dirty, or
ruining clothes, or handling cleaners, or ruining manicures.
Cleaning TR is THE MOST IMPORTANT JOB ANYONE CAN DO. If we
don't have a clean foundation we can't identify all the
corrosion that needs to be repaired - and it must ALL be
repaired or the FAA will not allow TR to fly again. We need
a clean foundation for all of the protective chemicals and
paints to adhere to TR and do their job. We need a clean
foundation because the grime and paint chips are very
flammable. Finally, we need a clean foundation because TR is
a flying memorial to over 1200 young men who gave their lives
so that we could live free. TR is their tombstone and how we
care for her is testimony of our thanks to all those who died
in WWII and all who made it home.

Cleaning is not all that a troll does, it is just the
majority of what a troll does. I have divided TR's fuselage
into compartments that go hand in hand with the crew positions
of the B-17. Our first goal is to move from the nose to the
tail and clean, inspect, repair, treat and paint the foundation
of the fuselage in each compartment. The foundation is that
part of the airframe and operating systems needed for TR to
fly. My goal is to have the fuselage foundation completed and
ready for flight sometime this summer. I am currently focusing
on the cockpit section of the airplane and I am looking for two
additional trolls - one to take charge of the bomb-bay cleaning
and one to take charge of the radio room cleaning.

The radio room is almost finished but there are repairs
being completed by Benny and control cables (that will be
replaced) run thru the space and these will affect when the
space can be closed up. The bomb-bay has just been started and
it is vital that we get it cleaned asap so we can identify all
areas that need repair (if any).

If anyone would be interested in either of these two
projects, please e-mail me at (PM SPANNER) or call me
at (281)XXXXXXX or just come to the hangar on Tues or Saturday.
I would appreciate your help and I know TR would too

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Support Your Local Warbirds! KBO!
The only reasons the airplanes matter is what the veterans did with them... and why.

Hey Don, was out at the hanger a week ago Monday, Feb 25th, (albeit briefly). Craig was getting ready to wash the bird down again. Spent a few minutes with Craig and then more than few minutes checking out TR. The work up in the nose and cockpit is really looking good. Engine nacelles and firewalls looking pretty good. I have to apologize for not having pictures, as my camera went pinchers up. Will have a backup for next time. Keep up the good work...... Alan Brooks

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Just call me Al.

Spanner et all-

I work at the Tulsa Air and Space Museum, and each spring we have an art contest where the work of some of the local high school kids is featured. The only rule is that it has to aviation/space themed. Imagine my surprise when Brett Goodell submitted this work- thought you guys working on TR might be appreciative of his efforts.

Way to go Brett, and way to go TR folks!

kevin

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FOUND the elusive DT-built B-24! Woo-hoo!!!

Well Brett got the prize for MOST TASTEFUL SUBJECT MATTER at least?

It never ceases to amaze me the good will the TEXAS RAIDERS engenders from around the world!
And after a hard day of work scrubbing the plane with Mineral Spirits I will take it!

Thanks for the boost!


Don Price
WL-GCW-CAF

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Support Your Local Warbirds! KBO!
The only reasons the airplanes matter is what the veterans did with them... and why.

We look forward to seeing TR flying again, and are also looking forward to another B-17 gathering in the future (2005 8 B-17s), where we can welcome TR back to the air in style, with all the other flyer's.

_________________
Michael Luther
Yankee Air Museum's
Air Show Director
THUNDER OVER MICHIGAN

We will re-double our efforts!!!
Now I feel better about spending til midnight last night scrubbing out the inside of the right wing, where "normal" people will never see!

I just got off the phone with some folks who are helping with our paperwork compliance issues.
"Your papers are NOT in order!" as the Nazis used to say!

Thanks everybody... and Keep 'em Flying... whatever you are working on!

Don Price
Wing Leader-Gulf Coast Wing
Commemorative Air Force

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Support Your Local Warbirds! KBO!
The only reasons the airplanes matter is what the veterans did with them... and why.

Now that we are making sufficient progress on it (AND I have photos) I can post about one of the recent nightmares.
It seems the Lower Left Wing Attachment bracket in the Bombay had a part bolted up that had some "issues"...
The bracket in question is U-shaped when viewed from above.
But there was substantial corrosssion "hiding" under a band-aid.
Once we removed the band-aid some cracking was revealed.
We are currently having the original part tested to determine the alloy and the heat treating. The Boeing Drawings have the 1945 Specs, but the heat treating code is different than what our fine folks are used to seeing in the "Modern World".
The first pic shows the band-aid being held up to the risers. The second pictures shows where the "ear" or the original plate was removed and had the band-aid placed atop it.
(For you afficianados, that is the front bomb-bay jack-screw in the photo.)


Oh the joys of 63 year old airplanes!
The end result is that a new part is being manufactured and will be heat treated to spec and our wing will be happy!

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Support Your Local Warbirds! KBO!
The only reasons the airplanes matter is what the veterans did with them... and why.

WOW-not quite a 100 days have past since I became Wing Leader.
When I started posting this thread I was still selling excess parts.

Reviewing what I thought was going to happen versus "reality" I am amazed. I guess I shouldn't be.

Two of the hard-driving "volunteers" pretty much never showed up.
Others have stepped up to the plate. The "to-do" list has gone OFF THE PAGE. But it is honest work that no one ever acknowledged before.
There is no way we are going to make this April's Lone Star Flight Museum Fly-In. If the progress on TEXAS RAIDERS was not so visible and vital that fact would get me down.

Some Team Leaders have switched places to more accurately reflect where their contributions are being made. Some Team Leaders have just smooth disappeared.

But volunteers keep making progress and the "non-global" warming we are experiencing here in Houston is helping keep the pace up. That should change in a week or two, but I will take a late Spring over an early Summer in Texas any day!

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Support Your Local Warbirds! KBO!
The only reasons the airplanes matter is what the veterans did with them... and why.

Sorry it's been so long between posts, but I've been busy!
The coolest thing is we have a PLAN. Every five minutes it gets amended, but it is reality based! And that's a good thing!
And what else is cool is I am leaving work as soon as I finish posting this to work on the B17!
Here are a couple of BIG pictures of the Waist Gunner's position and the Ball Turret. We have not begun serious work in those sections, but I figured why not show some BEFORE pictures!



PS We are changing the name of the TEXAS RAIDERS to...
The Barrack O'Bomber
telling everybody it is a PeaceBird and that the "L" on the tail stands for Love.

LATE APRIL FOOLS!

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Support Your Local Warbirds! KBO!
The only reasons the airplanes matter is what the veterans did with them... and why.

Good name change...but hold the thought. Great progress Spanner, I only wish I had time time help. The statement I just made points up the importance and value of volunteer help. People who do find the time to
volunteer are truly giving time that may not always qualify as "spare" but
are giving from the heart and for the love of the planes.
Tom

Looks likes she's coming along well. I've got a soft spot for TR..she was the first B-17 I ever saw in persion (in '77..pre-turrets.)

I'm curious..are the sliding waist windows correct for a G-model? I thought all the Gs were built with enclosed waist positions.

Keep up the great work!

SN

The sliders are remnants of her Navy PB-1/PB-1W days, I believe. She'd really be something special in her
blue Navy scheme, but I understand the "gods" say, no way..no how.

Too bad..that would be truly unique...

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He bowls overhand...He is the most interesting man in the world.
"In Peace Japan Breeds War", Eckstein, Harper and Bros., 3rd ed. 1943(1927, 1928,1942)
"Leave it to ol' Slim. I got ideas...and they're all vile, baby." South Dakota Slim
"Ahh..."The Deuce", 28,000 pounds of motherly love." quote from some Mojave Grunt
DBF

Hmm...when I first saw her in '77 she had no waist windows and a big honkin' cargo door on one side. Where the window tracks and mountings still there, just skinned over?

SN