B-17F and B-29 at Boeing Field

[N3Njeff]

I remember the book now. It was about the USAF and it had color pictures and drawings. the name of the plane was usually painted in the yellow stripe. That book might have been published in the 80's.

[b29flteng]

Note the head-on shot of the B-29 on how big the cowl flaps are; we were flying FIFI to Long Island and during the flight the pilot complained of how much trim it needed to fly straight. We couldn't find anything wrong. Gary had just been hired as crew chief and he had someone on the ground close the cowl flaps while he watched. They all closed except for the number one engine, outboard side. Of course we can't see the outboard side in flight so we never noticed. The cowl flaps can really act as a big speed brake. In the photos here the cowl flaps aren't connected on number 3 engine but appear to be on number 1. Also note the props don't have blade cuffs. Anyone know when they were added?

[hang the expense]

Yeah I know. I wonder if it is it's actual nose art? I love the B-17 restoration, I just wish they could add a few inches to the O.D. to make it a little more accurate.

Agreed,maybe someone needed to look at a standard paint diagram for B-17s.All that money spent and with a little bit of attention to detail would have made it turn so much better.909 is the same way but the reason for that is the grey is gloss so it is easier to clean off the oil.

[Curtis Block]

IIRC, it is correct that those are her combat markings. She looks one heck of a lot better than she did the last time I saw her all together.

[Second Air Force]

Curtis is right, those are the late-war markings that this Superfort carried. The 498th Bomb Group was part of the 73rd Wing, and I believe the Wing Commander ordered the "ball-and-barb" to be the only nose art allowed on the 498th's aircraft. The "T" needs to be a bit beefier and she didn't have deicer boots, but the airplane is looking good.

John, I don't have a single picture of combat B-29s with cuffed Hamilton Standards. The cuffs like your airplane has were added to CONUS trainers to assist in cooling (of course). I have a copy of the T.O. around here somewhere, and the Nebraska Phase Training stations added the cuffs to their trainers--it's mentioned in the Base Historical Records. The Dope and Fabric Departments were usually assigned the task of installing the cuffs. Not all the trainers got them, either. If you look closely at wartime training photos you'll notice that the cuffs were nearly always silver rather than black, a dead giveaway that the airplane was a stateside trainer. I haven't found out why they didn't apply the cuffs to the airplanes that went overseas, but I may one day get interested in it again and do the research.

Scott

[The Inspector]

Plant 2 was used to assemble the X and YB-52's and early production 52's and early early B-47's from XB into the B's before that all shifted to Wichita. Later on in the mid 60's Plant 2 was the home for 737-100 and early -200 fuselages that were moved about 3/4 of a mile South to the 14-01 Thompson site where 737 final assembly lines (2) were until the 37 went to Renton and the fuselage build was also sent to Kansas. Plant 2 then was used for other things including some 'other projects' that you'd need to be killed before you could be made aware of what they were-

I may have played a part in getting T54 sent here. Back in the early 80's I was involved with the B-47E the MoF has and was contacting people all over the place about trying to locate a canopy that wasn't cracked and crazed and leaking. Amongst the folks I corresponded with was Col. Richard Utterstrom who was in charge of the USAFM. A wonderful individual who gave me lots of leads that had dead end results, but at least he tried. During one exchange of letters, I chidded him about a B-29 being sent to the IWM where as I put it 'we all know the B-29 had a long and distinguished operational career in the ETO, but Seattle, the birth place of Strategic bombing can't seem to get ahold of a B-29 for the MoF'
After Howard Lovering retired, the new Director Buffano contacted the Col. about something and Col. Utterstrom told him there was a B-29 in Colorado at a recently closed Air Force Base that the MoF could have if they arranged transportation to get out of Colorado-

[Fouga23]

What are the plans for these? Is boeing opening a museum? Will the B-17 be restored to airworthy?

[happymeal]

The B-17 is airworthy and has been flown, years ago.

[APG85]

The 509th B-29's had prop cuff's on their birds.

[Django]

Anyone have any pics of the 498th?

Is this the same B-29 that was outside at the MoF?

This is the same group, from March Field 2007?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/e ... AFB_01.jpg

[Second Air Force]

The 509th B-29's had prop cuff's on their birds.

You're correct, Scott, but they had the only B-29s in the combat zone equipped with Curtiss Electric props prior to the end of the war. Everybody else had the Hamiltons.

Here is a Grand Island training aircraft in storage at Pyote--notice the silver cuffs:

And here is a close-up of a CONUS cuffed prop at Walker AAF, Kansas:


Chad, here are a couple of links, including one with a photo of T-Square-54 in her original combat colors: http://www.xmission.com/~tmathews/b29/b29.html
http://www.atkinsopht.com/atk/saipan.htm
And here is a link that explains the "Ball-and'Barb". The reference is near the bottom of the page:
http://www.vialibri.net/item_pg/2175477 ... en-the.htm

Happy Thanksgiving all!
Scott

[The Inspector]

Django and Fouga 23,
Yep! same B-29, same B-17 (ex the late Bob Richardsons N17F). No, neither aircraft will be flown again as the MoF wonders why any airplane museum would want to FLY their aircraft for Petes sake-(What? are you nucking futz?)
Boeing is NOT opening a Museum, the MoF is wrongly thought or considered to be the "Boeing Museum' it ain't! It is a separate entity that just happened to get lucky on timing years ago and scored the old, original Plant 1 as Boeing was getting ready to turn it into firewood.
Both airframes are waiting until some date way way way in the future when some sugar daddy or big corporation (in this economy!?!) coughs up enough cash to build the next enclosed structure to house all the big stuff displayed across E. Marginal Way So. from the main buildings and the 17 & 29.

[mustangdriver]

Because some aircraft need to be preserved as static, and also Bob Richardsons did not what it flown after retirement.

[The Inspector]

Coupled with the Board being petrified about an accident and being sued out of existance by bus loads of lawyers-yet, they still occasionally fly the 247 with special guests. The sad thing is the very rare DC-2 is sitting outside in the wonderful Seattle climate and is on it's way to being the next pile of gray dust held together with a stout coat of paint like the now gone DC-3 before it did for so many years.

[APG85]

I believe (could be wrong) the B-29 technically belongs to the NMUSAF and as such can never be flown. It was on an AFB (Lowery, Colorado before being "given" or loaned permanently to the MoF...