B-17G "Chuckie" Update

[TimAPNY]

Great news! Great jobs Everyone that is putting a lot of sweat into "Chuckie"!

Tim

[K5DH]

Great news! Great jobs Everyone that is putting a lot of sweat into "Chuckie"!
Tim

Thanks, Tim! There are a bunch of good people putting a whole lot of sweat into getting our big, shiny, silver sweetheart back into flying shape.

And boy, did we sweat today! The temp was only 96, but with the humidity, the heat index was about 105. Our big fan did a great job of moving the hot, thick air around. . .

Despite the oppressive heat we got the last fuel tank installed in the wing! A team consisting of crew chief Bill G (WIXer "CrewDawg"), Pat M (WIXer "pmahaffey"), Rick R, Mike T, Leo C, and Dean H (me, WIXer "k5dh"), wrestled the stubborn tank into place and got some of the lines connected before time ran out and we all had to head for our respective homes. Some of the guys are planning to come in one day this week and complete the job. We're getting closer and closer to being able to crank up the engines for the first time in about 2-1/2 years!

Perhaps Bill or Pat can fill in the details on the last few days' efforts, since I hadn't been there since last Saturday.

[CrewDawg]

Here's the update on this weekends work. Scott and Rick were able to get the #2 engine turbo air intake duct installed, which then allowed us to install the #2 fuel main fuel tank.





It took a little work, but we had a lot of help. Even Dean (KD5H) helped out, it's good to have skinny people who can fit up in tight places (even if they are using our OSHA approved Home Depot bucket). Here Dean is helping Mike hook up the vent line and the vapor return line (fuel coming back from the carb) on the top of the forward end of the tank....where no human being is meant to go.


It was late in the day by the time we got it in and postitioned right so the fuel cap was aligned properly with the hole in the top of the wing and the fuel boost pump which protrudes out of the bottom of the wing (the teardrop shaped bulges on the bottom of the wing) all lined up and the tank cradle brackets tightented properly. We still need to connect the lines on the bottom of the tank and transfer fuel into it and leak check it.

We did get the RH inboard fuel tank stress panel installed yesterday also, note the bulge for the boost pump.


Here are some other shots I took around the hangar today, including the Link Trainer that our machine shop guys are restoring piece by piece. This thing was a basket case when they started! They are making just about everyting from scratch! Also there are some shots of the DC-3/C-47 that the Pacific Prowler guys are restoring for a gentleman up in NY. This is the one that they found the pin up girl glued to the inside skin, Ms. June '44 I believe. We believe that this plane participated in D-Day and Market Garden. It' in remarkably good shape and will be restored to WWII C-47 configuration. I have no idea what markings it will have. Also there's shot of our local EAA chapter's project, a 1/2 scale F4U Corsair.






Link Trainer Air Motor






The B-17 is getting very close to making some smoke and noise (in a good way). It won't be too much longer now. Stay tuned I'll have more updates next weekend.

[bmoran]

Thanks for your update on Chuckie, Bill! Like many, I cannot wait to se her back in the skies again. I'm hoping that she will make #9 at TOM, but would rather see that things are done right and not rushed.

[bomberflight]

Another good post Bill !

Keep up the great work that you're all putting into getting Chuckie airworthy

[Fouga23]

What kit is that Corsair?

[CrewDawg]

Today we heard the sweet roaring music of the 4 Wright R1820's on the B-17 for the first time in 2 1/2 years, and with very few write-ups afterwards! Each engine was started, checked out and then shut down one at a time and then, when we were satisfied that everything was ok, we started all 4. I have to be honest, seeing all 4 engines running at the same time put a lump in my throat. It many not seem like much, but for the last 2 1/2 years a VERY dedicated crew of volunteers has literally put our blood, sweat and tears into this airplane. To quote Chuckie, "We had this airplane torn apart!". Patrick Mahaffey and Steve Swift started the engines and you would think that they had all just run yesterday, they all started so easily and smoothly. There wasn't even as much oil on the wing behind the engines as we expected! I truly believe that she knows that we're taking care of her, so she's taking care of us! The write-ups that we do have - all 4 of them, are minor and will take no time to fix. Pretty amazing if you look back through this thread and see how much we had torn apart!

There are a lot of people to thank for making today happen, and first and foremost is Doc and Chuckie. Without them, none of this would be possible. I'm sure Doc has a satisfied smile on his face right now. Thanks again Chuckie for letting us work on your airplane. James Kelly is always there to be our in-house B-17 Tech Rep, to answer questions and give advice. Pat Mahaffey and Steve Swift are two of the best A&P's I know and oh by the way, they do a hell of a job flying 'em too! Mike Tolfa, always eager to help in anyway with "a strong back and weak mind". Don't let him fool you, he's smarter and more talented than you can shake a stick at. Without Mike we would not have been able to finish the spar AD. Big John Frazier, ramp/hangar boss extrordinaire. John did an excellent job making sure that everyone stayed safe and that things went smoothly. Rick Reynolds is another great A&P who comes out all the time and is always willing to help with whatever is needed, pushing brooms or instaling spar bolts. Scott/Ellen Hochstein come down all the way from Tulsa just to work on our B-17. Scott is our #1 sheetmetal guy who also knows his away around just about any system on the airplane. He rigged all the flight/engine controls. Last but not least is Perry Williams, our machine shop chief, helped us out with making tooling to get the spar bolts out and with getting the new spar bolts installed. I know that there are others who helped out and I thank each and everyone of you. The guys mentioned above are the guys that came out just about every weekend and sometimes during the week after working all day at thier jobs to make a dream come true. We're almost there and today was a huge step forward in reaching that dream of seeing the B-17 named "Chuckie" flying gracefully over the skies of North Texas. I am deeply humbled to be the Crew Chief of such a magnificent airplane, owned by such wonderful owners and to be called "Chief" by such an amazing and talented crew. Thank YOU guys, without YOU we couldn't have made it this far.

Franklin "Hawkeye" Pool video taped all of the engine runs and even had a mic wired into the airplane intercom system so you can hear Pat, Steve and John's radio chatter, so once he's finished edting the video and audio he'll be putting it on the homepage of the museum's website. http://www.vintageflyingmuseum.org . Unfortunatley I didn't take any pictures, I was too busy checking out the engines from the ground and just generally looking things over to make sure that all was ok. I'm sure that Dean and Hawkeye will have some pics/video to post soon.

[CrewDawg]

BTW Fouga, that's a scratch-built 1/2 scale Corsair, not from a kit!

[hawkeyepoole]

Check us out, running all four!

http://www.vimeo.com/13446944

[Ztex]

Woot!

Getting a bit misty seeing that. Great job guys and gals! Doc would be very proud!
Out-freaking-standing!

Nice video Franklin! Love hearing the guys in the cockpit!

Hope the beer is some of the good stuff!

[K5DH]

Doc would be very proud!

You know, Zane, that's exactly what I was thinking as I was standing there watching those props wind down to a perfect simultaneous stop (with tears in my eyes). Doc would've been absolutely beaming with pride. Actually, I'm sure he was, while watching us from his perch in the clouds.

What a triumphant day for VFM! I was there the last time all four engines ran. I'm glad I was there again for the first time.

Dean the sentimental

[TimAPNY]

You guys totally rock. Sierra Hotel!

Tim

[SPANNERmkV]

Congratulations on getting them dirty, noisy and closer to their natural habitat!

I was wondering if those are new manufacture fuel-cells? Sorry if this has been covered earlier in the thread. I have not been on WIX as often as I used to.

SPANNER

[Django]

Congrats team!

[CrewDawg]

Well for those of you who did not check out the Thunder over Michigan thread yet, we are not going to make it to Thunder. A group of us came out to the hangar last night to jack up the plane and do the landing gear portion of the 100 hour (which had not been done yet, because we couldn't jack the airplane with the fuel tanks out). We got her jacked up and started inspecting the known wear areas on the main landing gear, areas like the trunnions (where the gear attaches to the wing) and where the axle attaches to the bottom of the shock strut and discovered excessive wear. Enough so that we now need to replace the LH main landing gear and replace the trunnion bushings on the RH main landing gear. The good news is that we had a "freshly" (1956) overhauled LH main landing gear in storage that is in almost pristine shape. We will be changing the LH gear and working on replacing the bushigs on the RH gear this weekend. This gear work in combination with several other factors is what is preventing us from going to Thunder. We would rather play it safe and miss an air show than gamble and make the 10 o'clock news in a bad way.

Here's a few pic's from last night. I guess you could say that Chuckie got airborne for the first time in 2 years


Here's the "new" gear. Dean and the guys had already taken the torque links off to start cleaning them up and greasing the bearings. That's not rust on the axle, it's cosmolene.


I believe that "MOAMA" is Mobile Air Material Area




My deepest apologies to everyone that was pulling for us to make it to Thunder. We gave it our best shot I promise.