Zeus-cat Posted April 9, 2006 Report Share Posted April 9, 2006 I have been working on a B-17 restoration. I took some pictures last week and would like to post them. My photobucket account seems iffy lately, but I 'll give it a shot if no one has a better solution. Zeus-cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1. DDz Quorum B16Enk Posted April 9, 2006 1. DDz Quorum Report Share Posted April 9, 2006 Three options: Upload them to our server, and link from there, Send them to me and I'll put them on my photobucket account. Or use the in-built in-line image attachment available here (you should see 'Add image to post' just below the area in which you enter text, this will auto thumbnail too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeus-cat Posted April 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2006 This is the rear section of the fuselage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeus-cat Posted April 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2006 This is one of the wingtips with all of the skin removed. For the past three months they have been removing all the skin. Still a fair amount to remove. Here is how we remove the skin. You can see four rivets on the bottom row that have been drilled into. After you drill the head, you take a hammer and chisel and pop the head off. The four rivets on the left have head their heads removed. Then you take a punch and try to drive the rivet shaft through the hole. Not always very easy. Repeat 62,000,000 times or however many rivets there are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dubbo Posted April 10, 2006 Report Share Posted April 10, 2006 Nice pics Zeus. And you say it's going to be ready to fly in June right? :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cold_Gambler Posted April 10, 2006 Report Share Posted April 10, 2006 Very very Zeus Thanks, and do keep posting pix as the project goes forward please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blairgowrie Posted April 10, 2006 Report Share Posted April 10, 2006 Thanks Zeus. Looks like it is going to be a long project but very worthwhile. Of course, we will all expect a flight in it once it is finished, flyable or not. To get to Canada turn left at Chicago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeus-cat Posted April 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2006 Turning left at Chicago would take me to Mexico - eventually. June is about right - June, 2016. They estimate 6 to 8 years. I think they will be lucky to do it in 10. They do sell rides in these things. However, don't expect me to get you one. I'll probably have to buy a ride for myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dubbo Posted April 11, 2006 Report Share Posted April 11, 2006 How much just to sit in the de-skinned fuselage and make airplane noises? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JensenPark Posted April 11, 2006 Report Share Posted April 11, 2006 mmmm...deskinned fuselage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeus-cat Posted April 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2006 Not very exciting, but this is some of the right wing. All the skin will be removed and replaced. If you look at the top of the photo you can see where the aeliron would attach. It's just above the section where the skin has been removed. This is a photo of new .032 inch aluminum (note: pronounced a-loom-i-numb, not Al-u-minnie-um) that has been drilled out. That is what me and two other guys did yesterday, although this is not the piece we made. We spent two hours drilling through the holes in an old piece of skin into a blank sheet of aluminum. We must have drilled 500 or more holes. Holes 1/4 inch or larger could not be drilled as it is too hard to get them centered properly. They get drilled once the the new skin is mounted to the plane; using the existing hole in the plane as a guide for the drill bit. We did not cut the skin out of the sheet, nor did we cut out the holes where stuff mounted to the aircraft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dubbo Posted April 14, 2006 Report Share Posted April 14, 2006 It's aluminium damnit! Say it right. Looks very interesting ZC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeus-cat Posted April 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2006 MacGyver, a tube of toothpaste (extra whitening), 4 paper clips and a Victoria's Secret catalog and this baby will be flying in an hour! Frank says this part of a ball turret. Hmmm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeus-cat Posted April 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2006 I find it amazing that these things are as hard to shoot down as they are. There is just not that much to these things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waldo.Pepper Posted April 14, 2006 Report Share Posted April 14, 2006 This is extremely impressive. I'd love to be a part of something like this. However, I'd take it apart, have a pile of pieces for the rest of my life instead of a plane. Then if I ever did put it together again I'd have a shed full of leftover pieces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JensenPark Posted April 14, 2006 Report Share Posted April 14, 2006 MORE! MORE! Please.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeus-cat Posted April 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2006 This is the most detailed plans I have seen. I hope somebody has some idea of what we are doing because so far they just turn us loose to take stuff apart. Parts are just stacked everywhere. Again, I don't know if someone has cataloged all this stuff or not. Below are the rest of the photos I have. Some are pretty close to what I have posted already. I'll try and get some more next Thursday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeus-cat Posted May 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2006 More photos. I haven't posted in a while because progress is very slow. I think this is the left wing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeus-cat Posted May 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2006 Various interior shots of the wing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeus-cat Posted May 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2006 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeus-cat Posted May 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2006 The "Thursday Night Guys" now have our own project. We get to dismantle this engine nacelle and the weekday crew is supposed to leave it alone. A close-up view of the interior of the nacelle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dubbo Posted May 19, 2006 Report Share Posted May 19, 2006 Only a couple of more weeks and it looks as though it'll be ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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