B17G Aluminum Overcast

[skippyscage]

Lucky enough to get a flight today....

http://www.skippyscage.com/aviation/ao/index.php

what a beast - what a great sound

[Trogdor]

Thats great. I saw that airplane out in upstate New York a few years back at a vintage airshow on a grass strip. She was there with the Memphis Belle.

[pigboat]

That's the one that had the main gear retract while taxiing after landing at Van Nuys CA in May of 2004. All 4 engines and props were damaged, as was the chin turret, and the ball turret mechanism was pushed up through the cabin roof. They've done a great job restoring it.

Anybody know what caused the gear to retract in the first place?

[spitfire]

The problem was that the gear was not 100% down and locked in the first place. It was roughly 90% down when the aeroplane landed. The gear collapsed on roll-out when the gear extend/retract jackscrews snapped under pressures they were not designed to take.

[barit1]

I trust it was a nice warm day. I had a ride in "Liberty Belle" last July - the ramp temp was 95F but once airborne it was just right in that drafty B-17!

[skippyscage]

draughty yes - but the temp was in the 90's so it was nice to have a breeze

just off to watch it depart back to Oshkosh