Aces High Bulletin Board

General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: TwinEng on March 25, 2010, 01:58:19 PM

Title: B-17 Fully Restored After 250,000 man hours and $600,000 - PICS
Post by: TwinEng on March 25, 2010, 01:58:19 PM: The B-17 "Texas Raider" has been fully restored to flight capability after 250,000 man hours of labor at a cost of $600,000 ( not including the volunteer labor ).

Here is a photo taken of the plane during the restoration process:

(http://www.hcnonline.com/content/articles/2010/03/24/conroe_courier/news/b-17032510a1.jpg)

And here is a photo of it now back in flight:

(http://www.hcnonline.com/content/articles/2010/03/24/conroe_courier/news/b-17032510a.jpg)

Checkout the complete news story from yesterday's news about the old warbird's restoration here:

http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2010/03/24/conroe_courier/news/b-17032510a.txt

.
Title: Re: B-17 Fully Restored After 250,000 man hours and $600,000 - PICS
Post by: 007Rusty on March 25, 2010, 03:24:27 PM: sweet :aok
Title: Re: B-17 Fully Restored After 250,000 man hours and $600,000 - PICS
Post by: Wolfala on March 25, 2010, 03:44:54 PM: Only 600,000? He'll I've seen Fighter restorations that cost more. Hell Bodhi bills out a sixth of that for an engine
Title: Re: B-17 Fully Restored After 250,000 man hours and $600,000 - PICS
Post by: xNOVAx on March 25, 2010, 04:50:03 PM: Quote from: Wolfala on March 25, 2010, 03:44:54 PM
Only 600,000? He'll I've seen Fighter restorations that cost more. Hell Bodhi bills out a sixth of that for an engine

Must have been pretty well intact when the restoration started?
Title: Re: B-17 Fully Restored After 250,000 man hours and $600,000 - PICS
Post by: curry1 on March 25, 2010, 06:48:47 PM: Quote from: Wolfala on March 25, 2010, 03:44:54 PM
Only 600,000? He'll I've seen Fighter restorations that cost more. Hell Bodhi bills out a sixth of that for an engine
was thinking the same thing
Title: Re: B-17 Fully Restored After 250,000 man hours and $600,000 - PICS
Post by: debuman on March 25, 2010, 11:39:46 PM: TwinEng - are you a CAF member? Did you actually get to work on the restoration? That would be so cool to be a part of something like that.
Title: Re: B-17 Fully Restored After 250,000 man hours and $600,000 - PICS
Post by: Slash27 on March 26, 2010, 12:22:34 AM: Quote from: xNOVAx on March 25, 2010, 04:50:03 PM
Must have been pretty well intact when the restoration started?

She was airworthy not that long ago.
Title: Re: B-17 Fully Restored After 250,000 man hours and $600,000 - PICS
Post by: bcadoo on March 26, 2010, 12:26:54 AM: 250,000 man hours seems excessive. (Thats 125 guys working 8 hours a day for a year)
Title: Re: B-17 Fully Restored After 250,000 man hours and $600,000 - PICS
Post by: TwinEng on March 26, 2010, 11:27:40 AM: This was just a news story that I happened upon earlier this week.

I have to admit that these figures in this news article do sound suspect. The man hours seems real high, and the cost is not that great. Perhaps the reporter made a typo on the hours.

If the plane was in pretty good shape before the restoration began, then the cost is understandable.

.
Title: Re: B-17 Fully Restored After 250,000 man hours and $600,000 - PICS
Post by: firbal on March 26, 2010, 11:36:06 AM: Where is Tomball? Near Houston? If so, we'll take a trip to she her. I think she was at the Wings Over Houston last year. I remember the name.
Title: Re: B-17 Fully Restored After 250,000 man hours and $600,000 - PICS
Post by: TwinEng on March 26, 2010, 11:45:35 AM: Quote from: firbal on March 26, 2010, 11:36:06 AM
Where is Tomball? Near Houston? If so, we'll take a trip to she her. I think she was at the Wings Over Houston last year. I remember the name.

Yes, Tomball is just northwest of Houston.

.
Title: Re: B-17 Fully Restored After 250,000 man hours and $600,000 - PICS
Post by: Bodhi on March 26, 2010, 12:10:27 PM: Quote from: bcadoo on March 26, 2010, 12:26:54 AM
250,000 man hours seems excessive. (Thats 125 guys working 8 hours a day for a year)

Seems very excessive. We put 30k hours into some badly messed up wrecks. Never heard of 250k in hours. Plus, not counting volunteer hours, that's about $2.50 an hour.
Title: Re: B-17 Fully Restored After 250,000 man hours and $600,000 - PICS
Post by: Grayeagle on March 29, 2010, 10:17:52 PM: The actual numbers probably did not seem newsworthy enough .. LOL.
Title: Re: B-17 Fully Restored After 250,000 man hours and $600,000 - PICS
Post by: Guppy35 on March 30, 2010, 02:32:45 PM: Texas Raiders had been grounded for repairs and due to an FAA concern with corrosion in B17 main spars if memory serves. All the flyable 17s had to have the inspection and repair if needed. It had flown for many years previously and is just getting back in the air. It wasn't a ground up restoration this time, just a time where they grounded her to make sure they got her in good shape to continue flying for years to come.
Title: Re: B-17 Fully Restored After 250,000 man hours and $600,000 - PICSl
Post by: ACE on March 30, 2010, 02:36:38 PM: glad to see it flying

-Spektor
Title: Re: B-17 Fully Restored After 250,000 man hours and $600,000 - PICS
Post by: Grayeagle on March 31, 2010, 07:24:21 PM: It always gives me goosebumps when I see/hear a B-17 in the air ..just an amazing aircraft.

Very awesome to know there are still some who take the time/money to keep 'em flying.

-GE aka Frank
Title: Re: B-17 Fully Restored After 250,000 man hours and $600,000 - PICS
Post by: dBeav on April 01, 2010, 03:18:47 PM: Hopefully she'll make it to Thunder Over Michigan this year. The goal is to get all flying B-17's in the country together at the same time.
Title: Re: B-17 Fully Restored After 250,000 man hours and $600,000 - PICS
Post by: Shuffler on April 01, 2010, 04:01:12 PM: She'll be at the Aeros and Autos show on May 8th I believe. It might be another. The H-Town Camaro Club will have around 8 of their camaros in a pic with the B-17.

My Daughter's Synergy Camaro will be in the show with other H-Town Club cars, and she'll also have her car in pic with jet or copter(she has not decided yet).
Title: Re: B-17 Fully Restored After 250,000 man hours and $600,000 - PICS
Post by: bj229r on April 01, 2010, 08:02:30 PM: I was driving to work one morning a couple years ago in Roanoke, VA---my office is adjacent to the airport. Heard/FELT a tremENDOUS rumble...looked about, a frikkin B17 was on climbout a few hundred feet above me! (was the 909, I believe) I had seen her in person, parked, before, at Clearwater airport. NEVER witnessed the tremendous presence such a craft has when airborne...everyone near me just stopped their cars in the middle of the road and gaped :salute
Title: Re: B-17 Fully Restored After 250,000 man hours and $600,000 - PICS
Post by: Shuffler on April 02, 2010, 08:31:45 AM: Quote from: bj229r on April 01, 2010, 08:02:30 PM
I was driving to work one morning a couple years ago in Roanoke, VA---my office is adjacent to the airport. Heard/FELT a tremENDOUS rumble...looked about, a frikkin B17 was on climbout a few hundred feet above me! (was the 909, I believe) I had seen her in person, parked, before, at Clearwater airport. NEVER witnessed the tremendous presence such a craft has when airborne...everyone near me just stopped their cars in the middle of the road and gaped :salute
Wow that must have sounded and felt amazing. I get to see them flying over the house when Wings Over Houston is going on. They usually are not very high. Get goosebumps every time.
Title: Re: B-17 Fully Restored After 250,000 man hours and $600,000 - PICS
Post by: thndregg on April 02, 2010, 08:42:28 AM: The only time I ever saw a B17 in flight was when the Liberty Belle showed up at Gowen Field in Boise, ID. Definitely a unique presence when you hear those engines.