Can a Chinook airlift a B-29 in pieces?

[DH106]

For the helicopter guys...

OK, in 1993, Daryl Greenameyer (former Lockheed test pilot and millionaire daredevil) went to Greenland to get the derilict B-29 "Kee Bird" flying in ferryable condition. After months of work and enormous cash burn, they were ready to fly it off the rough dirt/ice of Greenland. But, the airplane burned-up immediately before it's first flight in 46 years. They left the gas-powered APU running in the back of the plane, and the bouncing-around due to the rough ground caused it to come loose, starting a fire.

My question: instead of making it flyable, would they have been better-off dismantling the B-29 wings and airframe, and hiring a Chinook, or Chinooks, to fly the wings, tail, and fuselage the 250 miles to the nearby AFB? Could it carry the fuselage and wings separately? Could a Chinook make the 250-mile trip to the AFB?

In other words, instead of making the B-29 flyable, would it have been better to airlift the major airframe sections the 250-miles, instead?

 

[ghostrider64]

Maybe, maybe not. It would depend on the load, and the drag of the load itself. Without a bladder the chinook holds about 3 hours of fuel. At high speed cruise you would be doing around 140KIAS. However when you sling something under it the speed varies quite a bit. Not to mention the fuel burn goes through the roof.

My guess you would be hard pressed to sling a section of another plane 250 miles.

 

[Traderd]

maybe, maybe not. It would depend on the load, and the drag of the load itself. Without a bladder the chinook holds about 3 hours of fuel. At high speed cruise you would be doing around 140kias. However when you sling something under it the speed varies quite a bit. Not to mention the fuel burn goes through the roof.

My guess you would be hard pressed to sling a section of another plane 250 miles.

farp?

 

[DH106]

Ghostrider, thanks for the info. I was curious, and I'm sure what you say about the Chinook is right-on.

It just doesn't seem like flying that B-29 out was the smartest decision. I mean, just consider the condition of all the various rubber gaskets in the fuel and oil systems? How dilapidated would those be like after sitting for 50 years? And, you're gonna' fly this thing for 250 miles? I bet they would have been leaking fuel and oil the whole way, and they probably wouldn't have made it. There had to have been a way to dismantle it and get it out in pieces.

 

[stupidpilot]

Cut up in pieces, yes. A Chinook weighs about 31K with a full bag of gas with 50K max gross. Your forward A/S is limited due to the aerodynamic shape and/or drag of the piece. If the load is light and tries to fly, it may come in contact with the fuselage or rotor system of the helicopter, therefore you need to be at a slow enough speed so that it won't. If it is a heavy, high density piece then you can fly faster. But the ol' Fat Girl should be able to do it no problem. But the other guy was right, you'll need a fuel stop.

 

[DH106]

stupidpilot, "ol' Fat Girl" made me laugh! That's a good one. Thanks for the info. Maybe ol' Darryl Greenameyer should have rented himself a couple of Chinooks instead of relying on a ragged-out DH Caribou and a faulty scheme of flying the B-29 out. Thanks again.

 

[propsarebest]

He also should of strapped down the APU and not worked his mechanic to death...

 

[DH106]

That's for sure. Why nobody thought about the APU running is beyond me. Didn't they write-out a preflight checklist? It seems like they were ready to just fire the thing up, warm it up, check the guages, and go.

 

[embpic1]

Here is a recent picture of what is left of the plane. Reports I have read say it sank to the bottom of the lake. Must be a pretty shallow lake. I think there are some salvageable parts that can be retrieved.

http://www.homebuiltairplanes.com/f...recent-kee-bird-picture-116-b29-greenland.jpg

 

[Lynxman]

I just cant see how it was going to be ready to fly after sitting for so many years. Seriously just hop in start and go. Wow

 

[propsarebest]

They worked for MONTHS on it, spent well over a million on it.

 

[embpic1]

They worked for MONTHS on it, spent well over a million on it.

I actually read that it was a three year adventure. I am sure alot of that was preparation. I agree though that once they got the engines running there was a rush to get it flying. I mean was the crew even checked out in the B-29? Did they have any warbird experience at all (ie B-25 etc). I would think they would have gone to the CAF guys that fly FIFI and asked for help. Maybe have guys like Randy Sohn fly it out or at least supervise the flight.

Who knows. Maybe they all would have died had they got it off the ground and this was a blessing in disguise. Still pretty sad no matter how you look at it.

 

[DH106]

Good points. I highly doubt Daryl Greenameyer, who would have flown the thing out, was checked-out in CAF's B-29. Still, he probably had considerable warbird experience, given that he flew a reconstructed F-104 in the 1970's and had that rickety, ragged-out DH Caribou (big piston engines) as his project workhorse. So, he probably had some piston engine experience. He did test-flying for the SR-71 program back in the day, too.

But, his attitude and approach seemed hazardous and highly risky.

Their first round attempt failed, running out of time, experiencing bad weather, and with the death of his primary mechanic during the project.

Their second round attempt involved bringing in "professionals" who knew the B-29 (I think). For instance, I think the B-29 flight engineer they brought in was flying the CAF on their B-29. But, I've also heard from others that that flight engineer really wasn't that sharp... who knows... just going on what I heard.

 

[Richard Gozinya]

This is probably one of the most famous, but unknown shot of a chinook doing some work.

http://www.combatreform.org/chinookcarryingMI24hindunderslung.jpg

Dick

 

[DH106]

Wow... is that the only way the Russians could get their helicopter to fly?

 

[wolfpackpilot]

I got in thatMI 24 Hind and looked around it while it was at the Port waiting to get shipped back to Ft. Rucker... Hahaha... I remember it was blue inside.

The CH-47 was my girl. I logged well over a 1,500 hours as a crew chief in it. We picked up just about anything we could get the slings around. It is an amazing piece of engineering.

I miss helicopters.... a lot.


Wolf
2/159th... Flippers

 

[LegacyDriver]

We had a Chinook try to lift a PBY out of Harlingen, TX one time. Blew out the transmission in the helo. I've never seen a helicopter land so fast. It was over 100 degrees F and I think the hull of the Catalina was full of water--which probably didn't help.

 

[Richard Gozinya]

Wow... is that the only way the Russians could get their helicopter to fly?

Our boys went in to Africa to fly it out, this is the picture of them bringing it out. The aircraft is at Mother Rucker now from what I hear.

Dick

 

[wingnutt]

so, did they ever get it out?

 

[kingairyahoo]

mmmmmmmm...chithooks