Aluminum Overcast bellied in at Van Nuys

[VNugget]

Gear collapsed on rollout, video here

 

[typhoonpilot]

Glad everyone is okay. I hate seeing that happen to such a nicely restored aircraft. Looks like they can get it up and flying again without too much difficulty.


Typhoonpilot

 

[SpeedBird]

Earlier in the day that B-17 had been flying out at Edwards AFB doing pattern work with Air Force TPS students flying the aircraft. I was holding short to takeoff and got to watch it fly a couple of approaches. At the same time there was a B-2 in the pattern (along with a F/A-22) flying behind it on final. Needless to say it was something you don't get to see everyday in this business. A real tragedy to lose such a nice vintage aircraft that way.

 

[FSB99]

i'm curious, did they know or have any idea the gear wasn't locked, or anything? or did they just happen to be filming the landing, and suddenly.. splash!

 

[SteveR]

Glad everyone is okay. I hate seeing that happen to such a nicely restored aircraft. Looks like they can get it up and flying again without too much difficulty.

I would be surprised if it ever flies again. Today it isn't cheap to maintain a B-17, much less repair one with substantial damage. You never know what something like this could cost. It will put that plane out of commission for years, if not permanently. 4 new three-blade constant speed props, maybe overhauled engines, at least torn down, new gear, maybe massive damage to the spar and trusses in the wings, cowl flaps are ruined, massive damage to the underside of the plane, definitely serious damage to structural components in the fuselage...and you can't just call up Boeing anymore and get parts. They have to be fabricated at extraordinary cost. They might be able to scavenge original parts from a plane that is on static display, that is probably their only hope to get it up again. One thing is sure though, it will be years before it flies again, if ever. The EAA just doesn't have millions of dollars to spend repairing a plane like that. The teardown on Engine #3 of our B-17 cost over $10k, and one of our guys did all the work. The superchargers on B-17s are on the underside of the engine, just behind the gear. Aluminum Overcast's superchargers are almost definitely toast, and where do you get superchargers for a B-17, much less four of them? Man, this nearly makes me sick. Honestly, I would say the odds are better that it just became a static display. Wish it wasn't that way, but I think it is.

When I'm crawling around in the cockpit of Chuckie (the B-17 at the Vintage Flying Museum where I volunteer), the thing I'm most afraid of is the gear lever. There is a safety that should keep the gear from activating when the plane is on the ground, but I have no desire to test it! I tend to crawl around the gear lever as if it is a rattlesnake. Stay far away, and never take an eye off of it.

The only way I ever see it getting airborne again is if the EAA gathers significant donations at OshKosh. With nearly one million people there that week, if they could get just $3/person, they could likely pay for the repairs over the next couple of years. If something like that doesn't happen, they'll probably bang the dents out and Aluminum Overcast will spend its time hanging from the roof of some museum.

 

[AxisVDP]

I saw the remains of a (I have no idea but looked like) B-24 that made a gear-up landing in a hangar in Chattanooga so I can imagine the damage done to the B-17. I'm sure it will be a pain to restore.

 

[DenverDude2002]

Ok this is going to sound stupid but was that the EAA B17 in the video? How many B17s are left flying with this one out of commission?

 

[EagleRJ]

There are around nine flying B-17s today.

I wouldn't count it out yet. It was about as smooth a touchdown as can be hoped for. Hopefully that will limit the damage to the belly to just the surface skin. If any frames are bent, that will really up the cost. New props will be needed, and the engines should be OK after a teardown and rebuild (it looks like the mixtures may have been pulled just as they touched down. That should minimize any internal damage.).

I don't know if the superchargers are even hooked up any more. Most groups that run WWII aircraft run the engines at only 60-70% of their maximum WEP levels, to reduce wear and tear. The superchargers in the B-17 are probably either fixed in Low Blower or bypassed completely.

I'm sure it will fly again, but it won't be cheap!

 

[dav8or]

That plane will fly again. If they can rebuild fighters from just a data plate then you know if will be rebuilt.

 

[Frank Bama]

Way da go Verne.