We recently had a barbeque at Boeing for the volunteers who are working to restore a B-29 to flying condition.

Anyway, here are some piccies:


Here's me relaxing inside Doc's cockpit.


And sitting in the nose section, which is where I've spent most of my time working. Needless to say, it's a lot better than it looked when the plane arrived in late 2000.


Doc's brand-new nose art. Disney originally refused to allow Boeing to paint the Disney character when the plane was restored. After some legal maneuvering, however, they decided it would allow the nose art only if it were more accurate to the actual Disney character (the original nose art was drawn on by one of the flight crew members).


An area of the hangar where Doc's being restored. To the upper left are the engine nacelles (along with some junker nacelles for "living" blueprints.) The two cylinders at the bottom right are the main landing gear struts.


And here's the aircraft herself. The nose (called the '41 section') is located at the right, with the mid-fuselage stretching to the left. The large opening in the fuselage is between the bomb bays, and is where the wing assembly sits. The aft fuselage section is to the upper left, noticeably separate from the nose and mid-fuselage. To the bottom right of the picture rests the horizontal stabilizer assembly.

Anyway, there you have it. There are hopes to have the plane airborne by at least late 2005, though some have been optimistic by suggesting late '04 - early '05 as the completion date.

Comments?


-Fox

[This message has been edited by Firefox (edited December 27, 2003).]

Are you going to be on the history channel when this gets done?

------------------
"The Oracle told me I would die with my boots on. I've worn tennis shoes ever since." - Axis

Did this B-29 slaughter thousands of Japanese civilians en masse too?

------------------
He has a powerful weapon
He charges a million a shot
An assassin that's second to none
THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN

thats pretty cool

------------------
^^
00

Unlike its earlier sisters and the Japanese soldiers who slaughtered thousands of innocent Chinese and other civilians en masse, this one was put out too late to fly bombing missions. Instead, it operated as a test bed for observations and atmospheric experiments. You can find out more from the link I provided.



I have no idea if it will receive that kind of attention. It's not very often that Fifi gets such attention, either.


-Fox

now i get your model stuff

------------------
saberopus
oh yeh wlel i jsut gots finesht wiht my morrwoind mod for teh JO An it takes up teh 900 gigabiets of spaec but i wlil not sowh yuo gyz teh scrnshoots becasue we dunat kare wut u gyz tihnk ne1 no wear i kan get ti hostad 4 dounlowd!!!!11!111 --Checksum

Looks like a lot of fun

------------------
I'm not an actor. I just play one on TV.

Very very cool.

------------------
1 of 14 | 6-16 Never Forget. | Click.

Heh, looks cool...

------------------
<landfish> FastGamerr > Satan

I've never read anywhere exactly how the remote control turrets on those worked. What was it, sit in another part of the plane, pull strings and try and watch where the tracers go?

Who gets to fly it when it's done?

------------------
<kyle90> i got my SAT scores back
<kyle90> according to the sheet i got sent in the mail, I did "better than 99% of all college-bound seniors"
<kyle90> of course, thats comparing me to americans
<kyle90> so its not really a fair assessment

That is so freaking sweet. Which Boeing location is this being done at? The area code isn't ringing a bell. I'd assume that it's Wichita, but yeah..

At any rate, you are extremely lucky. Best of luck on the work!

------------------
Current Maps | Inclusion | Restless Endeavor

There is a thin line between insanity and stupidity. I am that line.

FireFox is building a bomber? RUN FOR THE HILLS!

------------------
GhostOfYoda - General doer of stuff.

Hahaha, you and your man made vessel fetish...

------------------
"She turned me into a newt!"
Pause
"Well I got better..."

will you be providing landscaping services to members for a small fee?

------------------
IMPORTANT NOTICE PLEASE READ

Employees dying on the job are faling to fall down. THIS PRACTICE MUST STOP as it becmes impossible to distinguish between death and the natural movement of he staf.

Any employee found dead in an upright position will be dropped from the payroll.

That's really cool. To the best of my knowledge there is only one B-29 that is currently flying. And its been a couple of years since I've seen it, so I don't know for sure if its still flying or not.

------------------
Have Lightsaber Will Travel JK Editing tips, troubleshooting information, resources and more.
www.swgalaxies.net For all your Star Wars Galaxies needs
The Massassi A SW Galaxies Player Association

Wow, I had no idea that we had someone at Boeing in Massassi. Do you actually work for Boeing, or are you a contractor for this project, or what? What exactly are you doing in the project? [Oh, I guess you're a volunteer then. Next time I'll read it twice before posting. Anyway, what are you doing in the project?]

Really cool, please keep us updated on the project.

[This message has been edited by blujay (edited December 28, 2003).]

hehehe... blu used the 'quote' instead of the 'edit'.

<.<

>.>

*runs*

------------------
There are two asses in Massassi... and I'm one of them.
The Matrix Unplugged|The Valley of the Jedi Tower|Smaug's Lair

It was actually one of the more sophisticated systems on the plane. It used rudimentary computers. The gunners would use observation bubbles on the dorsal and side surfaces of the aircraft to direct the guns. The guns were designed to account for wind velocity and bullet drop, so it wasn't a simple matter of making a lucky hit. That's also why the B-29 had so few gun emplacements compared to the B-17.



Yeah, it's Wichita, since it's where the plane was originally built.



I'm an expediter for the most part. I help with little tasks, such as putting in bolts and cotter pins (a consequence of having a relatively thin body), and I run for tools and parts.


-Fox