Work continues on B-17 Champaign Lady

[Thomas Brown]

Cool little article on the ongoing restoration of the B-17 named "Champaign Lady" http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/news/local-military/work-continues-to-restore-the-b-17-champaign-lady/nTpWY/

And I did not know this interesting fact...a turret that is being used on this restoration was found under the porch of a house on North Bellevue Avenue in Springfield OH in 2010!

[Hal Bryan]

Great to hear about the progress being made.

Speaking of B-17 turrets - when I was a kid, we stored a bunch of warbird parts in our attic for a family friend, including a center console from a B-24 (or maybe a Privateer) and a B-17 chin turret. Needless to say, I spent a lot of time playing pilot or gunner, making "buddah buddah buddah" noises, etc.

Anyway, I was absolutely stunned to reunite with that friend at Oshkosh in 2010, some 30 years later, and have him point out that very same chin turret on the Lone Star Flight Museum's "Thunder Bird."

[Thomas Brown]

That's awesome Hal!

[WeaverJ3Cub]

Thanks for posting, Thomas. I was up there and they told me the same thing about the turret.

With the amount of plane they're building from scratch, it's more of a replica build with some vintage parts, but hey, they have that data plate! :p

They told me that it'll likely take more over 10 years to finish. After hanging around the hangar for about an hour, I couldn't help but wonder how much faster they could get it done if everyone talked less during their shift and if the workforce was about 40-50 years younger. Still, they're doing a great job, and I'm glad somebody's doing it.