B-17G walkaround photos by Jaime Carreon

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Walkaround #1056

B-17G

These photos were taken by Jaime Carreon

These are photos of the Confederate Air Force (sorry, I just can't use the new name...) B-17G "Texas Raiders", taken in October 2006. A good friend of mine was asked to do an eddy current inspection of the stabilizer and fin attach fittings. Since he knows I'm a warbird freak (and a fellow A&P), he asked me along to help. The airplane is pretty much disassembled after having been grounded by an airworthiness directive regarding wing and spar corrosion following the crashes of several air tankers in California. She's in a hangar at Hobby airport
in Houston, TX, which is also known as "Corrosion Corner" because of the humid environment here. Not a good place for long term storage of old airplanes! Sorry, there are no photos of the engines; they have all been removed from the airplane and were not in the hangar with her. I was not able to gain access to the cockpit, so I can't tell you what condition that is in. The airplane has been moved since these photos were taken, so I'll try to get an update and post it here.

This not exactly a walkaround, it's a mechanic's eye view of an airplane undergoing heavy maintenance. So some of the pics are of things one does not normally get to see. I didn't shoot them in any particular order, since there was a lot to look and I just fired away at anything that looked interesting. Hope you enjoy them!"
Jaime

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My friend Wally checking the tailcone mounting flange. The missing area where he is standing is the where the tail gunner would normally be. You can see the rudder torque tube sticking out of the top of the fuselage. 1	A shot of the elevator torque tube	Right upper horizontal stabilizer attach fitting.	A shot from inside the main entry hatch looking aft. All the trash and spare parts are piled up in the fuselage.

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Right outboard wing panel	Another shot of the right outboard wing. You can see the aft attach fittings and the internal structure. The skin attached to the ribs is corrugated, with a smooth outer skin riveted on top of that.	Looking inboard toward the #4 engine nacelle. This is where the outer wing panel attaches. You can see all three attach fittings and the black fuel cell is being held in place by the yellow rope.	Turbocharger detail. I think this is the #2. None of them are functional, having been deactivated by another AD years ago.


#4 firewall	#3 firewall. You can see the pulleys and cables for the throttle, prop and mixture controls at the top of the photo. At the lower left is the feathering pump for the propeller.	#2 firewall	#1 firewall

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Left fuel tank bay. This is just outboard of the wheelwell. The black strap across the center of the photo hods the tank in place, and you can see the inner corrugated skin very well in this shot.	Left main landing gear trunnion	Left main gear upper strut. You can see the drag brace (with the homemade angle iron downlock) and the yellow cap for the servicing valve at the top of the strut.	Right main gear strut and axle.


Upper end of the tailwheel strut and its attach structure. The retract motor is at the top of the photo. B-17 landing gear is electric...	View through the main entry hatch looking forward. You can see two yellow oxygen bottles, the farthest forward is for the ball turret and is mounted on the turret stanchion.	The forward half of the vertical stabilizer. The rudder and elevator torque tubes are both visible in this shot. The tail gunner's position has been completely removed from the airplane, as have both horizontal stabs.	Left horizontal stabilizer.


Left wing just outboard of the #1 engine nacelle. Another good view of the fuel tank.	Nose art and nose detail. All the guns were removed from the airplane, HOU airport is not in the greatest neighborhood....	Another turbo. This one was on the floor.	Left outer wing panel.


Tailwheel. The airplane is on jacks, and this jack has a truck rim under it to get it high enough.	Interior of the main entry hatch.	Exterior of the main entry hatch	Back side of the ball turret. The hatch handles are clearly visible, and on the left of the photo is one of the drive tracks for turret elevation.


Looking up into the right inboard fuel tank bay. Once again, you can see the rubber padding and straps that hold the tank in place.	Right wing aft attach fittings. These had just been replaced, which is why they are a different color.	An angle gearbox and jackscrews. I think these are for the flap drive, but I'm not totally sure of this.	My friend Wally with Hangar Bird Control. The keel beam of the airplane is visible in this pic, the owl is hanging at the forward edge of the bomb bay.

A shot of the left wing root and forward attach fittings. The
entire area is covered by a removable aluminum strip that wraps around
the wing.
Left main tire and wheel assembly.
Inboard side of the #1 engine nacelle.
Outboard side of the #2 engine nacelle, showing the exhaust
installation.

Front side of the ball turret.
View looking outboard from the left main wheel well.
This is a flap drive torque tube and gearbox.
38

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