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"Aluminum Overcast" damaged by gear collapse



 
 
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  #51  
Old May 11th 04, 10:27 PM
gatt
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"atis118" wrote in message

After about 10 minutes I was cleared to land on the the other
runway and rolled past the B-17. I hope they can fix her up, she is
even more beautiful in person then on video.


A B-17 itself going to be taken out by something as simple as a gear-up
landing; the issue will probably be whether they can afford to do so, and
whether they can insure it afterward.

Sad. Hell of a ride for the passengers. I was in the tail of the Evergreen
B-17 a few years ago when Portland tower cleared a commuter jet to land at
the perpendicular runway (28L). We came in over the river and the pilot
tried to throttle up and go around, but the ol' bird wasn't going to do it.
We cleared the intersection and then he locked the brakes. The left main
seized up and the airplane careened nearly off the side of the runway, the
tail feeling as if was going to come around, as the back filled with smoke
from the rear tire. I was raised by a B-17 vet, which made it strange.

The pilot--a 747 captain--wrestled the old hoss back onto the centerline and
brought it in none worse for the wear. Got the whole thing on video from
the tail gunner's position somewhere.

-c


  #52  
Old May 11th 04, 10:29 PM
gatt
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"William W. Plummer" wrote in message

Are there not "squat" switches that prevent the gear from being raised if
the plan is on the ground?


Not on a B-17.

-c


  #53  
Old May 12th 04, 11:15 PM
gatt
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"Dale" wrote in message news:me-

Again, no "over center" lock. Yes, you can retract the gear on the
ground. On the B-17 I flew there was a "weight on wheels" switch to
prevent this but this was an add-on and might not be on all B-17s flying
today.


The B-17 I was most recently involved with didn't have such a switch and the
engineer gave us specific warning not to bump the landing gear switch, ever.
(The master had to be on, but for safety we always assumed it was.)

-c


  #54  
Old May 13th 04, 03:28 PM
G.R. Patterson III
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Rick Durden wrote:

CAF is already saying the copilot pulled the gear up when he went for
the flaps, despite being told to keep his hands off the flap switch
until off the runway.


As of today, EAA still denies this. They state that videos indicate that the gear was
not completely down when the plane landed.

George Patterson
I childproofed my house, but they *still* get in.
  #55  
Old May 13th 04, 05:30 PM
Dale
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In article ,
"G.R. Patterson III" wrote:


As of today, EAA still denies this. They state that videos indicate that the
gear was
not completely down when the plane landed.


I guess that's possible. Would have to be a real good quality video
since you'd have to be able to see if the scissor is overcenter.

And, if they weren't down and locked the crew either wasn't doing their
job or their procedures were bad. You can look at the gear from the
cockpit and tell if it is locked down. That was our procedure on gear
extension...a visual check that the gear was down and locked.

And again, might odd that both gear suffered the same failure at the
same time since they are separate systems....only common thing being the
switch in the cockpit. And just because one gear fails there is no
reason for the "good" gear to collapse....lots of cases of B-17s landing
with only one gear down.

--
Dale L. Falk

There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing
as simply messing around with airplanes.

http://home.gci.net/~sncdfalk/flying.html
  #56  
Old May 13th 04, 11:41 PM
G.R. Patterson III
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Dale wrote:

And again, might odd that both gear suffered the same failure at the
same time since they are separate systems....only common thing being the
switch in the cockpit.


Only thing I can think of is that both motors quit prematurely.

George Patterson
I childproofed my house, but they *still* get in.
  #57  
Old May 14th 04, 09:24 PM
gatt
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"G.R. Patterson III" wrote in message .

Only thing I can think of is that both motors quit prematurely.


Noticed that it looks like the ball turret remained intact. That's very
interesting.
My father's crew had a close call coming back from Gdynia, Poland in 1943
straight out of every B-17 movie made afterward; mains blown out by flak,
ball turret jammed, plane coming home low on fuel and they had crossed the
Wash before they managed to get the guy out; as soon as they landed, wheels
up, the PAO had them formed up in front of an undamaged airplane for a
photo.

Interesting to know that Fred Holt might have survived anyway.

-c




  #58  
Old May 14th 04, 11:14 PM
G.R. Patterson III
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gatt wrote:

Interesting to know that Fred Holt might have survived anyway.


Key word is "might". With "Aluminum Overcast", the gear collapse happened when the
plane was traveling at most 30 mph. I'd say there would probably be a big difference
if that turret hits the runway at about 90.

George Patterson
I childproofed my house, but they *still* get in.
 




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