Restoration of Labrador B-17G 44-83790

[Chuck Giese]

I'm waaay overdue on posting pictures of the Labrador (Dyke Lake) B-17. We've been working from bulkhead3 back towards the Bomb Bay, and forward to the nose.

Here's a taste of the current state of the restoration:





Flight Deck and Bulkhead 3



Chin Turret Well (Rough cut)



We'll spend the rest of the year getting the nose closed out.

[Lucky 13]

Chuck you guys are doing a fine job and thanks for the help on mine.

[jmkendall]

Beautiful! You are so darn lucky! Oh, and talented....lol...don't let the ego get too inflated...and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

[hang the expense]

Nice pics Chuck.More are needed for this important rebuild.

[Chuck Giese]

One more shot of the nose, window frames are in place, just waiting on the cheek windows to rivet it together.



Chuck

[KnockoutDropper]

Outstanding. Cannot ever remember a time when so many B-17s were being restored/rebuilt/built from scratch.

On a side note - I always thought this was going to be rebuilt as a B-17F? Not the case, obviously. No worries...you can never have too many B-17Gs around! Looking great!

[hang the expense]

OUCH! Fast as I can boss,fast as I can.

[hang the expense]

I love the special clecos by the way.

[Chuck Giese]

On a side note - I always thought this was going to be rebuilt as a B-17F? Not the case, obviously. No worries...you can never have too many B-17Gs around! Looking great!

When we reached a point where we had to commit to a F or G nose, the boss said to make it a G.

Chuck

[Dave]

Chuck,
How much of Liberty Belle are you using in this, or is everything from 790 so far?
Great work

Dave

[Chuck Giese]

Chuck,
How much of Liberty Belle are you using in this, or is everything from 790 so far?
Great work

Dave

Everything is from either the Labrador B-17 or blueprints. Nothing from Liberty Belle has been used.

Chuck

[PineCastleAAF]

Fantastic work. Is bulkhead 3 new build or from the Dyke Lake a/c? Is there a diagram online somewhere that shows the various bulkheads?

[Chuck Giese]

Bulkhead 3 is a combination of the Labrador B-17 and new build parts.

I don't know of an online diagram, but I'll look for one in the blueprints. I've even seen logbooks that refer to them incorrectly.

[Chuck Giese]

Bulkhead diagram (low quality scan) from the Structual Repair Manual:



Bulkhead 1 is where the nose glass attaches
Bulkhead 2 divides the bombardier and navigator section of the nose (Pre G model)
Bulkhead 3 is the doorway to the nose
Bulkhead 4 is between the cockpit and bomb bay
Bulkhead 5 is between the bomb bay and radio room
Bulkhead 6 is between the radio room and the waist section
Bulkhead 7 is in front of the tail wheel
Bulkhead 8 is the horizontal stabilizer forward carry through / vertical stabilizer forward attach
Bulkhead 9 is the horizontal stabilizer rear carry through
Bulkhead 10 is the vertical stabilizer rear attach
Bulkhead 11 is where the tail turret attaches.

Chuck

[PineCastleAAF]

Thank you sir! Bulkhead 3 looks like the largest and most complicated by far. That probably goes without saying but i'm fascinated by B-17 construction after watching the progress on Desert Rat/Tangerine.