B-17G 44-85790, otherwise known as Lacey Lady, is under a slow but steady restoration in a hangar at the Salem, Oregon, airport. This B-17 is best known as the ‘gas station bomber’ because it was mounted above a gas station located alongside U.S. Highway 99 (back when it was a U.S. highway) in Milwaukie, Oregon, a small community just south of Portland.

In 2014, the B-17 came down from the pylons overlooking the (closed) gas station with a plan to restore it back to flying condition. By 2015, hangar space was secured at the Salem airport and the project was moved indoors. Eight years later and the project continues and is growing in momentum. A charitable tax-exempt, non-profit 501(c)(3) foundation, the B-17 Alliance, was created to marshal the resources needed to put the airplane back in the sky.

The back story on this airplane is widely known. It’s covered in some detail in Final Cut (Fifth Edition) and on the B-17 Alliance website, so I won’t repeat it here. Though the B-17 was brand new when it went up on the pylons in 1947, with only a few ferry flights that brought it from production line to gas station, the subsequent sixty-seven years of exposure to the elements and vandals were not kind to 44-85790. Extensive airframe corrosion was present throughout the plane, all of which has been, is being, or will be addressed in the restoration process. Many new parts are by necessity being hand-crafted using the original parts and the Boeing drawings to guide. Parts that were stripped out either by permission or by vandals are being located, cataloged, and prepared for reinstallation.

So, the current state of the restoration? The process was started years ago with the nose compartment, rebuilt and shiny and as good as new. Moving aft, the cockpit between station 3 and 4 is currently being rebuilt, with the floor support structure that undergirds the cockpit and top turret rebuilt and in place. Some of the longerons and latitudinal stiffeners are in place on the right side but the left side is wide open for access.

The wing carry through structure and bomb bay assembly that is between station 4 and station 5 is intact but work has yet to start on this area. This section will go into a custom-made add-on to the existing fuselage jig before it is disassembled and rebuilt, the intent to keep everything straight and true. The wing attachment structure has to be rebuilt exactly if the wings, also rebuilt to an exacting standard, are to fit.

Speaking of the wings, the left wing has been disassembled and the spar assemblies are being closely inspected. The inbound ends of the spar trusses where they join the wing attach terminal fittings are the subject of the new FAA Airworthiness Directive, so particular attention will be paid to these parts. Engine nacelles are being rebuilt one at a time. The four engines themselves appear to be candidates for overhaul to airworthy condition, but that won’t be definitively established until disassembly at an engine shop at some future point. The B-17 Alliance obtained new propeller blades for use with overhauled prop hubs when the time comes. Many of the old propeller blades had small holes drilled in them to hold banners and the such when the airplane was over the gas station. No one had any idea at that time that the airplane might once again take to the air.

The right wing is in storage awaiting the completion of the left wing, which is a long way off. The left wing spars assemblies will need to be set in the jig and slowly rebuilt with ribs and supporting structure long before they will be reskinned. They are complex assemblies. Each wing will be a multi-year project in themselves.

The aft fuselage has not yet been touched, aside from some test polishing done on the exterior skin. Much of the lower skins, the circumferential stiffeners, longerons, and the latitudinal stiffeners on the aft fuselage will have to replaced due to corrosion. Also awaiting attention are the horizontal and vertical stabilizers and the control surfaces.

It is daunting to consider the scope of the restoration process required to put Lacey Lady back in the air. But, as one volunteer worker said, you can’t consider the project as a whole. It is overwhelming. You have to look at each small part individually, and move forward with that mindset. Small parts become assemblies, and assemblies become structures, and structures become airplanes.

Lacey Lady is not the only B-17 restoration powered by volunteer labor and donations. Anyone with just passing knowledge of aircraft restoration know of the high dollar cost of part acquisition and fabrication. The B-17 Alliance has more than 100 volunteers helping out, but the financial component, as is usually the case, sets the pace of the work. Estimates of the total restoration cost approach $9 million, so it is a full-time job at the the B-17 Alliance to search and secure donations, grants, and any other funding available. Perhaps Mr. Musk or Mr. Gates will hear of the effort and complete the funding with pocket change; apart from that, any donations made to the B-17 Alliance are always welcome. This is a link to its donation page…hint hint. Also, the B-17 Alliance is always on the lookout for B-17 parts, big or small, to be used in this restoration or for trades. Right now they are particularly interested in locating correct flight and engine instruments for the cockpit instrument panel. If you have any or know where some are, please contact the B-17 Alliance through their website.

The question most asked is “when will this B-17 fly again”? Great question and it depends on funding. The B-17 Alliance has a plan to have the airplane back in the air by 2035, but that remains a loose and moving target. As can be seen, there is much work to be done.

(Specific thanks to Bill Deveraux, volunteer, and Terry Scott, Executive Director of the B-17 Alliance, for their time and information in putting this update together.)