Work continues at the Erickson Aircraft Collection at Madras, Oregon, on the rebuilding of the wings for B-17G 44-85718 (N900RW), which is now known as the ex-Thunderbird but will eventually be known as We The People. This B-17 has been owned by the Mid-America Flight Museum (and, thus, Scott Glover) since December 2020 and it was sent to Madras for a rebuild that is well underway.

Workers at Erickson are working on both inner wing panels doing the very intricate and technical work of replacing the spar tubes. Each inner wing panel has a forward and aft spar truss, and each truss has two spar tubes. The spar tubes have been problematic with the flying B-17s, with several FAA Airworthiness Directives (ADs) applying. In the case of 44-85718, a decision was made to completely replace the spar tubes on both inner wing panels, which breaks completely new ground in the B-17 story. Other restoration and repair efforts on B-17 wings have had to use existing spar tubes for their work, mostly because of the difficulty in manufacturing new tubes to the exact specifications required by the original Boeing design and the difficulty in replacing the tubes. A United Kingdom manufacturer was able to replicate to those original Boeing specifications and is now (most likely) the sole source provider of the very expensive spar tubes extrusions.

The Mid-America folks committed to replacing the spar tubes and bought a full set to do both wing panels, thus eight spar tubes. The wings on 44-85718 have been off the airplane for a couple of years awaiting the arrival of the new spar tubes. Once received, work began. This required the construction of rigid wing jigs to hold the wing in alignment while the spar trusses were removed. Both rear spar trusses were then carefully removed from the wing sections, something that no doubt required great patience and technical skill to complete without damaging the structure. The two rear trusses were then placed in their own rigid spar jigs to allow each spar tube to be replaced one at a time on each truss. The work to replace the first two tubes is nearly complete. Once those tubes are properly installed, the truss will be inverted so the second spar tube on each truss can be replaced.

After the rear trusses are complete, they will be reinstalled in the wing sections, and work will start on the forward spar trusses.

This work is very exacting as the maintenance technicians are literally inventing each and every procedure to accomplish it. Anyone who has seen up close these spar trusses, with the various parts of the wing structure riveted and bolted to them, gets just a superficial idea of the complexity of the work. When these spars were originally built by Boeing, or Douglas, or Lockheed, or a contractor, back in 1945, much of the riveting and drilling was done by hand, so these parts don’t have to match a blueprint…they have to exactly match the removed spar trusses to allow them to fit back into their place.

About a half million dollars has been invested in the jigs and other equipment needed to do this work, and the spar tubes themselves are six figure items. Thus, the investment in the rebuilding of these wings is not for the faint of heart or wallet. Fortunately for present and future B-17 operators, the steep learning curve is being accomplished on this first set of wings. Other wings panels in the future will go quicker. And, there probably will and should be other deep-pocket B-17 operators who my consider having this work done, especially for future flyers down the road. Again, not cheap but it will ensure safe wings moving forward.

That’s not suggest that the current repaired and rejuvenated wing spars are not safe…all have been maintained and repaired to original Boeing standards and comply with the FAA AD. Having new wing structure will nonetheless ensure B-17s can be flying for another eighty years…presuming fuel and oil and insurance and engines and certification and etc. will continue to be available.

Also on the Erickson ramp these days is the ex-Yankee Air Force B-17G, 44-85829 (N3193G). This airplane has been in the aviation and vintage news a lot recently, having been purchased earlier this year by Charles Somers of Sacramento. The airplane operated as Yankee Lady while based at Willow Run, Michigan, for the better part of four decades.

It has been widely reported that this airframe will be disassembled and shipped off to the Avspecs Ltd. facility near Auckland, New Zealand. It turns out that this is not entirely correct. The fuselage, tail feathers, and outer wing panels will indeed be shipped off the New Zealand. The inner wing panels will remain with the B-17 inner wing panel specialists…yes, those right there at Erickson. So, the wing panels will get a very close inspection and rebuild as necessary. The work required won’t be known until the wing panel inspection starts so it remains undetermined. The four engines and propellers, meanwhile, will be sent out to other shops for rebuild. As this is being written, the four engines are being removed from 44-85829 as the disassembly process starts.

Thus, kudos (in my opinion, anyway) to Scott Glover and the Mid-America Flight Museum and the Erickson Aircraft Collection specialists for the financial backing and technical knowhow to open a path to rectifying the problematic wing spar issues of this historic airplane type.