Aero Vintage Books

Flew over to Urbana today...shot some photos of the B-17 project. Great bunch of guys. Gonna be a few years but it will be a looker.

jim harley

http://community.webshots.com/user/jfharley

Is the ball turret the one that got off the B-17 hanging in the bar in Greeley, Colorado?

I'm glad that someone that's restoring a B-17 got the turret out of the bar. I've talked to the owner of the bar in the past and I was afraid that he was not willing to let it go to someone that could use it. I was also afraid it might get damaged as that bar is a big college student hangout and the kids get on top of the tables and dance sometimes where they can touch the plane. I went in there the other day to get lunch (they serve a great burger) and I noticed the turret was gone. I was thrilled when he told me that a B-17 group got it. I wonder if there are any other useable parts on that fuselage in the bar?

DryMartini wrote:
It is myunerstanding that they have the ball turret from
the bar in Colorado, and they also have pieces they had
collected before they got the whole one.

Bill,

I contacted the two guys that're running the show down there and they confirmed that they do indeed have the ball turret out of Greeley. Since it's supposedly "complete" I inquired into whether they'd consider parting with some of their other ball turret parts they've collected over the years...with no such luck. They realize how difficult these parts are to find and said they don't want to part with anything until the turret is restored (which is understandable).

John

There is a foundry in Groton CT that has made a new ball turret shell for a recent restoration. I'm not sure if they still have the capability of making more but if you are looking for a replica this may be the way to go.

Jim Harley

Jim,

Harland Avezzie was the person that had the recasting made at that foundry (actually 2 of them). Eventually I'll be forced to do the same since the ball turret shell components are next to impossible to find. The hard part isn't so much finding a place to recast as it is finding an authentic ball turret to be used as a "buck" for casting a mold. Unfortunately, there aren't many museums out there willing to disassemble their turret so a cast can be made.

John

Hey guys as I remember the Yanky air museum had an extra ball turret in storage the MIGHT trade for somthing

Anybody got some decent pics of what is left of the b-17 fuselage in the bar in greely?

hang the expense wrote:Anybody got some decent pics of what is left of the b-17 fuselage in the bar in greely?

I had some, but they got deleted. I'll go take some more as I live in Greeley and work 2 blocks from the bar.

Hey thank you. looking forward to see them.

radar76 wrote:Hey guys as I remember the Yanky air museum had an extra ball turret in storage the MIGHT trade for somthing

I emailed them back in September asking about any spare ball turret parts for my project they might consider selling and they said that they had none???

John

Saw the pics and noticed there are no fixtures to speak of. And no you cant rebuild an airplane without them and it be dead on straight .I sure hope they dont have any fitting issues with the wings to the carrythroughs. An ounce of prevention beats the hell out of a pound of cure. Just my opinion of course and besides what the hell do I know.