B-17 Ride-along

[Stephanie Belser]

A local article about flying with some vets in a B-17.

[Russell Holton]

I think I'll have to add this to my bucket list.

[Richard Duxbury]

Thanks, good post. I've forgotten what type of engines they have-perhaps 2800s, and I think the same engine was on the B-24's?. I did not fully realize those production numbers (12,000, B-17s; and perhaps 20,000 B-24s?).

Regards, Dux, hmmm, hit 100 degrees in MSP on Monday, warmer than my other town, Tucson.

[Ralph Jones]

I've forgotten what type of engines they have-perhaps 2800s, and I think the same engine was on the B-24's?

The B-17 had the Wright R-1820 and the B-24 had the P&W R-1830.I don't know of any four-engine bomber that had the R-2800 though the Constellation prototype did.

[Randy Sohn]

B-17 had the Wright R-1820 and the B-24 had the P&W R-1830

Ralph, you were right on the 17s and 24s, lotta people incorrectly believe that the DC-3 had only P&W R-1830s but a substantial number of them had Wright R-1820s. And the only P&W R-2800s over at Northwurst were those Martins that they had. All the DC-4s had P&W R-2000s.

best, randy

[Richard Duxbury]

OK, I soon realized after my R 2800 posting that it was a much smaller radial for those bombers. Did the DC-6 have R 2800 engines? I've flown as a passenger on the USN version a lot -and I'm sure that the DC-7 aircraft had 3350's, which (at least) Northwest would run too fast in cruise and (thus perhaps) had a high failure rate?

Regards,

Dux

[Randy Sohn]

Did the DC-6 have R 2800........ which (at least) Northwest would run too fast in cruise and (thus perhaps) had a high failure

Yup, pretty much Douglas scenario, DC-4s (C-54, R4D) had R-2000s, DC-6s (C-118, R6D) had the R-2800s and the DC-7s had R-3350s. Kinda wonder if meb'be the PRTs didn't sorta contribute to the airline's problems with the 3350s altho I can recall talking with one operator at an airline flight training committee meeting in Washington who expressed their attitude, "P-- on'em, Douglas said that it'd run ---knots at cruise and that's exactly how we're gonna run'em, 2300 RPMs at cruise".

best, randy

[Reams Goodloe]

http://www.deltamuseum.org/docs/site/aircraft-pages/dc-7_review_booklet_1954.pdf?sfvrsn=2

DC-7....

Reams