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Re: Interesting image on AirLiners

Posted by Larry Kraus on Thu Aug 28, 2003 08:10:07 PM

In reply top Re: Interesting image on AirLiners posted by Rob Mears on Thu Aug 28, 2003 12:54:10 PM

: From what I recall, the B-17 in the "Tora Tora Tora" seque
: nce WAS "Texas Raiders" :) After the initial footage of t
: he one wheel touch down, they spliced in what looked like
: color stock wartime footage of a B-17 landing under the sa
: me circumstances, complete with the resulting damage.
I currently fly Tanker 62,a DC-7,on a U.S.Forest Service contract based at Moses Lake,Wa.I flew around 900 hours in B-17 Air Tankers in the 70's and early 80's.The B-17 has electric motors for gear and flap retraction and extention.The only hydraulics on the "G" model or PB-1W that we used operated the brakes and cowl flaps (cooling gills).Earlier models also had hydrauic turbo controls,but the late "G's" had a single control that was electronic.
If the gear motor failed,the landing gear could be literally cranked up with a hand crank.I know this well as I probably hold the world record fo cranking up the right main gear on a B-17.We had a problem with the squat-switch on the right main on Tanker 65 (now in the R.A.F. Museum).The left main and tail wheel would retract,but the right had to be hand cranked.265 turns,if I remember correctly.I did this a total of 12 times including twice in one day.I figured out pretty quickly why B-17's had 10 man crews!
The B-17 in the Tora Tora Tora movie had a failure in the linkage for a main gear that prevented extention by normal or emergency means.The crew negotiated over the radio with the movie people over payment for a landing in front of the cameras.They threatened to land at another airport if the figure was too low.This was told to me by Gary Packard from Globe Aviation in the late 70's.Globe was an operator from Mesa,Az. that owned and operated the B-17's used in the movie.

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