RV Man is building it. I'm the guy with the digital camera, but all I'm building is a boring ol' single engine warbird, so by popular demand, here's a series of pictures I've taken, more or less in chronologic order. There will be minimal commentary from me. Y'all hit RV Man with any questions or comments. He'll monitor the thread.

mt

Webra .32's

wow that is all i have to say.is this a kit or scratch built? what are the dimensions?

Koverall and Dope

Now a B17 are you guys all done with the P38's?

Wing in primer

Wing in primer

Century Jet retracts

Fuse in primer

On Her Feet!

Right and Left Inboard Nacelles.......Tight Fit!

These pictures were taken today.

More as progress dictates.

tedious contruction putting a b-17 together, isn't.
mine is an american eagle 123" 4 satio .65 40 lbs.
but watching that fly by......................... drops every body's jaws.
looks great .

Hi fellows, RV man here. I've always wanted a B-17 bomber, But I didn't want a big expensive kit for the first time around. So I found this kit at A-1 hobbies in the US. The owener told me it's the last one, they don't sale them anymore. It's manufactured in england I think,Complete different style of building, The whole kit is all foam sheeted with thin ply of some sort. The nacelles cowls and canopy is ABS plastic. The instructions are a joke but if you have a few kits under your belt you'll should be ok. Wing span 103'' lenght 72'' weight should be around 20lbs. If you have any questions fire away.

Rich

Great looking plane. Can't tell from the pics the nacell size for fuel tanks. What size tank are you using and have you checked for the total run time. I use 4 oz on my C130 and get 12 minutes at full throttle with 4 saito .30's. The .32 2 strokes should have higher fuel consumption. I target for 8 minutes from engine start taxi to landing with 4 minutes reserve and this has worked out well. Great plane when do you plan to fly.. vettdvr

Thanks for the complement b17flyer. Jimcork1 I can't believe you are getting by on 4 oz of fuel per engine. Them 4 strokes must really be good on fuel. I'm useing my favorite 2 stroke engines Webra 32, I'm useing 8 oz tanks, And I thought that wouldn't be enough. I'm just about done with it, I'm going to run the engines and see how many minutes Ican get. I'm shooting for 15 minutes at least.

Rich


P.S. Flying 2 Bill were done with P-38s. Hope to see ya this summer if you guys ever get a place figured out.

I covered it with koverall and dope. I know some of you gents know how to do this, But for those who don't, This is the way I do it. As a matter of fact, This is the only way I know how to cover a plane. After the wood is sanded smooth I apply a coat of nitrate dope, Let it dry about 4 hrs. Do a light sanding with 320 sandpaper. then give it one or two more coats of dope, sanding between coats. My last coat of dope I mix in some talcom powder it thickens the dope and fills the weave in the cloth much better. And thats all there is to it, Your ready to prime your plane.

something i learned from a b17 video....
use larger tanks on the outboards. So the inboards quit first. INboard failure is easier to fly on than out board failure.
although i have flown by losing one . outboard and inboard but not at same time.
when you lose an outboard turning becomes alot tougher.

That's why I'm useing 8oz tanks, I'm hoping for a good strong 12 to 15 minute flight. So I don't have to worry about running out of fuel. Your right if an engine does go out, I hope it's a inboard engine rather than a out board engine.

Rich

I used CJ retracts, For one reason I want to fly the plane this year not next year. When I ordered them they said I would get them in two weeks and I did. The quality looks good and they work good. This is my first B-17, so where does the retracts go in relation to the wing. I'm guessing the center of the axle should be in line with the CG. When the wheels are down, Is that correct?


Rich

wow, nicely done

RV man the site for ati is http://www.atimanufacturing.co.uk/.
I would check other posts, there seems to have been some "Issues " with dealing direct with them. Yes, I built their P-38 and it flew well. These are a kind of "Quick Build Kits". Meaning lots of plastic, but the control surfaces were finished and sheeted.
Yes, I agree that the instructions are not for the first or second builder.
Good Luck,
Must be nice to have all the cold weather for building time........OUCH!!!
Twinman

Long-awaited update on RV Man's B-17 project.

Today we annoyed all the other attendees of the club Fun-Fly by tuning and breaking in all four Webra .32's.

They sound good and pull well on the ground: @13,000 rpm with APC 10X7's, running a little rich.

Hope to have report of a taxi-shakedown, even a maiden later this week.

Century Jet mains. Weight now @19 lbs, but anticipate need for 2# lead in the nose.


mt

ATI in the UK have long since shutdown, their reputation got the better of them.

Has anyone had any success getting in touch with this outfit? I've sent them 2 emails about buying spare cowls for the B-17, no response.

Read my reply above, they no longer exist, in the UK their reputation was their downfall

I thought they made good kits, I wished they would have paid better attention to business. She's going up this week. It should fly good. I don't trust them little webra 2 strokes though. If it flyies good I might put 4 strokes in it, will see.

Rich