The Rebuild
  

 The front fuselage coming back together with new stringers and longerons on the old formers. The top decking was re-used with new sheeting everywhere else.

 Here's one of the new inner engine nacelles with one of the 3W-60cc engines trial fitted. The engines were also refitted in a vertical position rather than 45 degrees inward, as I felt that harmonic vibrations may have caused the nacelle vibrations at Duxford. 

Work began on the B-17 straight away, searching through the bags of small parts to see what could be reused. These included cockpit parts, chin turret parts, wing fairing ribs, cowlings, and fuselage formers. While I was working on the rebuild, I took the opportunity to make some changes to improve the aircraft. 

The first change was to replace the two 40cc inner engines with 3W-60cc engines. This would give a healthy reserve of power to overcome the drag caused by the matt olive drab paint. The scale exhausts were also replaced with short pipes straight out of the cowls to reduce back pressure and increase power.

I decided the landing gear would remain fixed down until the flying of the model was sorted. I could then find an alternative method of operating the retracts.

I also to took the opportunity to add more cockpit, turret and nose detail.

At the Longhorsley '97 show, the B-17 was looking like an aeroplane again, though still lacking engine nacelles and landing gear.
 

March 1998 saw the B-17 all glassed, rubbed down and starting to be primed.
 

The landing gear had been damaged in the crash, and was partially rebuilt using steel for the main leg and drag links. The cast torque links survived to be re-used. This picture actually shows the wooden 'stay' on the air ram that was eventually used to retract the landing gear.
 
 

By the time of the Elvington show in 1998, the B-17 was looking finished again, and was on display with the USAAF Team B-24 ( still unflown ), and the Belgian B-29. The B-17 was still needing the wiring and plumbing work completed, but it was good to have it back together and on show.
 

By September 1999, the B-17 was complete and ready to go. Taxi trials took place at Raydon airfield, an old 8th Air Force fighter base. I then had to wait for paperwork for permission to fly. This was part of a new scheme introduced by the Large Model Association for models over 20Kg. The B-17 was number 4 on the register when the aircraft was first flown in silver, but the scheme wasn't fully up and running at that time. By the time of the rebuild, the scheme was fully working, so a flight couldn't be made without paperwork from the CAA and model inspector.

As it happened, a year would pass before the test flight, as a week after the taxi trails, I bought a new house, moved, got married and built a new workshop. It wasn't until October 2000 that the great day arrived.

PAGE 7