"Michael Black" wrote in message
ample.net...
On Sun, 19 Oct 2008, Richard Knoppow wrote:


"Jon Teske" wrote in message
...
You can see command sets in several WW II movies. I
recently saw
12'o Clock High and there is a brief scene where they
are
shown in
a rack. Of course the movie was made in 1948/9 when
there
were
still a lot of flying B-17s as orignally equipped. After
the war, a
lot of those got converted for ham use.

How do you convert a B-17 for ham use?

You make sure the equipment works on the ham bands, and if
not, put in ham equipment, making sure there is a suitable
power supply to run off the presumably 400Hz AC already in
the aircraft. You'd also need a pilot's license, and
given
the size of the thing, and wanting to operate the radios,
likely you need someone willing to be the pilot while you
play with the radios.

It might make a good club project. There used to be
articles
about various ham clubs converting trailers and even milk
vans
into stations for remote operating, field day and public
service
and even emergencies. That way you get the labor to do
the
restoration, and share the costs, and get enough "staff"
to keep the plane going and in the air.

I can't picture a B-17. Was it a common one, or one that
was so large that they never made many?

I can imagine if it was a common plane, that after the
war many did land in private hands, and given how cheap
surplus was, maybe even a ham did have one at one point.

Michael VE2BVW


Sic transit gloria mundi! The B-17 "Flying Fortress"
was a very famous aircraft, a heavy bomber used extensively
by the USAAF in the European theater. It, and the B-24
"Liberator" were the backbone of the air command operations.
There are examples of both in flying condition still in
existence. Worth looking at if they come to visit. No
creature comforts whatever and air crews often spent most of
their time in them. Both aircraft were built in very large
numbers and had reputations for being extremely rugged.
Original radio equipment was minimal and much of it still
exists and some is in use (on the ground) by amateurs. Most
WW-2 aircraft were unceremoniously scrapped after the war.
It is now difficult to find examples of airplanes built in
quantities of many thousands.


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Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA