Both these aircraft were in Winnipeg a couple of weeks back. Absolutely fantastic to see up close and tour through. They were saying there are enough spare parts to keep it and the rest of the B-17's around the world flying for the next 60 years, but they are getting nervous all the WW2 aircraft will be grounded in another 20 years, if aviation fuel continues to degrade, or get discontinued. The engines were apparently designed for 130 octane and it is now down to 100 octane, which is getting very close to performance limits.
Interesting costs involved in operating the B-17. Each engine apparently holds 2 gallons of motor oil, with a 30 some odd gallon reserve tank mounted behind each engine. They had come up from Fargo, ND prior to Winnipeg and had needed to top up the engine oil before they left Fargo. A 45 gallon barrel of oil was running $1,700.00 USF.
Great to see them flying while they still can!!!
David
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