[Milsurplus] BC-375 ops in a B-17 May 27&28th

Mon May 4 17:22:31 EDT 2015

We did this several years ago with the Collings B-24J Witchcraft. Steve Williams did get the BC-375 and the BC-348 working and it was hard wired as per the B-24 TO. Those radios are still installed and remain in good shape. We will use those in the B-17 if necessary. 

Incidentally that BC-375E that we used is the same one that had been bouncing around inside the B-24 for over 20 years touring around the country. As I recall Steve had some work to do but it was in surprisingly good shape.

The B-24 was chosen early on because the radio compartment is normally closed off for their regular public tours thus the radios would have a better chance of surviving and they have. The B-17 radio room is subject to the playground mentality of the thousands of people touring through on the ground each year and it shows. Frankly it isn't worth doing much for the command and Liaison radios in the B-17 for the reason mentioned above but on a temporary basis it is feasible. 

The shock mounts in the B-17 are original and are securely mounted. Wiring will be straight forward harnesses from BC-191 ground sets and custom wiring to the BC-348 and for power. The normal fixed antenna will be installed just as it was originally. The airframe wiring is the simple part as is the BC-348. I need someone who has the skills to troubleshoot, tune, tweak and operate the BC-375 as I am squarely at the bottom of that learning curve.

This is a very special opportunity for someone to put their own working radios in a flying B-17G and be able to operate them like they were meant to. Not to mention he or she gets a prime seat to watch bombs being dropped from the bomb bay by a Norden bombsight, gets to see a ball turret operate and see, feel and hear a Frigidaire manufactured WWII 50 cal firing full auto in the waist position. We bring a lot of WWII aviation back to life and the radios are just another awesome part of that.

If you do a Google search for 'bomber camp' and you will find lots of videos, photos and articles about the camp. Incidentally there is one spot left for this year's camp should you know anyone that might want to participate and get the full experience. It’s a two day event that is a lot of fun.

Thanks,

Taigh

Taigh Ramey
Stockton Field Aviation Museum
7432 C.E.Dixon Street
Stockton, California 95206
(209) 982-0273
(209) 982-4832 Fax
www.twinbeech.com
KEEP 'EM FLYING...FOR HISTORY!

-----Original Message-----
From: ARC5 [mailto:arc5-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Christopher Bowne
Sent: Monday, May 04, 2015 12:30 PM
To: MRCA MAILING LIST
Cc: ARC-5 List
Subject: [ARC5] Fw: BC-375 ops in a B-17 May 27&28th

This sounds like a great idea, maybe someone with the time and money can head out there.  I think the risk would be pretty high to assume that the existing gear will function if it has been sitting as a static display for a long time,  I suppose a basic wiring harness could be made up to power  someone's loaner BC-375, BD-73 and a BC-348  components from the plane's 28V DC bus.  Even if the the original wiring is still  there,  it might be pretty shaky.  Maybe the existing racks  could at least be used to hold the stuff down, otherwise making it "sat for flight" mechanically secure would also be an issue.  Presumably one of the on-plane wire antennas exists or could be reconstructed.

Remember the time that someone submitted an article to ER many years back about how he activated some of the radio gear in flight on the Collings Foundation B-17 Nine-O-Nine? And the picture of the author with a T-17 in hand showed the command set stuff in the background sitting there with no interconnecting wiring? As far as  I know, at the time  of the ER article ( I toured the plane in Groton, CT shortly afterward) the 909 radio gear was all static displays with no wiring or connectors.  I think there is currently (no pun intended) a plan afoot to get the stuff powered up though.
       On Monday, May 4, 2015 2:21 PM, "arc5 at ix.netcom.com" <arc5 at ix.netcom.com> wrote:

    The flesh is willing, but the travel budget is weak." ;-)

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