B-29 documentary on TV??

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Blakey
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Post by Blakey »

rigpiggy wrote:read the book, they brought DG in and he kind of took over, the plan originally was to drag the a/c to the coast and barge it out. DG never properly completed the paperwork, and the original guy had to clean up his mess. and yes the apu gas system was jury rigged because the original fuel pump was buggered the apu wasn't shutdown, and during his taxi trials the jug came loose the rest is history
You could never drag it to the coast. Attached is a Google Earth shot of Northern Greenland. The Kane Basin is in the center of the shot and, further up the coast, you can see the Peterman Fiord. Follow the fiord up to the ice cap and you'll see a funnel shaped lake joining the fiord from the south.

Image

The Kee Bird is on the shore of a smaller lake just to the West of this. The second shot shows the lake close up. You can't see her in the shot but you can see where they landed the Caribou on the south shore of the lake. Have a look at the topography and the distance to the coast.

Image
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Kosiw
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Post by Kosiw »

Some neat pics of the Kee-Bird and the "Boo" that supported the expedition.

http://www.dhc4and5.org/N124DG.html
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Alex YCV
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Post by Alex YCV »

Finally after two years of work they are ready for the flight back to Thule. The plane has frozen into the mud and snow, and it takes maximum power to break the wheels free. The nose wheel can't be controlled, and at slow speeds, Darryl has to adjust the engine power to steer the plane. Finally, it is moving in a wide circle, out onto the lake, on its way toward the end of the runway. The plane is bounced and shaken by the frozen snowdrifts. Suddenly, smoke can be seen pouring from the windows in the cockpit. The auxiliary power unit, a stand-by generator, was thrown from its mounting in the rear fuselage, and caught fire.
Proof to me that they were way too much in a hurry. When things aren't working, slow down and work them out.
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Tracy Terry
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Re: B-29 documentary on TV??

Post by Tracy Terry »

Darryl Greenamyer made a valiant effort to save that beautiful B-29 KeeBird, but sometimes things don't work out. It is so easy for people to play Monday morning quarterback about these things - if Darryl was successful, everyone would call him a hero.

Darryl is a great pilot and engineer and he is more than qualified to attempt such an endeavor. I am sorry it didn't work out and sorry for engineer Rick Kriege's death - he was another good man.

Darryl remains one of my favorite pilots and he is a credit to American aviation.
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Matthew L. Capitano
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Re: B-29 documentary on TV??

Post by Matthew L. Capitano »

Darryl Greenamyer is a great pilot and he tried very hard to bring back the B-29 'KeeBird' from NW Greenland.

Darryl and the other qualified men on the expedition such as Rick Kriege, Vernon Rich, and Cecilio Grande, did a super job of preparing the KeeBird for its first flight in close to 50 years.

There are so many variables involved in a venture like this - I'm sure I do not realize how much planning and field work really went into it - that there could be a hundred things that might go wrong.

Darryl did a super job of getting the plane ready and he was the man to fly that great plane out of that far away and harsh environment and back to Thule AFB and the rest of the world.

It's extremely regrettable that Darryl's competent engineer - and good man - Rick Kriege died due to internal physical sickness, and regrettable that the KeeBird caught fire and could not be fully recovered, but this salvage expedition was a triumph of American spirit, knowledge, and bravery.

Darryl Greenamyer is a great aviator and it took a long time for someone to decide to attempt to bring back the KeeBird, a fine plane that it seems many others ignored for so long.

My hat is off to Darryl, his recovery crew, and the brave men who flew on the KeeBird when it was in service long ago.
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linecrew
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Re: B-29 documentary on TV??

Post by linecrew »

You guys resurrected an almost two year old dead thread...was the Kee Bird documentary recently re-broadcast? :?
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Cam
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Re: B-29 documentary on TV??

Post by Cam »

Movie Monday - May 16 - Saving the B-29 Kee Bird

http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/fligh ... aving.html
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nutbutter
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Re: B-29 documentary on TV??

Post by nutbutter »

Just watched it on youtube, tragic is all I can say. Wish they would have shut down that hokey APU, or maybe not even used it.
In hindsight, they should have had a guy familiar with winter/arctic operations with them, those guys needed engine tents among other things. BTW I can't even believe those wheel bearings spun when they pulled that thing out of the lake, unreal.
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crazy_aviator
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Re: B-29 documentary on TV??

Post by crazy_aviator »

In their lust for success and their stupidity ( APU) they practically KILLED the AME !! What they did to the engineer, they received in return, amazing that all of them were not killed !!!
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warbirdpilot7
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Re: B-29 documentary on TV??

Post by warbirdpilot7 »

crazy_aviator wrote:In their lust for success and their stupidity ( APU) they practically KILLED the AME !! What they did to the engineer, they received in return, amazing that all of them were not killed !!!
Old airplanes are different. Alot of people forget that. I am not an AME, but they do an excellent job making these type of aircraft airworthy for us to display. The B-29 FIFI finally flew again after being grounded for engine problems for 5 years.

Warbirds are a passion for us involved in the industry, and it is understandable that not everyone sees it this way. Try to appreciate what it takes :wink:
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Mitch Cronin
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Re: B-29 documentary on TV??

Post by Mitch Cronin »

I still cannot believe a competent aviator would have made such a bone headed move.... Unless I see him say, "I screwed up", I'm gonna continue to believe it was intentional. Look how fast he was taxiing that thing for gawd sakes! I think he'd accumulated so much debt that his best financial outcome was to collect insurance on the aircraft's accidental destruction.... But that's entirely ignorance based speculation. :toimonster:

What a damned shame.... and if it wasn't intentional, what a flippin' idiot.
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AlexandriaRodriguez
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Re: B-29 documentary on TV??

Post by AlexandriaRodriguez »

Yes you are quite right about this
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System Message
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Re: B-29 documentary on TV??

Post by System Message »

The tragedy is how a lot of B-29 in far better condition were chopped into cans and razor blades. This sort of thing is still going on with aircraft of every sort which should have gone to auction. Darryl did the right thing even though it did not work.
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who me ?
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Re: B-29 documentary on TV??

Post by who me ? »

I was speaking with a mechanic who was working on the B-29 "FiFi" doing engine and prop changes approx 1 1/2 yrs ago, I brought up the question of the apu in the B-29, he smiled and came down off the work stand. He told me the "29" was a very advanced Aircraft for its time,....if I recall correctly,
he said it is an all electric aircarft, flight controls, steering, brakes,everything,.. and if you ever had a complete electrical failure, you were dead. He said the engines with the old generators did not produce enough electical power to operate the aircraft on the ground. He said that FiFi has been modified with a large bank of auxillary batteries, just above the bomb bay.

So that explains to me why the apu was left running in this sad event.
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Blakey
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Re: B-29 documentary on TV??

Post by Blakey »

So it was one of those elusive 24V generators was it. I haven't seen too many of those. I have a copy of the video and it sure looks like a 110V unit to me. You'd never get enough power through a 24V charger to run any of the services you speak of.

Also, the plane was not fully serviceable; it was just supposed to make the hop to Thule. Why would you want to raise the gear or flaps? You wouldn't know if they were ever going to move again once you retracted them so you'd best leave them right where you needed them for landing.

Electric brakes?
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Beefitarian
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Post by Beefitarian »

Blakey wrote: Electric brakes?
http://www.airpages.ru/eng/mn/b29_17.shtml wrote:The emergency system must be recharged after 5 to 7 applications of the brakes.
The electric hydraulic pump cuts in when the main hydraulic pressure falls below 800 psi, and cuts out when the main hydraulic pressure reaches 1000 psi.
Who knew?
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Blakey
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Re: B-29 documentary on TV??

Post by Blakey »

Interesting (And the standard set-up for a larger aircraft with hydraulic brakes.) but:

1. NOT electric brakes.

2. Not required for the flight. Certainly not for the take-off if you've seen the video!

3. Impossible to power with the size of APU they had even if it were a 24V unit. If the 4 generators couldn't supply enough power, why do you think a small APU could?
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