The Museum of Flight in Seattle unveiled its newly restored B17 F last fall. It is named the Boeing Bee. I made a visit and checked for Stude power, all four engines are Studebaker. I'll attempt to attach pix, my first try at that.
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Don Wilson, Centralia, WA
40 Champion 4 door*
50 Champion 2 door*
53 Commander K Auto*
53 Commander K overdrive*
55 President Speedster
62 GT 4Speed*
63 Avanti R1*
64 Champ 1/2 ton
* Formerly owned -
They are also restoring a B17 in Urbana, Ohio.
A group of us (local motorheads) made a road trip to see its reconstruction. The man in charge mentioned that the Studebaker engined planes were more reliable, and more desired by the flight crews. This plane also had Studebaker engines.
He stated to us that they made over a 1000 HP each. I asked my friends if they knew how this was accomplished, which they didn't. I informed my friends that being Studebakers, the 1000 HP was accomplished by detuning them.sigpic 1963 Studebaker Avanti: LS1 motor and T-56 transmission have been moved rearward, set up as a two seat coupe with independent rear suspension. Complex solutions for nonexistant problems. -
I read this post to the wife, and made mention of the Studebaker built engines in the B17.
She made a comment about putting that engine in a car.
I told her it was a big radial engine. A BIG radial engine.
She rolled her eyes and gave me 'The Look'...Then added.. "That wouldn't stop you from trying"..
Then I showed her this video and said "Nahh...It's already been done"....
Last edited by DEEPNHOCK; 12-29-2011, 05:02 PM.HTIH (Hope The Info Helps)
Jeff
Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please. Mark Twain
Note: SDC# 070190 (and earlier...)Comment
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Excellent ! . B-17s are my favorite planes . . . . . . . . . And i dont know how this got by me , But i only just heard this week that the B-17 " Liberty Belle " crashed and was lost sometime this year . A plane i saw up close at a show here in Minnesota . Dont remember if it was Stude powered though ...........
Last edited by aarrggh; 12-29-2011, 05:38 PM.
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Robert K. Morgan, the pilot of B17F Memphis Belle, said in his autobiography that he told his crew chief that under no circumstances did he want Studebaker engines on his aircraft. He didn't elaborate why.
Wonder what his dislike of Studebaker was from?Poet...Mystic...Soldier of Fortune. As always...self-absorbed, adversarial, cocky and in general a malcontent.Comment
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HTIH (Hope The Info Helps)
Jeff
Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please. Mark Twain
Note: SDC# 070190 (and earlier...)Comment
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I must have been day dreaming that week .Comment
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Why am I having thoughts of a radial engined Zip Van?Originally posted by DEEPNHOCK View PostComment
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The Memphis Bell started on a mission and had to turn back. One of the Studebaker engines had failed. Morgon told his crew chief he never wanted a Studebaker engine again.Originally posted by Gunslinger View Post
Several years ago I visited where the Belle was being restored at the time and all four engines were Studebakers.Gary Sanders
Nixa, MOComment
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[QUOTE=ddub;606780]The Museum of Flight in Seattle unveiled its newly restored B17 F last fall. It is named the Boeing Bee. I made a visit and checked for Stude power, all four engines are Studebaker. I'll attempt to attach pix, my first try at that.
Don, I managed to pick up a Studebaker Aviation engine plate on Ebay a couple of years ago in excellent shape. The seller's grand father ( a B17 crewman ) had brought it back in 1945. It certainlly differs to the image you posted & interestingly has in the upper left corner the famous Studebaker Wheel logo that was phased out in the mid thirties. Why Studebaker kept using this logo till the mid forties has mystified me. Alas, I have'nt learnt the art of adding a photo yet.
\"QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER\"
MELBOURNE.Comment
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The Evergreen Air Museum (and water park) in Mc Minnville, OR has a Studebaker r-1820 on a display dolly sitting next to the B-17 "mystery lady". I fondle it every time I visit the museum, as long as my wife is not watching. I've flown on the Collings B-17 "909" a couple of times, and always checked to make sure at least one engine was a Stude.Comment
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The pix posted fine, Don. Cool beans! BP
We've got to quit saying, "How stupid can you be?" Too many people are taking it as a challenge. 
G. K. Chesterton: This triangle of truisms, of father, mother, and child, cannot be destroyed; it can only destroy those civilizations which disregard it.Comment
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B-17s are awesome. There is an engine for one in the SNM. Every day I go to work I can't help but think of the mighty Flying Fortresse's. Personally I think it would be really cool to get just the engine for one and set it up in one of the test cells at the plant.
Chris DresbachComment
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Excellent ! . B-17s are my favorite planes . . . . . . . . . And i dont know how this got by me , But i only just heard this week that the B-17 " Liberty Belle " crashed and was lost sometime this year . A plane i saw up close at a show here in Minnesota . Dont remember if it was Stude powered though ...........
You'll have to contact these guys on the engines. I presume that the engines were probably Pratt and Whitneys as it was a testbed for the engines. I took the photos on the other thread about the crash, as it literally crashed in my backyard. However, there was NO way I was going to walk up to the plane and find out, as they had the police, NTSB, and B17 crews canvassing the plane. This was a crash scene and the authorities(ranging from county up to the federal level) were treating it as such, so I, like the other people respected their space around the plane. I did get as high resolution photos as possible, so I could blow up the pictures to see the details, even if I can't see the engine plaques underneath. In all honesty, between I and another fellow that were standing there taking photos, plus the regular stream of Oswego residents coming out into the farmer's cornfield to see the wreck, I could only spend no more than 20 minutes getting photos of the plane from that vantage point before the police politely asked us to leave, which was completely understandable.1964 Studebaker Commander R2 clone
1963 Studebaker Daytona Hardtop with no engine or transmission
1950 Studebaker 2R5 w/170 six cylinder and 3spd OD
1955 Studebaker Commander Hardtop w/289 and 3spd OD and Megasquirt port fuel injection(among other things)Comment
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That plane supposedly had three Studebaker built engines in it, I am not sure if that is completely true.Dylan Wills
Everett, Wa.
1961 Lark 4 door wagon
1961 Lark 4 door wagon #2 (Wife's car!)
1955 VW Beetle (Went to the dark side)
1914 Ford Model TComment
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