The mostly volunteer crew at Salem, Oregon, rebuilding and restoring B-17G 44-85790, is making good progress. As B-17 Guys and Gals already know, this is the B-17, now known as Lacey Lady, that was mounted above a gas station in Milwaukie, Oregon, alongside U.S. 99E from 1947 until 2014. The detailed history of the airplane is provided in Final Cut (what, you don’t have a copy?) as well as on the B-17 Alliance Foundation website and other sources, so I won’t go into too much detail here. Short version is that Oregon entrepreneur Art Lacey purchased the war surplus bomber at Altus, Oklahoma, and flew it to the airport at Troutdale (Oregon), dismantled it, and trucked it to his gas station. It was a distinctive local landmark but suffered from vandals, climate, and collisions over the many years. Lacey passed away in 2000, but his family is intent on rebuilding the airplane and established the B-17 Alliance Foundation toward that end. The airplane was pulled down from the gas station in 2014 and, disassembled, moved to the hangar at the Salem airport where it is undergoing the rebuilding effort.

I last visited Salem in May 2023, two years ago, and recently came back to find out first hand how the project is coming. There is much visible progress, particularly in the cockpit section, the left wing, and the left wing’s engine nacelles. But with a project such as this, much of the actual progress is not obvious. The rebuilding of the B-17, under the direction of project manager Lee Nielson, requires that each small part of the plane, and there are thousands of them, be carefully evaluated: can it be returned to airworthy condition or does it need to be replaced with a new one? If it needs to be replaced, is a part available or does it need to be manufactured? It is a process that is repeated endlessly for each of the small structural components, brackets, gussets, whatz-its, and flotsam that eventually come together to become sub-assemblies that are finally woven into the airplane. So though major sections like the cockpit shows obvious progress, it is the less-apparent behind-the-scenes activity where the action is.

For parts that need to be replaced, there are a number of other B-17s restorations doing much the same work as the team at Salem, and trading and cooperation exists between the various projects. And, if a new part needs to be manufactured, Nielson reports that the volunteer team has assembled the materials and machines to create, directly from Boeing blueprints and patterns, new parts that are identical to the originals. Whether the part is new or rebuilt or acquired, it needs to meet exacting standards and documented in intricate records for eventual FAA signoff for an airworthy airplane. The whole process necessarily needs to be highly organized. One of the volunteers, Dave Hevel, has contributed greatly by organizing the parts so that they can be cataloged and, if needed, stored for future installation. Hevel also maintains a volunteer training program and the Boeing digital blueprint catalog, providing detailed drawings and specifications when needed.

There are two big changes apparent from when I visited two years ago. For the cockpit section, between Stations 3 and 4, the basic floor support structure underlying the cockpit has been completed and installed. The major cockpit components such as seats, flight controls, and instrument panel framework are being fitted and readied for installation. The frames and longerons are also being fitted and will eventually have new skins added. The cockpit section is being built into the bomb-bay section (aft of station 4), and also joins the already-completed nose compartment section.

Years ago, Lacey Lady‘s badly-corroded ‘turtle-deck’ cockpit cover that includes the windscreen, overhead windows, cockpit side-windows, and top turret mounting ring was removed and sent to a parts supplier in the southeast. They were to be used as pattern parts for new assemblies not only for Lacey Lady but for several other restorations underway. It turned out to be a long and winding road for that ‘turtle-deck’ but new parts should finally be arriving this year from another restoration team. They will be assembled and fitted at the appropriate time.

The bomb-bay section, between Stations 4 and 5, is the heart of the B-17, containing the wing attach and carry-through structure. It will be a major undertaking to rebuild this section but, fortunately, many new components are available from Ray Moore and his Lucky Thirteen shop in Asheville, Georgia, so that will make the process at least straightforward. At least four other major B-17 rebuilding efforts are doing similar work in that section of the airplane so there is expertise and common knowledge available.

The left inner wing panel is slowly coming together in its jig. Two years ago, the disassembled wing and the two wing spars were located on a big work table. Now the wing is starting to look like a wing again. The spars and ribs have been mounted and assembled. The critical spar tubes have been carefully inspected, as was the rest of the spar assembly. All corroded or damaged ribs and other internal wing structure have been replaced.

Both left wing nacelles, for engines one and two, required much work due to corrosion from water and bird ‘stuff’ that accumulated over the years, particularly on the lower part of the assemblies. Both nacelles are nearing completion. Fortunately, much of the structure was reusable but was replaced with new where needed. The nacelles will eventually be mounted back onto the front spar. Still to go on the left wing will be the leading edge and the trailing edge, and then the whole process will be duplicated on the right wing. Fortunately, the learning curve is steepest at the front end the right wing will come quicker.

The aft fuselage and the tail components are awaiting attention. Much of that work is straightforward and the structural parts are available for replacement parts if needed. Much of the skin on the aft fuselage, especially the lower sections, will need to be replaced.

It needs to be emphasized that this rebuilding project is pretty much all-volunteer and is funded by donations. There is a core group of about twenty volunteers who regularly spend time working on the plane over the course of a month, each with varying degrees of skill and abilities. I asked project manager Lee Nielson if it was workers or funding that set the pace for the restoration and, after thinking about it a bit, said that both were setting the pace.

Funding is obviously critical to keep the project moving, and on the administrative side, B-17 Alliance Foundation executive director Terry Scott works hard to secure donors and programs, neither an easy task. The funding end is particularly challenged right now because the foundation has a short-windowed opportunity to purchase the hangar at Salem for $800,000. They have been renting up until now, but if the funds can be raised by the end of the year, they will become owners of the hangar and ensure the project’s home for the future. There is a special effort underway right now to pull the funding together with details seen here for those who can consider donating any amount, large or small. They are more than halfway to the goal as this is being written.

For the volunteer end, they want to spread the word that volunteers are needed and welcome to help rebuild this airplane. Volunteers are trained for the tasks that they will be assigned to…you don’t get to pound on aluminum until you know where to pound. But what is particularly needed right now is a volunteer with some airplane structures experience, someone who has done major structural repairs to big airplanes would be ideal. The B-17 is a big airplane and it has big structures that need work, so the need is there.

In the end, the rebuilding project will proceed at a pace set both by the funding and the volunteers. The B-17 Alliance Foundation team is eager to put this airplane back together and back in the air and are always looking for help to make that happen sooner.

Visitors to the Salem area can visit the B-17 Alliance Foundation museum and restoration hangar. It is currently open on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Details about visiting can be found here. And, perhaps consider making a gift to the rebuilding effort. The Alliance is an IRS 501(c)(3) non-profit so donations, especially really really big ones, are tax deductible.

(Special thanks to project manager Lee Nielson, B-17 Alliance Foundation executive director Terry Scott, and volunteers Dave Hevel and Bill Deveraux, for their time and information in putting this update together.)