Recovery of the KEE bird.

I have it on Video got it when they first made it. I had a bunch of guys over to watch it, one of which had flown over the Kee Bird. He Darrel had been given advice from up here and didn't use it. Worked the mechanic to Death, Literally! Pilots with EGOS:mad:

I also had the privliage to know the Pilot of the B-29 that found the Kee Bird.
 
I saw that on tv years ago, not knowing beforehand what the ending would be.
I've never been able to watch it again. Too painful and sad.
 
Saw it some years ago. Made me cry.
 
All that expense, all that energy put into the recovery all went down the drain because of 1 mistake.

hang the fuel tank for the APU in the over head of the aft fuselage.

By just a piece of wire?

The ultimate case of get home ittis
 
I still say that it should have been taken home in pieces, yes I know it was remote and the like but still, break it up into bite sized bits and start moving it out.
 
Skylane81E said:
I still say that it should have been taken home in pieces, yes I know it was remote and the like but still, break it up into bite sized bits and start moving it out.
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Impossible, well, nearly so, it would require a huge budget. First off, you'd have to bring in a helicopter large enough to carry it after you strip the engines off so you can take it to Thule for dis-assembly, but once there, you might as well just build a hangar (if you couldn't find one to use) and get it flying there. The problem with taking it apart out in the field is the logistics of supporting the man power required to take it apart and fly the pieces out inside 2 months, because that's all you get, and you saw the conditions, that's a huge logistical task, might as well just build a new one from scratch for all the money it would cost. Arctic & Antarctic operations are very expensive to run and impossible to schedule. The closer to the poles you are, the faster the weather moves. Systems and patterns that we are used to in the lower 48 take 1/5th of the time to develop and move through and are violent with a much greater frequency. Weather beyond the arctic circles is pretty insane and can be severe. You'd have to get all the parts out in one season, or build a significant shelter for what you left, because once in pieces, it will be destroyed there quickly.
 
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there are 5 in the lower 48 that only need a good wing beam to fly, I wonder if the wing beam could be recovered.

This one is pretty close to being ready to fly, but it has a cut wing beam.
 

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Tom-D said:
there are 5 in the lower 48 that only need a good wing beam to fly, I wonder if the wing beam could be recovered.

This one is pretty close to being ready to fly, but it has a cut wing beam.
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No way to repair it?
 
Tim said:
Worked the mechanic to Death, Literally! Pilots with EGOS:mad:
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No.. the mechanic did that one to himself. If you listen carefully, there's a quick mention that he was in the hospital with internal bleeding. Then he died two weeks later from a blood clot.

The dude had a bad back, and probably was popping motrin like candy (which can then cause the bleeding). And back then we just didn't know what we know now about being immobile in bed causing so many blood clots (and pulmonary embolism). The mechanic was a victim of poor medical decisionmaking on his part, and medical naivete on the part of the healthcare community back then.
 
Tom-D said:
All that expense, all that energy put into the recovery all went down the drain because of 1 mistake.

hang the fuel tank for the APU in the over head of the aft fuselage.

By just a piece of wire?

The ultimate case of get home ittis
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I almost hate to agree, but based on the talent and dedication they had there, if it weren't for that one really stupid thing, they might have got it to Thule intact. Really sad.
Does anybody know what the APU was needed for at that moment? You'd think they'd be getting plenty of power from the main powerplants.
 
Doggtyred said:
No.. the mechanic did that one to himself. If you listen carefully, there's a quick mention that he was in the hospital with internal bleeding. Then he died two weeks later from a blood clot.

The dude had a bad back, and probably was popping motrin like candy (which can then cause the bleeding). And back then we just didn't know what we know now about being immobile in bed causing so many blood clots (and pulmonary embolism). The mechanic was a victim of poor medical decisionmaking on his part, and medical naivete on the part of the healthcare community back then.
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Yep, they should make Oxycodone OTC so we finally get a pain killer with less bad side effects.
 
rottydaddy said:
I almost hate to agree, but based on the talent and dedication they had there, if it weren't for that one really stupid thing, they might have got it to Thule intact. Really sad.
Does anybody know what the APU was needed for at that moment? You'd think they'd be getting plenty of power from the main powerplants.
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IIRC they intimated that they just forgot to shut it down.
 
Henning said:
IIRC they intimated that they just forgot to shut it down.
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Checklists, checklists... :nonod:
Of course, even with that unit not running, the tank would've come loose anyway, and they could still have had a problem, with a big cloud of fuel vapor in the tail.
 
rottydaddy said:
Does anybody know what the APU was needed for at that moment? You'd think they'd be getting plenty of power from the main powerplants.
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Brakes. Flaps. Gear I think. The APU on a B29 is required for ground ops, takeoff and landing. Weird bird compared to how modern systems.

Also the pilot has no throttles, mixture or props. Engineer controls those. Pilot calls out settings, engineer made it happen.

Props were electric, controlled with double throw toggle switches.
 
:nonod::sad: Anybody got a handkerchief, snif snif
 
After all is said and done, he best aircraft there was the Caribou.. the back woods heavy hauler. Baby C130 ?
 
There are a bunch of Caribous sitting at KWWD. There used to me an operation on the field converting them to turbines, but don't know if they still exist. The planes are still there though.
 
Anthony said:
There are a bunch of Caribous sitting at KWWD. There used to me an operation on the field converting them to turbines, but don't know if they still exist. The planes are still there though.
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IIRC There was one Caribou that was converted to a turbine that they were trying to certify the installation. I think that program died with the plane and everyone on board when it crashed on take off of a test flight due to a forgotten control lock.

 
Henning said:
IIRC There was one Caribou that was converted to a turbine that they were trying to certify the installation. I think that program died with the plane and everyone on board when it crashed on take off of a test flight due to a forgotten control lock.

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Why would anyone want to ruin a great aircraft?
 
Tom-D said:
Why would anyone want to ruin a great aircraft?
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Because where the greatest usefulness, demand and market for that plane is, you can't buy 100LL, and there really isn't an aircraft filling that ability/market niche besides a C-130. Most places are flying LETs, but they don't have a ramp entrance. IOW, they were doing it because there is a market for it and they wanted to cash in on it.
 
Henning said:
Because where the greatest usefulness, demand and market for that plane is, you can't buy 100LL, and there really isn't an aircraft filling that ability/market niche besides a C-130. Most places are flying LETs, but they don't have a ramp entrance. IOW, they were doing it because there is a market for it and they wanted to cash in on it.
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There is no market, the twin otter is filling the need. 22 pax at half the cost, plus the shorts 330 will do the heavy stuff.
 
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Tom-D said:
There is no market, the twin otter is filling the need. 22 pax at half the cost, plus the shorts 330 will do the heavy stuff.
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Is the Shorts as big as a Caribou? I'm pretty sure the Sherpa (how many Sherpas are there? They still build them? They're the only ones with a ramp) takes about a ton and a half less than the Caribou. The Twin Otter and Caribou don't compete for the same market, that's why DHC made both of them.
 
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Henning said:
Is the Shorts as big as a Caribou? I'm pretty sure the Sherpa (how many Sherpas are there? They still build them? They're the only ones with a ramp) takes about a ton and a half less than the Caribou. The Twin Otter and Caribou don't compete for the same market, that's why DHC made both of them.
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Remember heavy haul is now done many ways, and the aircraft with 8k payload is competing with the hover craft and ice roads

not much need for a 8k flying load hauler at those prices.

Our crabfishing buddy, just had his new mitzy diesel flown direct LA to Dutch Harbor in a 737.

Things aren't done like they were years ago up north.
 
Tom-D said:
Remember heavy haul is now done many ways, and the aircraft with 8k payload is competing with the hover craft and ice roads

not much need for a 8k flying load hauler at those prices.

Our crabfishing buddy, just had his new mitzy diesel flown direct LA to Dutch Harbor in a 737.

Things aren't done like they were years ago up north.
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I'm talking sub Saharan Africa. I'm talking hauling gold and dimonds out of mining camps deep in the Congo where everything comes and goes via airplane, there are no roads, there is no ice, you may or may not be able to get to a body of water that will be able to transport anything, and even if you could, you wouldn't because it'll stolen in an ambush. They even try to shoot down the planes as they takeoff, occasionally they succeed. Most of that work is being done with LETs and other old east block planes these days. These are jungle strips cleared with primacord and ANFO.
 
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