Forum: Civil and General Aviation

tail to nose 2-3-2008.JPG

Would’ve been fun to work on this...

After 8 years and 18,000 hours of toil the Boeing 40C rolled out last week end as a finished airplane. They now have to wait a few weeks for the snow to melt to fly this baby.

They received our Standard Airworthiness cert from the FAA last week and completed the engine pre oil and fuel flow tests for the 1st of the taxi tests to start when the snow melts bit. This is the snowiest winter in Spokane since 1968 !!

Factoids for the Boeing 40 project

221 gallons of dope/reducer and 120 yards of 102 ceconite fabric.
12 gallons of polyurethane paint for the sheet metal.
The wings have 33,000 individual parts in them.

The airplane weights 4080 lbs empty and has a gross weight of 6075lbs.
It’s 34 feet long and 13 feet tall with a wing span of 44 ½ feet.

Wing loading 10 lbs per sq ft and power loading 10 Pounds per HP. Should cruise at 115 mph at 28 GPH. And 32 GPH at 120 mph. It carries 120 gallons of fuel in three tanks.

They used 350 2” brushes and 6 gallons of West Systems epoxy. 181 rolls of paper towels.

There were a total of 62 volunteers who worked on the project to some degree and 21 volunteers who did a significant amount of work and 9 that worked over many years.

Additional note about the Boeing 40 model:
Excerpt from Seventy Years of Strategic Air Refueling 1918 - 1988 Office of
the Historian, Headquarters Strategic Air Command, May 1990
27 August 1929

A modified Boeing Model 95 mail plane shuttled between Oakland, California, and New York City in the first air-to-air refueling experiments conducted by the Boeing Airplane Company.

Specially equipped Boeing 40B-4s and an Army Air Corps Douglas C-1 provided fuel to the mail plane, piloted by Air Corps Captain Ira C. Eaker and Lieutenant Bernard Thompson. Eaker proposed the flights in order to investigate military uses of cross country aerial refueling.

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Nice plane, no need for air conditioning either! Cool

This was a restoration I take it, not a replica right? Would be nice to see some before restoration pics of it! Smile

That is so COOL, any more pictures of the cabin area? Drool

rear cabin 2-3-2008.JPG

All I have is these, inside, seating area - terrible view of the outside world I think Smile

Full restoration I was told

mail plane hanger 2-3-2008.JPG

Sorry about that double posting...cool cockpit I thought, what a ride that would be

Forum Veteran Joined: Dec 15, 2006 - 12:28 AM Posts: 760

Just for what reason would you want to pilot this plane?

I'm sorry to take such a nice topic and risk taking into the gutter with my demented humor. However I can't help but have some impure thoughts. The last photograph I can't help but notice that they both have a unique smile on their faces. With that beautiful looking girl coming out of the cabin, I can't help but wonder if the cockpit and cabin are adjoined. Gives a new meaning to the word cockpit. Is there a hidden door in the back of the cabin? j/k

Open cockpit, just for the pure fun of it I guess, feel what it was like to fly open cockpit, hear that engine, what a rush I think it would be plus how many times does one get a chance to fly or pilot a part of history, it looks like it would be fun ride from the cockpit, I don't think the cabins open up to each other...yea, I think she is cute too Smile

Who knows, maybe autopilot was created thanks to this aircraft, that might explain that smile but I think owning this would make me smile too

Forum Veteran Joined: Dec 15, 2006 - 12:28 AM Posts: 760

I was jokingly trying to insinuate that your motives were sexual. I love flying in the open cockpit, however that last photograph adds a new definition to the term open cockpit.

I agree from the internal cabin photographs the back wall looks solid, and the floorboard of the cockpit also looks solid.

I've heard stories of similar aircraft being used for mail or Navy reconnaissance and crew members would sometimes change positions or pass things back and forth with the pilot. So evidently some of the older open cockpit aircraft that had an internal cabin had means to get from the cabin to the pilot.

I've heard stories on similar aircraft that sometimes the pilot would change position with other crew members to relieve fatigue or escape the cold wind.

I seem to remember a story of a Navy reconnaissance pilot that was shot, and one of the crewmembers managed to get from the cabin to the cockpit in-flight of a similar aircraft and fly it back to safety. It might have been a monoplane. But the open cockpit and the cabin configuration was similar.

Hummm..cool, I just thought this bird was nicely done. The last open cockpit, tail dragger I flew in was a 1943 steermen - it was a hell'va ride, I really enjoyed it - wish I get the chance to repeat it someday

Hell, any kind of flying(conventional fixed wing- and NOT that ultralight kite stuff! Shocked

) is worth doing!!! Cool

Of course, some aircraft would be definitely more enjoyable to fly in than others. Laughing

Love those other pics, that bird sure is a thing of beauty!

nose shot 2-3-2008.JPG

I agree, allot of time, money and effort into this project, it paid off though, I think it is better then new now..I could be wrong but it looks sweet

I found this on the web, same one, with the S339 tail:
http://www.fiddlersgreen.net/AC/aircraf ... ing-40.php

Excellent...nice addition to this posting, I love the models too...cant say I like the cat though Smile

Wow, this has been a most excellent thread- very nice!!! Applause

Thank you, I enjoyed it too, I still think this aircraft and engine are a work of aviaton art...

Forum: Civil and General Aviation

WoW - I'd love to pilot this puppy...