B-17 or B-24 ride opinions

I've been up in both and you can't go wrong picking one over the other but the 24 had a lot more space to move around in while the 17 felt very cramped by comparison. Don't even think about going up in the 25 because if you get the rear you're stuck there for the whole flight.
 
mechan9 said:
I've been up in both and you can't go wrong picking one over the other but the 24 had a lot more space to move around in while the 17 felt very cramped by comparison. Don't even think about going up in the 25 because if you get the rear you're stuck there for the whole flight.
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You can shimmy over the top of the bomb bay if you're skinny enough.
 
Inverted said:
For the record, the type rating on my license for the B-24 is CV-30. It's the same type rating for the LB-30 so in the end Lil and Wichcraft are the same type rating. Everyone gets too wrapped up in one being real over the other. Witchcraft is the only B-24J flying period. Lil is a Converted B-24. I say embrace the LB-30...
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It's CV-LB30 brah.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Hacker15e said:
Part of the confusing provenance of Diamond Lil is that it was a lot of things. It was built as a B-24A, but diverted off the assembly line to become an LB-30 for Britain, but had an accident before delivery, so it was retained by the USAAC and modified during that operational history as the prototype C-87, and still used as an executive transport for the remainder of the war period.

So, it was never really exclusively either a B-24A or an LB-30 or a C-87, but at the same time it was all of those things.
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Inverted said:
Sort of correct. She was a B-24A that was damaged during delivery, and during the repair, converted to an LB-30. At least how I was told.
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Both sort of correct. It is a matter of paint scheme and gun mounts to differentiate between the two and they were assembled in the same dirt patch in San Diego. The ceremonial delivery to the British was actually completed and even after the training accident the RAF held ownership even though it stayed stateside with Consolidated through the war. She was never a C-87 but a B24A, designated an LB30B, 'delivered' to the RAF who crashed it on a training flight before flying it to Europe and let Consolidated use it for testing/transport/cargo purposes after they repaired it. The closest correlation that it has to a C-87 is that it could be considered the 'inspiration' to make a designated cargo version of the B-24 - the prototype of which was built from a wrecked B24D.

Don't take my word for it though. Everything I know about it is through the Squadron GM (Brad Pilgrim) who did this excellent EAA Webinar on Lil last year.

http://eaavideo.org/video.aspx?v=5108284963001

His presentation on Fifi is just as impressive.
 
Hacker15e said:
@tlewis95, if you work with Brad and get the chance, ask him if he wants any re-enactors to go with Lil and Fifi on the tour...

:)
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Come out to ground school next weekend and ask him yourself! Re-enactors are always welcome at stops but they don't travel as 'crew' that I know of. That isn't to say that they don't bum a free ride occasionally though
 
tlewis95 said:
Come out to ground school next weekend and ask him yourself! Re-enactors are always welcome at stops but they don't travel as 'crew' that I know of. That isn't to say that they don't bum a free ride occasionally though
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Brad is notoriously, shall we say, "not fond" of re-enactors, so I like to poke the bear every so often and hear his syrupy Texas sneer in response.
 
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