Re: Plane

[Howard R Pletcher <n9ads@domain.elided>]

On Tue, 11 May 1999 22:22:31 -0400 "Chris and Ranae Procyk"
<procyk19@domain.elided> writes:
>I'm almost positive it was a B-25.
>
I've got to jump in since I started this whole thing anyway.  It
definitely was a B-29, 4 radial prop engines, not two.  A B-25 is not
rare enough to be worth all the effort I would not think as there are a
number of them still flying.

The failure was an auxiliary power unit that was mounted in the tail of
the plane.  Apparently it wasn't mounted securely and fell from it's
mounting as the plane bounced over the ice, starting the fire as I heard
the story.  This may have been a Crosley motor built of brazed sheet
metal from what I've read elsewhere.   These motors were put into
post-war Crosley autos for a year or so, but corrosion soon forced a
change to cast iron.


>Can't understand how people so (or at least so highly advertised as)
skilled
>wouldn't be especially careful of their fuel lines.
>
Based on that logic, we never should have any sort of failures in the
space program! 

If you saw the film on TV of it, you would have thought it was more of a
Tom M. operation--skilled mechanics, yes, but working on an ice cap with
absolutely no facilities, flying in a bulldozer in a twin engine
DeHavilland Caribou so overloaded the tires were almost flat from the
weight, etc., and doing it all with a deadline of winter returning after
about 2 months of working time.

Howard Pletcher
Howteron Products Scout Parts

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