Airplane Porn (and the occasional helicopter)

[VFR800 92,490]

[VFR800 92,490]

[Jesse C. 12,417]

[a.d._510_n_ok 15,840]

[Racer X 69 1,061]

Another from my Kodachrome Series. I shot this in 1986, in Milwaukee, Oregon.

 

A bit about the plane, and how it came to be there:

 

Shortly after WWII a guy named Art Lacey went to Kansas to buy a surplus B-17. His idea was to fly it back to Oregon, jack it up in the air and make a gas station out of it. He paid $15,000 for it. He asked which one was his and they said take whichever you want because there were miles of them. He didn't know how to fly a four-engine airplane, so he read the manual while he taxied around by himself. They said he couldn't take off alone so he put a mannequin in the co-pilot's seat and off he went.

 

He flew around a bit to get the feel of it and when he went to land he realized he needed a co-pilot to lower the landing gear. He crashed and totaled his plane and another on the ground. They wrote them both off as "wind damaged" and told him to pick out another. He talked a friend into being his co-pilot and off they went.

 

They flew to Palm Springs where Lacey wrote a hot check for gas, then they headed for Oregon. They hit a snow storm and couldn't find their way, so they went down below 1,000 feet and followed the railroad tracks. His partner sat in the nose section and would yell, 'TUNNEL!' when he saw one and Lacey would climb over the mountain.

 

They landed safely, he made good the hot check he wrote, and they started getting permits to move a B-17 on the state highway. The highway department repeatedly denied his permit and fought him tooth and nail fora long time, so late one Saturday night he just moved it himself. He got a $10 ticket from the police for having too wide a load.

 

Bomber Gas Station by Racer, on Flickr

[angliagt 2,566]

           Great story! Try doing that nowadays.

[Jesse C. 12,417]

1 hour ago, Racer X 69 said:

Another from my Kodachrome Series. I shot this in 1986, in Milwaukee, Oregon.

 

A bit about the plane, and how it came to be there:

 

Shortly after WWII a guy named Art Lacey went to Kansas to buy a surplus B-17. His idea was to fly it back to Oregon, jack it up in the air and make a gas station out of it. He paid $15,000 for it. He asked which one was his and they said take whichever you want because there were miles of them. He didn't know how to fly a four-engine airplane, so he read the manual while he taxied around by himself. They said he couldn't take off alone so he put a mannequin in the co-pilot's seat and off he went.

 

He flew around a bit to get the feel of it and when he went to land he realized he needed a co-pilot to lower the landing gear. He crashed and totaled his plane and another on the ground. They wrote them both off as "wind damaged" and told him to pick out another. He talked a friend into being his co-pilot and off they went.

 

They flew to Palm Springs where Lacey wrote a hot check for gas, then they headed for Oregon. They hit a snow storm and couldn't find their way, so they went down below 1,000 feet and followed the railroad tracks. His partner sat in the nose section and would yell, 'TUNNEL!' when he saw one and Lacey would climb over the mountain.

 

They landed safely, he made good the hot check he wrote, and they started getting permits to move a B-17 on the state highway. The highway department repeatedly denied his permit and fought him tooth and nail fora long time, so late one Saturday night he just moved it himself. He got a $10 ticket from the police for having too wide a load.

 

Bomber Gas Station by Racer, on Flickr

 

The full story  https://www.b17alliance.com/index.html

 

Started with a bet

Art Lacey’s daughter, Punky Scott, knows the story of her father’s wild B-17 adventure well and sat down with KATU News to tell the famous tale. It all started at a party where her father, a local businessman, bragged that he was going to put a B-17 on top of his gas station.

“Dad was at his birthday party in 1947 and I think he’d probably had a few adult beverages,” Punky said with a laugh. “A friend told him he was out of his mind and could never pull it off. Dad bet him five dollars he could do it and immediately ran with the idea. He turned to another friend, who was also at the party, and asked if he could borrow some money. Happy to help, his friend asked how much. Without batting an eyelash, Dad told him he needed fifteen thousand dollars,” Punky recalled. (Editor’s note: $15,000 in 1947 would be the equivalent of more than $160,000 today.)

“Believe it or not, the guy actually had it on him,” Punky said. “If that sounds surprising, you have to realize what Portland was like back then. The whole area was wide open. There was gambling, prostitution, illegal booze . . . everything,” she said.

Plane located in Oklahoma

After Art got the money, he wasted no time getting the ball rolling on his big plan. “He met with the commander of the Air Force Base in Altus, Oklahoma,” Punky said. “Dad was a real outgoing, personable sort of guy, and he talked him into selling a surplus B-17. The commander told him to come out the next day with his co-pilot and the plane would be ready.”

It was a good plan, except for two problems. First, Art didn’t have a co-pilot. Second, and probably more important, he didn’t know how to fly a B-17. Nonetheless, he was determined to pull it off, so he borrowed a mannequin from a local seamstress and dressed it up to be his “co-pilot.” He then hopped in the plane and made some practice runs on the runway: yoke in one hand, flight manual in the other.

“Dad knew how to fly a single-engine aircraft and he really was a good pilot,” Punky said, “but he didn’t know how to fly the big ones.” He might have been able to fake it had it not been for a malfunction in the plane’s landing gear. “He flew it around a few times and finally just had to bring it in,” Punky recalled. “He was flying low and slow before he skidded and crashed into another B-17 that was parked on the runway.”

Art wasn’t hurt in the mishap but he did have to walk back to headquarters and admit that he really didn’t know how to fly a B-17. The commander took pity on him. He turned to his secretary and asked if she'd written up the bill of sale yet. Fortunately for Art, she hadn’t.

“Worst case of wind damage I've ever seen!” the commander exclaimed, tongue firmly planted in cheek.

Accident led to better deal

Art ended up buying the second B-17, which was actually a better deal. As it turned out, the first one had seen serious time during the war and it wasn’t in the best condition before the crash. The one he finally bought was in much better shape and had fewer than 50 hours of flight time. Art had already spent more than $13,000 on the crashed B-17 and he didn’t have much money left, so the commander sold him the second plane for $1,500. Art decided it probably wasn’t a good idea for him to fly it by himself, so he lined up some buddies to help him take it home.

“He called Mom and had her send over two of his friends,” said Punky. “One was the guy who had taught him to fly. The other had served as crew chief on a B-17 during the war. He also told her to send a case of whiskey with them.”

The whiskey, Punky explained, was to bribe the local fire department. “Dad didn’t have any money left for gas and he wanted to use their fire truck pumps to siphon fuel out of the two crashed B-17s. Oklahoma was a dry state at the time, so whiskey was a good enticement,” she said.

Thus outfitted, Art and his crew fueled up and took off the next morning for Palm Springs, California. He still didn’t have the money for gas when they arrived, so he wrote a bad check and covered it when he got home.

At this point you might be wondering what Art’s wife thought of all this. Punky said her mom was pretty cool about it.

“I think Mom was used to it by that time,” she said. “Dad was pretty crazy. For their whole married life, he was just one of those people who would do anything.”

“They got lost in a snowstorm on the way home,” Punky continued, adding that her dad almost hit a mountain during the flight and even had to fly low to the ground so they could get their bearings from street signs. They finally managed to land safely in Oregon at what is now Portland-Troutdale Airport.

Permit troubles

“They got the plane to Troutdale, dismantled it, put it on trucks, and then went to get permits to bring it to Milwaukie. The authorities refused because the shipment was too high, too long, and everything was wrong,” Punky said. By that time, however, Art Lacey was so far in debt that there was no turning back.

“Dad hired a motorcycle escort, the same kind used for funerals,” Punky recalled. “The guys were dressed in black leather and started out in the middle of the night with two teenagers riding along. He told the teenagers that if the police showed up, they were to immediately “burn rubber” in the opposite direction so the police would chase them. He told the truck drivers to keep going no matter what happened; even agreeing to pay any tickets they might incur as a result.

Punky said her dad didn’t run into any issues with the police that night, but she does remember hearing about a tipsy driver who probably got the scare of his life.

“McLoughlin Boulevard was a two-lane highway at the time and there was some guy who had been drinking,” she said. “He saw this airplane coming at him in the middle of the night and thought he had driven onto a runway. He cranked the wheel of his car and drove off into the ditch as the Lacey Lady entourage sped by.”

The plane made it to Milwaukie but it didn’t take long for local officials to figure out what happened and come after Art for not having the requisite permits. A local newspaper article helped him out.

“The Oregon Journal wrote up an article to the effect of, 'Local government tries to keep bomber from final resting place,'” Punky said. “This was right after World War II, so patriotism was running pretty high. They ended up fining him $10 and the plane has been in the area ever since.”

 

 

[VFR800 92,490]

[goes2fast 3,431]

On 2/17/2021 at 7:54 PM, Jesse C. said:

 

The full story  https://www.b17alliance.com/index.html

 

Started with a bet

Art Lacey’s daughter, Punky Scott, knows the story of her father’s wild B-17 adventure well and sat down with KATU News to tell the famous tale. It all started at a party where her father, a local businessman, bragged that he was going to put a B-17 on top of his gas station.

“Dad was at his birthday party in 1947 and I think he’d probably had a few adult beverages,” Punky said with a laugh. “A friend told him he was out of his mind and could never pull it off. Dad bet him five dollars he could do it and immediately ran with the idea. He turned to another friend, who was also at the party, and asked if he could borrow some money. Happy to help, his friend asked how much. Without batting an eyelash, Dad told him he needed fifteen thousand dollars,” Punky recalled. (Editor’s note: $15,000 in 1947 would be the equivalent of more than $160,000 today.)

“Believe it or not, the guy actually had it on him,” Punky said. “If that sounds surprising, you have to realize what Portland was like back then. The whole area was wide open. There was gambling, prostitution, illegal booze . . . everything,” she said.

Plane located in Oklahoma

After Art got the money, he wasted no time getting the ball rolling on his big plan. “He met with the commander of the Air Force Base in Altus, Oklahoma,” Punky said. “Dad was a real outgoing, personable sort of guy, and he talked him into selling a surplus B-17. The commander told him to come out the next day with his co-pilot and the plane would be ready.”

It was a good plan, except for two problems. First, Art didn’t have a co-pilot. Second, and probably more important, he didn’t know how to fly a B-17. Nonetheless, he was determined to pull it off, so he borrowed a mannequin from a local seamstress and dressed it up to be his “co-pilot.” He then hopped in the plane and made some practice runs on the runway: yoke in one hand, flight manual in the other.

“Dad knew how to fly a single-engine aircraft and he really was a good pilot,” Punky said, “but he didn’t know how to fly the big ones.” He might have been able to fake it had it not been for a malfunction in the plane’s landing gear. “He flew it around a few times and finally just had to bring it in,” Punky recalled. “He was flying low and slow before he skidded and crashed into another B-17 that was parked on the runway.”

Art wasn’t hurt in the mishap but he did have to walk back to headquarters and admit that he really didn’t know how to fly a B-17. The commander took pity on him. He turned to his secretary and asked if she'd written up the bill of sale yet. Fortunately for Art, she hadn’t.

“Worst case of wind damage I've ever seen!” the commander exclaimed, tongue firmly planted in cheek.

Accident led to better deal

Art ended up buying the second B-17, which was actually a better deal. As it turned out, the first one had seen serious time during the war and it wasn’t in the best condition before the crash. The one he finally bought was in much better shape and had fewer than 50 hours of flight time. Art had already spent more than $13,000 on the crashed B-17 and he didn’t have much money left, so the commander sold him the second plane for $1,500. Art decided it probably wasn’t a good idea for him to fly it by himself, so he lined up some buddies to help him take it home.

“He called Mom and had her send over two of his friends,” said Punky. “One was the guy who had taught him to fly. The other had served as crew chief on a B-17 during the war. He also told her to send a case of whiskey with them.”

The whiskey, Punky explained, was to bribe the local fire department. “Dad didn’t have any money left for gas and he wanted to use their fire truck pumps to siphon fuel out of the two crashed B-17s. Oklahoma was a dry state at the time, so whiskey was a good enticement,” she said.

Thus outfitted, Art and his crew fueled up and took off the next morning for Palm Springs, California. He still didn’t have the money for gas when they arrived, so he wrote a bad check and covered it when he got home.

At this point you might be wondering what Art’s wife thought of all this. Punky said her mom was pretty cool about it.

“I think Mom was used to it by that time,” she said. “Dad was pretty crazy. For their whole married life, he was just one of those people who would do anything.”

“They got lost in a snowstorm on the way home,” Punky continued, adding that her dad almost hit a mountain during the flight and even had to fly low to the ground so they could get their bearings from street signs. They finally managed to land safely in Oregon at what is now Portland-Troutdale Airport.

Permit troubles

“They got the plane to Troutdale, dismantled it, put it on trucks, and then went to get permits to bring it to Milwaukie. The authorities refused because the shipment was too high, too long, and everything was wrong,” Punky said. By that time, however, Art Lacey was so far in debt that there was no turning back.

“Dad hired a motorcycle escort, the same kind used for funerals,” Punky recalled. “The guys were dressed in black leather and started out in the middle of the night with two teenagers riding along. He told the teenagers that if the police showed up, they were to immediately “burn rubber” in the opposite direction so the police would chase them. He told the truck drivers to keep going no matter what happened; even agreeing to pay any tickets they might incur as a result.

Punky said her dad didn’t run into any issues with the police that night, but she does remember hearing about a tipsy driver who probably got the scare of his life.

“McLoughlin Boulevard was a two-lane highway at the time and there was some guy who had been drinking,” she said. “He saw this airplane coming at him in the middle of the night and thought he had driven onto a runway. He cranked the wheel of his car and drove off into the ditch as the Lacey Lady entourage sped by.”

The plane made it to Milwaukie but it didn’t take long for local officials to figure out what happened and come after Art for not having the requisite permits. A local newspaper article helped him out.

“The Oregon Journal wrote up an article to the effect of, 'Local government tries to keep bomber from final resting place,'” Punky said. “This was right after World War II, so patriotism was running pretty high. They ended up fining him $10 and the plane has been in the area ever since.”

 

 

The $64 question, is it still there?

[VFR800 92,490]

 

[J-Luis 162]

BAC TSR-2 was a tough one to figure out. 

And so was the frozen Sepecat Jaguar. 

 

[J-Luis 162]

That service station B-17G back-story was amazing. 

[J-Luis 162]

It looks like in the early days the customers could climb in for a look around. 

[J-Luis 162]

Avro Shackleton MR3 twin-tail bomber on gas station roof, SAAF, Devland, Johannesburg.

[J-Luis 162]

Here is the information on the fate of the service station B-17G: 

https://www.kgw.com/article/money/business/the-bomber-will-fly-again-the-b-17-bomber-airplane-is-undergoing-a-6-million-dollar-renovation/283-175b11c8-0c38-4c24-a7fb-01b728964ba3

[J-Luis 162]

It took me a while to find a picture (in the public domain) of the Constellation rumored to have been atop a South Florida filling station. I do not recall how I was aware the aircraft was ever there. I never saw it. I think my father may have told me about it. He used to be a mechanic for a company called Aerodex that went bankrupt after being subjected to heavy litigation long ago.  I do, however, recall seeing the aftermath of a Constellation wreck in Miami. Here is a link with some information: 

https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-lockheed-l-1049h-super-constellation-miami-9-killed. There were others, too many. Eastern Flight 401 went down in the Everglades at night due to a burned out landing gear bulb. Swapping out the bulb distracted the crew and the plane belly-flopped into swampland. 

 

 

[ratpatrol66 1,062]

9 hours ago, goes2fast said:

The $64 question, is it still there?

Damn sure it is gone.

[VFR800 92,490]

[MikeRL411 3,265]

See the "Save a Connie" [SAC] at the old Kansas City municipal airport.  It is a freighter version restored as a passenger plane with different vintage cabins,  It does retain the rear carge door,

[J-Luis 162]

Wow! I searched "Save a Connie" [SAC]. Fascinating info. Thanks. 

http://www.conniesurvivors.com/1-photos.htm

 

[Jesse C. 12,417]

On 2/19/2021 at 1:12 PM, goes2fast said:

The $64 question, is it still there?

 

On 2/19/2021 at 11:03 PM, ratpatrol66 said:

Damn sure it is gone.

 

I did post the link the site they set up to tell the story and share the restoration of the plane. The plane is being restored. 

 

Back in the 70's when the Confederate,,err,  Commemorative Air Force was restoring their B-17, the managed to get some parts of the Lacey B-17, including the top turret. 

So currently parts of the plane are still flying in the CAF B-17 Sentimental Journey 

 

 

[Jesse C. 12,417]

[ratpatrol66 1,062]

2 hours ago, Jesse C. said:

 

 

I did post the link the site they set up to tell the story and share the restoration of the plane. The plane is being restored. 

 

Back in the 70's when the Confederate,,err,  Commemorative Air Force was restoring their B-17, the managed to get some parts of the Lacey B-17, including the top turret. 

So currently parts of the plane are still flying in the CAF B-17 Sentimental Journey 

 

 

 

Edited Monday at 08:22 AM by ratpatrol66

[Z-train 1,289]

On 2/21/2021 at 6:24 AM, J-Luis said:

Wow! I searched "Save a Connie" [SAC]. Fascinating info. Thanks. 

http://www.conniesurvivors.com/1-photos.htm

 

 

[VFR800 92,490]