very short range

[cessna lover]

he3llo all sorry i have not been here for a while. but the last time i flew the B-17 it did not seem like i could get very far before i would have to land refuel and continue my journey. do i not have the thing set up right or something? i thought they had a 3,000 mile range on them?

[Lewis - A2A]

What fuel load are you carrying? Remember to use the 2d panels for fuel range estimation and fly accordingly. The B-17G primary engine e control is the turbo dial, once the throttles are at full forward, keep them there and fly using the turbo dial.

Thanks,
Lewis


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[cessna lover]

i use the full load of fuel. but i will remember to use the turbo control. cause what i am doing is setting full throttle and about 6 on the turbo and leaving them there.

[cessna lover]

for the turbo control what would be a good cruise setting?

[Mazo]

for the turbo control what would be a good cruise setting?

What you are looking at is MP, not so much a fixed turbo setting. In the Shift+2 menu, there is listed the MP for take-off, climb and cruise. As Lewis has stated, keep the throttles at full and adjust the turbo settings to get the recommended MP value. You will also note on that panel that in cruise, there are two values - Auto Rich and Auto Lean along with corresponding fuel burn figures. Auto Lean will dramatically reduce the fuel burn values.

The mantra should be: Full throttle and control MP with the turbo.

Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule as with everything in life!

Enjoy flying this beautiful aircraft

PS: Put your Co-Pilot to work with the (RPM, cowl and inter.) duties. Shift+3 menu. Makes your life easier as the Captain!

[cessna lover]

oh OK thank you sir i will have a look at that. i just wish the thing was easier to taxi i still have trouble with that.

[Gypsy Baron]

I might add, for maximum range, load the bomb bay tanks and learn how to transfer the fuel from
them to the engine tanks.

I have often flown the B-17G from Hamilton Field, California to John Rogers, Honolulu Hawai'i (2405 miles) as well
as from MacDill AFB Florida to Wala Wala Washington (2310 miles). Both of those trips take maximum fuel and
can be made in about 12 hours, depending upon winds aloft.

I have only had to stop for fuel once on the MacDill-Wala Wala run due to extreme adverse winds.

I have also flow non-stop across the South Atlantic from Pinto Martins Intl. - Leopold Sedar Senghor
a couple of times.(1925 miles)

The longest non-stop flight I have made was from Kadena AB - Wake Is.(2513 miles)

My 'standard procedure' on the long flights is to stay 'low' for the first 2 hours or so....10k to12K and
burn off fuel from the main tanks to make room to receive fuel pumped from the bomb bay tanks.
Also, this conserves oxygen for the transit at higher altitudes later.

As you burn off fuel and get lighter, then begin climbing to the higher altitudes.

I usually allow the co-pilot to manage the cowl and intercooler flaps and the rpm.

My B-17G that I fly with the 91st Bombardment Group, on line, has over 1200 hours on
the airframe and 3 of the 4 engines. My 'low time' engine, #2, only has just over 1000 hours on it

[cessna lover]

oh ok. well i fly with the bombs for a load cause i take it to shows and stuff. i suppose i can load the bomb bay tanks to get to a show then load the bombs huh?

[CIWS01]

I flew the 17 with full fuel load from Mountain Home AFB (That is in Idaho) to Palm Beach International (Florida) and had fuel to spare at the end of the flight. Good thing as the weather in FL was pretty bad lol.

[cessna lover]

ah ok. so you guys are use4ing the bomb bay fuel tanks to get to the airport then loading bombs for the show.

[Great Ozzie]

My 'standard procedure' on the long flights is to stay 'low' for the first 2 hours or so....10k to12K and
burn off fuel from the main tanks to make room to receive fuel pumped from the bomb bay tanks.
Also, this conserves oxygen for the transit at higher altitudes later.

As you burn off fuel and get lighter, then begin climbing to the higher altitudes.

I usually allow the co-pilot to manage the cowl and intercooler flaps and the rpm.

Hi Paul,

I wanted to thank you for the tips. I flew KLAX to PHNL a few days ago. Stayed at 12,000 for roughly the first couple hours, then climbed to 27,000. I had to descend around an hour earlier than I wanted due to the O2 running out.

As the crow flies, that should have been about a 2215nm trip. I decided to alter the direct route (to a more southerly route) based on the winds aloft when looking at this site:
http://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wi ... 30.43,1120 (click on "earth" to change charts)
which added about 70 miles (I didn't want to futz with seeing which was faster). Seriously thought of diverting twice - once to Hilo, then thought maybe to Kahalui (PHOG)... then decided I had "enough" to make Honolulu. By the time I taxi in and shut down there's less than 10 gal. (total) remaining. Just needed bad wx to make this somewhat like the scene from "The High and the Mighty". This with the Tokyo & bomb bay tanks.

I used 38" / 2300 auto-rich for the climb(s) and 34/2200 auto-lean for cruise. I'd imagine to get those extra miles, I would need to get to 30,000. And a bit better winds.

-Rob

[Gypsy Baron]

Good work Rob!

A couple of out 91st BG pilots have landed at John Rodgers with similar 'low fuel states'.

I think one had something like 5 or 8 gallons total, so you 'almost' beat the record

Paul




,

[cessna lover]

well i think what i will do is instead of taking the load of bombs i will load fuel. then load the bombs just for show. but i need to learn to taxi it first. lol

[Lewis - A2A]

Differential power, some rudder and braking will having you taxing in no time.

Thanks,
Lewis


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[cessna lover]

or could just cheat and use the slew mode