January 26th, 2016: Bomber Gasoline

[xoxoxoBruce]

Brrr, bomb and gasoline don't belong in the same sentence.
Ever have one of those friends that was always the wild and crazy one, would bet on anything, take any dare, guaranteed entertainment for anybody in his vicinity? Art Lacey was one of those people. In 1947 he figured he could boost business at his Milwaukie, Oregon gas station by perching a B-17 on top. Of course he was right, but easier said than done.



With $15,000 he borrowed from a friend, he went to OK and bought a B-17 from the government for $13,000. Since he had only flown single engines, he got a manual and dressmaker’s dummy to fake having a copilot, and took off. He crashed on landing, went back and talked the Air force into selling him a better plane for $1500, had two friends come down from OR, to dry OK, with a case of whiskey for bribing, and flew back to OR, stopping to buy gas with a bad check in CA. It got pretty weird back home, but he got his way, and ran his 48 pump station/restaurant until 1990.



The plane was taken down from it’s 64 year perch in 2014.
Cut up for scrap? Hell no, a bunch of old vets formed a foundation to make that sumbitch fly again. They figure they can do it for $4million dollars. This plane had been stripped of everything inside that could be removed, for souvenirs or other B-17 projects.

Lacey's story, as told by his daughter, is at the foundation website. After the first couple paragraphs they send you to another page on their site, like entering through the gift shop, but the story is well worth reading. I suspect his wife qualifies for canonization.

[Griff]

I keep imagining a world where those planes went home with their crews. Imagine the weird infrastructure that would have developed around a population that assumes regular flight.

[glatt]

I'd go to that gas station if it was local.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Griff

I keep imagining a world where those planes went home with their crews. Imagine the weird infrastructure that would have developed around a population that assumes regular flight.

That's a nightmare. The assholes you see on the road, flying over your house.
Besides, with 4 officers and 6 crew, who takes it home?

According to the AAF Statistical Digest, in less than four years (December 1941- August 1945), the US Army Air Forces lost 14,903 pilots, aircrew and assorted personnel plus 13,873 airplanes — inside the continental United States. They were the result of 52,651 aircraft accidents (6,039 involving fatalities) in 45 months.

First Owner
Purchased as surplus from the military inventory for a mere $750 in 1946, the airplane has flown more than 1 million miles. It has served as a cargo hauler, an aerial mapping platform and in pest control and forest dusting applications.

[Snakeadelic]

Milwaukie, Oregon has been absorbed into the greater Portland area.

There are 2 aerospace museums VERY nearby. One is in Tillamook, on the coast, and the other is in McMinnville--the one where they keep Howard Hughes's "Spruce Goose". Haven't been in to see the Goose up close yet, but you can clearly see its outline from Highway 99W when headed coast-ward from Portland. Hopefully one or both of those museums will hear about this and want to participate, if they haven't been contacted already.

I'm not HUGE into machines or war history, but I do hope to see the Spruce Goose sometime. Also, I've been squawking for YEARS now about going to the new OMSI in Portland because they have the USS Blueback, famous for doing the jaw-dropping breach stunt in The Hunt for Red October, a movie I truly love. So there is a thriving local interest in machines of war and history all around that station. He may stand a pretty good chance.

[Gravdigr]

What, pray tell, is a 'bomber brokerage'?

[Gravdigr]

Originally Posted by Griff

I keep imagining a world where those planes went home with their crews. Imagine the weird infrastructure that would have developed around a population that assumes regular flight.

You'd have more 'fly-in' neighborhoods like Jumbolair Aviation Estates, where John Travolta has a place.

Here's a shot of his house at Jumbolair:

[Gravdigr]

We even have one our own dang self...only slightly more modest:

[Pamela]

When I read the story of that old bomber, one thing popped into my mind...

Han Solo's voice saying "Flying a B-17 ain't like dusting crops, boy!"

Am I weird?

[gozar]

It surprises me that Oregonians can do amazing stuff like this, but they can't pump their own gas!

[xoxoxoBruce]

If Oregonians could pump their own gas, they wouldn't have all those testimonials from community leaders who started out as pump jockeys at Bomber, in their teens.

[Clodfobble]

Aviation estates. What an amazing concept.