24-568: Starduster may refer to: Starduster (aircraft) , a B-17G heavy bomber from World War II on display in Riverside, California Starduster (G.I. Joe) , a fictional character of the G.I. Joe Team Stolp Starduster , an American single-seat homebuilt biplane Stolp Starduster Too , an American two-seat homebuilt biplane See also [ edit ] All pages with titles containing Starduster Stardust (disambiguation) Topics referred to by
48-454: A bulbous housing below the former bomb bay. Radio direction finder (RDF), instrument landing system (ILS), and long-range navigation ( LORAN ) were also installed at this time. The aircraft was left unpainted, but waxed to prevent corrosion, and kept its original Browning M2 machine guns. In January 1955, the PB-1W was phased out in favor of the new Lockheed PO-1W and WV-2 (naval versions of
72-515: A complete new paint job and brand new nose art for Texas Raiders in late 2016, costing $ 190,000. The plane was moved in March 2017 to General Aviation Services at Conroe North Houston Regional Airport in Conroe, Texas . Beginning in 2018, organizers worked with an Air Force parachute team to conduct demonstration skydives from the bomb bay during air shows. The aircraft crashed on November 12, 2022, after
96-449: A cost of $ 300,000 (equivalent to $ 917,741 in 2023). This included restoring the interior of the plane to a B-17G configuration including the addition of period-correct equipment such as a Norden bombsight , M2 machine guns (non-functional), bomb bay racks, and a chin turret. During 1993 and 1994, the plane was repainted and corrosion repaired at a cost of about $ 180,000 (equivalent to $ 379,654 in 2023). The plane later underwent
120-455: A lengthy and costly " wing spar terminal ends" replacement project, started in 2001 due to an FAA Airworthiness Directive (2001-22-06) citing corrosion in B-17 wings. Originally estimated to be a six-month process, the project turned into an 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 -year effort costing nearly $ 700,000 (equivalent to $ 1,204,510 in 2023). Texas Raiders returned to flight on October 14, 2009, and
144-441: A plane that is airworthy at that time, excluding planes that have not been flown for more than five years. There are six as of the early 2020s. Italics denotes a plane that is potentially airworthy, but has not been flown in the past five years. There are three. ‡ denotes a plane that was used in combat. There are six. The surviving aircraft include examples of four B-17 variants : one B-17D, four B-17Es, and three B-17Fs, with
168-652: Is based on other sources updated at differing regularity. As of December 2022 , 18 B-17s were registered with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). These include Nine-O-Nine (N93012, crashed in October 2019), Texas Raiders (N7227C, crashed in November 2022), and a B-17G registered in Granite Falls, Minnesota (N4960V) that was scrapped in 1962. The other 15 are in the following table. Of
192-665: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Starduster (aircraft) The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engine heavy bomber used by the United States Army Air Forces and other Allied air forces during World War II . Forty-five planes survive in complete form, including 38 in the United States with many preserved in museum displays. The number of operational B-17s has dwindled over time, but there are still several in flying condition. Of
216-563: The EC-121 Warning Star ) based on the Lockheed Constellation . BuNo 77235 was flown to Litchfield Park, Arizona , and placed in flyable storage status until officially retired from naval service on August 25, 1955, with 3,257 hours flying time. Aero Service Corporation bought BuNo 77235 for $ 17,510 ($ 190,000 today ) on October 1, 1957. Registered as N7227C, the plane flew aerial survey missions from Alaska to Central America to
240-645: The North Sea . On January 12, 1965, it was used as a backdrop at the retirement ceremony of General Curtis LeMay . Aero Service Corporation sold the plane on September 22, 1967. The Commemorative Air Force (CAF), known as the Confederate Air Force until 2001, acquired the plane in 1967 for $ 50,000 or $ 80,000; sources differ. The plane was kept in Brownwood, Texas , because CAF's home airfield in Mercedes, Texas ,
264-528: The 12,731 B-17s built, about 4,735 were lost during the war. After the war, planes that had flown in combat missions were sent for smelting at boneyards , such as those at Walnut Ridge and Kingman . Consequently, only six planes that survive today have seen combat. Most of the other survivors were built too late to see active service and then were used through the 1950s and 1960s in military and civilian capacities. Many are painted to represent actual planes that flew in combat. Surviving aircraft including some in
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#1733084618143288-532: The B-17s registered with a civil aviation authority , such as the FAA, less than 10 are being kept in airworthy condition, and some of those have not been flown for more than five years. Some other B-17s are being restored, and may become airworthy in the future. This is listing of surviving B-17 aircraft registered by the FAA in 2022, noting the status for each (which is periodically updated, per cited sourcing). Bold denotes
312-500: The P-63 pilot. The plane was built in 1945 under license from Boeing by Douglas Aircraft Corporation at its plant in Long Beach, California . One of the last 20 B-17s built by Douglas, it was delivered to the U.S. Army Air Forces as B-17G-95-DL 44-83872 on July 12, 1945. On July 21, 1945, all 20 were transferred to the U.S. Navy to serve as PB-1W patrol bombers . 44-83872 was assigned
336-466: The U.S. Navy Bureau of Aeronautics Number (BuNo) 77235. The Navy used PB-1Ws as the original Airborne Warning and Command System or AWACS aircraft, as well as for electronic countermeasures , anti-submarine warfare and hurricane hunters . The Navy sealed up the bomb bay doors and installed 300-US-gallon (1,100 L) wing-mounted drop tanks and the AN/APS-20 Seasearch radar equipment in
360-694: The collection of museums, some in private ownership, and some in the ownership of flying clubs. Surviving aircraft may or may not be flight capable. The number of flight-capable B-17s has dwindled as the aircraft have aged. There may also be undiscovered wrecks, such as those lost at sea. Partially complete aircraft or wrecks that have been found are listed below . As of June 2024 , aviation website aerovintage.com lists four B-17s as "Operational (Flying)" (G-BEDF/44-85784, N9323Z/44-83514, N3193G/44-85829, and N3701G/44-8543) and three as "Long Term Maintenance back to Operational" (N5017N/44-85740, N207EV/44-83785, and N900RW/44-85718) —this may vary from content below that
384-421: The color scheme of the 533d Bombardment Squadron of the 381st Bombardment Group . The livery was inspired by a real B-17G plane, Princess Pat (42-97503), including squadron code VP with call letter X, but using the actual tail number of Texas Raiders . At this time, a ball turret and top turret were added, although the interior was not yet restored. The plane was restored and rebuilt from 1983 to 1986 at
408-664: The order in which they were delivered. Serial numbers are linked to the specific aircraft's article, when available. The location column sorts by country, then by state for aircraft in the United States. In addition to the 45 surviving planes, there are several known complete or near-complete wrecks around the world. The most recent wreck to be recovered ( Swamp Ghost ) was removed from a swamp in Papua New Guinea in 2006. There are currently no plans underway to recover any wrecks. These are projects utilizing salvaged B-17 parts or partial B-17s. Texas Raiders Texas Raiders
432-619: The plane appeared at Thunder Over Michigan as one of eight restored B-17s, flying in formation with Yankee Lady , movie Memphis Belle , Nine-O-Nine , Aluminum Overcast , Liberty Belle , Thunderbird , and Sentimental Journey . On May 8, 2015, Texas Raiders flew in the Arsenal of Democracy Flyover in Washington, D.C., an event that commemorated the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day (VE Day). The Gulf Coast Wing commissioned
456-400: The plane to its three-year-old Gulf Coast Wing. The plane was named Texas Raiders around 1973 to honor Texas combat veterans; the name had not been used by any previous B-17. Over two decades, CAF worked to restore the plane to a B-17G configuration. Tradeoffs made in consideration of budget included disabling turbochargers and the crew oxygen system. In 1977, the plane was repainted in
480-452: The rest delivered as B-17G. Some B-17G survivors have been modified to represent B-17Fs, such as for filming of the 1990 movie Memphis Belle . B-17G 44-8543 has been modified, including having its chin turret removed, to more closely resemble the B-17F that it wears the livery of ("Ye Olde Pub"). The aircraft are listed in ascending order by their serial numbers, which do not necessarily reflect
504-417: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Starduster . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Starduster&oldid=1122354826 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
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#1733084618143528-552: Was an American Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress , a B-17G-95-DL built by Douglas Long Beach . In 1967, it was purchased by the Commemorative Air Force 's Gulf Coast Wing "Texas Raiders" group, which maintained and flew the aircraft out of Conroe-North Houston Regional Airport in Conroe, Texas . The aircraft was destroyed on November 12, 2022, by a mid-air collision with a P-63 Kingcobra at an air show at Dallas Executive Airport , Texas, that killed all five occupants and
552-754: Was featured at Wings Over Houston that month as a static display. In March 2010, the plane was moved to the Tomball Jet Center in David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport (KDWH) in Tomball, Texas . Texas Raiders rejoined the air show circuit in 2010, just in time to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the first flight of the B-17. It traveled to the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh airshow, where it was featured in AeroShell Square. That summer,
576-459: Was too short for a B-17. A CAF photo taken around 1969 shows the plane painted white with a large U.S. flag on the tail. In July 1970, the plane was given its first historical paint job, that of the 366th Bombardment Squadron of the 305th Bombardment Group , with squadron code KY and call letter D on the fuselage and tail number 124592, suggested by retired general LeMay. In 1974, the CAF assigned
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