How to Fly the Boeing B-29 Superfortress: B-29 Flight Procedure &Crew Functioning

this is it this is the b-29 the plane you've been waiting for and it was worth waiting for it's the biggest fastest mightiest heavy bomber in the world it can travel farther and higher than anything else on wings it has a pressurized cabin permitting high altitude flight without oxygen masks it has five remotely controlled electrically driven turrets each carrying twin 50s with a 20 millimeter cannon added to the turret in the tail yes the b-29 is everything you've been promised and the pilot who flies one has an enviable job important glamorous and tough here's a b-29 pilot he's measuring the distance between pin centers on the Left landing gear this part of the job isn't so glamorous but it's the pilots responsibility to make sure that everything on this biggest bomber in the world works properly if you were a b-29 pilot here's exactly what you'd have to do before an operational flight check the nosewheel see that the tires are inflated to 45 to 50 pounds per square inch while measuring the pressure look over the tires for general condition also watch out especially for cuts or signs of serious wear one of the ground crew will replace the dust covers but you're still responsible for his work after you've measured the pressure in both tires give the gear a visual check the strut should be clean with the clearance between pin centers of 10 inches and the shimmy damper must be full that's important make sure the rod is almost up to the notch in the gauge on the shimmy damper reservoir now you can look over the engine cowlings on your way to the other main landing wheel this gets the same inspection you've already given its mate the copilot ducts into the wheel well to inspect the equipment there while you work on the wheels measure tire pressures again on these tires the pressure should be between 75 and 85 pounds per square inch inside the wheel well the copilot examines the wires connections and switches he makes sure all the cannon plugs are on tight paying particular attention to the plugs on this motor which opens and closes the nacelle doors and also to the plugs of the normal and emergency landing gear motors then he turns around to examine his side of the strut he looks it over and inspects the brake lines making sure that the hose is not chafing and no fluid is leaking meanwhile you're checking the clearance between pin centers again 13 and 1/4 inches right now are the wheel chocks in place one behind the inboard tire and one in front of the outboard tire just as it should be next check the cowlings inspection doors an inspection place you've already examined some of them but you must be sure all of them are ok the other members of the crew help you out with these inspections here for example are gonna test the fastening of the top calling but you'll have to check the security of the other coverings and there are a lot of them all over the ship while you're walking along you can examine the wing seams fluid leaking from them means trouble now to check the ailerons and trim tabs all control surfaces and all trim tabs must be inspected test the tabs for excessive hinge play by shaking them and see that the gas tank caps are tightened if there were extra fuel tanks in the bomb Bay's their connections would have to be examined but now the pilot and the copilot continue that tour around the plane they have a lot to check hatches windows control surfaces trim tabs inspection plates and doors but the pilot and co-pilot aren't the only crew members with inspections to make the Gunners for example besides helping the pilot check the airplane must also be sure the guns and gun cameras will work properly they must inspect all 5 turrets in the same way they're now examining this lower rear turret after they have the dome and gun cover removed they see that the ammunition moves freely in the shoots and is correctly loaded the guns just don't fire with the cartridges in backwards they also check the safety wiring on the gun mounting bolts up in there then the gun charging switches are put on reset that conserves the co2 pressure which automatically charges the guns finally the gun camera is inspected enough film speed set at 16 frames per second lens adjusted to the brightness of the day and the interval control put at the desired number of seconds and turned on and this turret is alright the dome and gun cover can be replaced the tail turret is checked by the tail gunner but again the pilot is responsible if the guns fail he gets the blame so he watches the tail gunner as the shadow roll feed mechanism is inspected now the other Gunners only have to lock the latches elevation latch locked azimuth latch locked the doors are shut and fastened and the Gunners can go to another turret and there's still more work to be done each engine must be pulled through 15 blades with only two men per blade the engineer takes care of that he sits at his position making sure that all switches are off while the four engines are pulled through and now the copilot puts on his clothing and collects his equipment before joining the rest of the crew for inspection notice that the crew members wear fatigues while making their inspections and change into flight clothing only when they are ready to enter the plane the examination of the exterior of the airplane is completed so the crew can fall in for the check of their personal equipment that's the last item of the before entering the airplane part of the procedure and it's strictly the pilots job your job you are responsible for the men as well as the plane if they fail you're at fault each crew member must have his electrically heated flying clothing parachute oxygen mask knife a quart of water and Mae West steel helmets and flak vests are already inside the ship at the positions apparently these men are completely equipped but don't think they only have to climb into the ship and fly away there's a lot yet to be done let's go along with the pilot again and see what he has to do to take a b-29 into the air he in through the hatch in the nose wheel well that entrance is also used by the co-pilot engineer navigator radio operator and Bombardier there's work for every man before the engines are started during engine starting and warm-up before takeoff after takeoff and then a whole list of additional things to do before landing again as soon as the radio operator gets in he climbs back to close the pressure door between the forward compartment and the forward bombe the Bombardier is the last one in so he closes the hatch the Gunners close the pressure doors in their compartment they also open the cabin pressure valves which will now automatically maintain the cabin pressure at the desired level three compartments in the plane the pilots compartment the gun control compartment and the tail Gunners compartment are sealed off from the rest of the fuselage and supplied with this compressed air the cabin pressurizer keeps 8,000 feet altitude inside the plane until the outside is at 30,000 feet if the plane gets higher than 30,000 feet the pressure inside drops off gradually but it is always thirteen point four inches of mercury more than the outside pressure but let's get back to flight procedure the Gunners take care of the other pressure door in their compartment but what about the pilot that's you you already have your chute fastened you may West on and the seat adjusted so you put your throat microphone and earphones on if you put the mic on first you won't get so badly tangled in the wires don't forget to plug in your disconnect record now to start work ask the engineer for forms one one a and O one - one - forty and look them over be sure that everything on forms one and one a has been checked pay particular attention to the list of defective equipment if anything vital is out of order it must be fixed before taking off the weight and balance computation is in form o one - one - forty that's important make sure it's correct when you've examined all the forms and signed them you can give them back to engineer and tell him to start the putt-putt you have to turn on the emergency ignition switch the tail gunner looks after the putt-putt starting and stopping it on orders from the engineer but now you set the jack box selector switch to command and turn on the proper command receiver and the command transmitter this puts you in communication with the control tower now examine your own equipment look over your oxygen mask and make sure your portable oxygen bottle is fully charged then try out the cockpit lights to test the ultraviolet lamps turn on the switches and twist the shutter you should then be able to see the light by turning the shutter back you can control the amount of ultraviolet light emitted next try out the alarm bell the gun commander will tell you if it's working then depress the brake pedals and pull out the parking brake knob to set the brakes look over to the control stand and make sure that the emergency releases and switches are correctly set power transfer switch emergency landing gear release emergency bomb release emergency cabin air pressure release and pilots over control now unlock the control surfaces and throttles by moving the locking lever on the aisle stand full forward then release the throttle brake and test all four throttles through their entire range take it easy move them slowly and gently all controls on the b-29 should be handled in this careful manner in order to prevent damage to the mechanism there's no need to push hard and the co-pilot doesn't just sit and read the checklist he must test the action of the control surfaces moving each surface elevators ailerons and rudder through the complete range the gun commander looks from his blister observing the response of the surfaces and reports to the co-pilot a similar test is made on the trim tabs the copilot turns the three control wheels as far as they will go in each direction that big wheel on the side of his control stand operates the elevated tabs the aileron and rudder wheels are on top of the control stand behind the throttles the way the trim tabs follow the setting of the control wheels is also observed by the gun commander who tells the copilot over the Interphone how the tabs move the copilot turns the tabs back to neutral after testing them and now to try out the wing flaps but first he calls the side Gunners on the Interphone to make sure none of the service crew will be in the way of the descending flaps when the Gunners report that it's safe to go ahead the copilot presses the flap switch to the down position and holds it there until the flaps have been lowered 15 degrees 15 degrees is enough to tell if they're working all right the copilot can't see the flaps of course so he watches the wing flap position indicator but the Gunners can check visually they tell the copilot if the flaps come down all right so now he can bring them back up the Gunners again will tell him when they're up don't start thinking the Gunners have nothing to do but watch control surfaces and flaps they have their own checklists to follow the right-side gunner for example is looking over his supply of spare lamps and fuses yep that's okay but now you the pilot are almost ready to start the engines see that the automatic pilot master switch is off check over the four sets of control surface adjustment knobs making sure all their pointers are up then set the manifold pressure selector to the zero position and depress all four propeller rpm switches to the increased position and hold them there until the lights on the copilot's instrument panel flash now you're all ready to start the engines and the rest of the crew should be too they check in with the co-pilot reporting in this sequence Bombardier who sits directly ahead of the pilot and co-pilot navigator who is some distance behind the pilot facing forward flight engineer who is directly behind the copilot facing aft radio operator who sits across from the navigator and faces the right wall gun commander who in the top of the fuselage amidships and can face in any direction left gunner who faces aft right gunner who also faces aft and the tail gunner who stays close to the putt-putt during takeoff and landing his combat position of course is in the tail everybody set now well on the service crew outside you're going to start the engines and tell the engineer to start number one and number one engine spins twice and now he turns the fuel boost pump on closes all the throttles except number one sets the fire extinguish it - number one engine presses the starter switch to energize and then flips it to start and final it turns the magneto switch - both you have to push the throttle to 1200 RPM and signal for number 2 the same procedure is repeated until all four engines are running now that the engines are going vacuum pressure is available to operate your gyro flight instruments so the gyro compass and the flight indicator can be uncaged and set the co-pilot will be doing the same with his gyro instruments next see if the other vacuum pump is working alright have the engineers switch to the pump on the number 2 engine the vacuum may drop some but it should go back to about 4 inches now you can call the control tower on the command radio it's already on this is about the right time to get your taxiing instructions since you'll soon be ready to move out to the runway at the same time ask for the field barometric pressure so you can adjust the altimeter it must be set carefully to the correct pressure in this case 29.8 4 inches obviously an accurate altimeter is a vital necessity especially if you may have to fly on instruments next you want the Bombardier you know he sits back with the navigator and the radio operator until his ship is in the air but right now he has to come forward to make the final checks on the bomb site he's already completed the regular pre-flight inspection of his equipment all he must do now is see that the bomb site is entirely ready for takeoff the directional clutch should be disengaged and the secondary clutch engaged by turning it clockwise then the drum wheel must be turned counterclockwise as far as it will go that does it he's all set to take off and now you're ready to close the bomb bay doors ask the ground crew outside if there are any obstructions underneath the plane everything's cleared so you can order the Bombardier to close the bomb bay doors he throws the door switch while you look back through the pressure door to watch them shut the rear Bombay door is looked after by one of the Gunners will tell you when is closed when both doors are shut the Bombardier can go back to his takeoff position in the rear of the compartment and you're almost ready to taxi but you'd better make one last check of the turret warning lights oh that lower rear turn light is on call one of the side Gunners and have him take care of it perhaps the turret wasn't stowed forget about a gunner well it's easy to fix get control of the turret press the action switch and stow it that does it there that turret warning light is off now and everybody's set switch your jack box back to command and signal the ground crew outside to remove the wheel chocks and get a safe distance away from the airplane the co-pilot warns the crew to stand by to taxi and you can release the brakes and move the ship out to the runway while taxiing or whenever the plane is moving all crewmembers watch from the windows and keep the pilot informed of obstructions the Gunners can provide the most help since the blisters give them a wide view this is a big airplane it's mighty easy to hit a fuel truck or another ship and clip off part of the wing or stabilizer and that doesn't help the flying characteristics a bit notice the flaps are kept in the up position if your taxi with them down the under surfaces are likely to be damaged by pebbles blown back by the propellers after you've stopped at the edge of the runway put in your call to the control tower for permission to taxi on the runway when the tower has given the clearance move on the runway steer with the outboard engines not the brakes excessive use of the brakes on a plane as heavy as this one will wear them out quickly as the ship is turned around at the far end of the runway notice again how the engines are used for steering you can see the right propellers moving faster than the left when you're at right angles to the runway stop for the engine run-up tell the flight engineer to get ready to make his magneto check while you run the engines up one at a time first press the propeller rpm switches to the increased position holding them there until all the propellers are at maximum rpm next turn the manifold pressure selected to position 8 with the knob in this position the superchargers automatically provide military power now advance the number 1 throttle but slowly and gently to 2,000 rpm hold this speed until the engineer tells you the magneto check is finished then press the propeller rpm switch to the decreased position until the tachometer drops about 200 rpm now flip the switch to the increased position and hold it there until the light on the copilot's instrument panel flashes and then push the throttle to full open the tachometer should show about 2600 rpm for the number 1 engine while manifold pressure should be around 47 inches to see if the turbo is working properly turn the manifold pressure selected towards zero that should make the manifold pressure drop the turbos okay bring the throttle back to idling around 550 to 600 rpm and increased speed to 1200 to avoid fouling the spark plugs next start on the number 2 engine the same procedure is repeated for each engine now you're about set to take off after you're cleared for takeoff turn the plane the rest of the way around so that it points down the runway and stop again while the copilot lowers the wing flaps about 25 degrees he can tell when they're right by looking at the wing flap position indicator and the Gunners can check on the accuracy of the indicator by watching the flaps from their blisters they report on the approximate flat position over the Interphone when the copilot tells you the flaps are okay fasten your safety belt and set the manifold pressure selected to position 8 next set the propeller rpm switches to increase rpm and wait for the lights on the copilot instrument panel to flash then warn the engineer to be ready for takeoff stand by for takeoff now you push on the brakes hard and open the throttles slowly until the manifold pressure gauge reads about 40 inches then release the brakes as you gather speed slowly advance the throttles to full power and set the throttle brake manifold pressure should go up to 47 or 47 point five inches rpm should go up to 2600 continue accelerating down the runway until the indicated airspeed gets up to 95 miles per hour then slowly pull the control column back putting the ship in a flying attitude the plane takes off without further action on your part when it gets flying speed the exact speed at which it will leave the ground depends on the weight when the ship is airborne apply the brakes to stop the wheels and then have the copilot retract the landing gear he has to hold the landing gear retracting switch in the up position because the switch is spring-loaded the copilot makes sure the nose gear is up by looking through the inspection door on the floor of the cockpit just ahead of the aisle stand the wheel is there all right at 160 miles per hour and 500 feet altitude the copilot retracts the flaps snapping the switch on and off until the indicator shows that the flaps are all the way up the side Gunners should be watching from their blisters as the plane takes off they tell the copilot when the flaps and landing gear are up now you ought to change from takeoff power setting to climbing adjust the manifold pressure selection till the manifold pressure drops to 43 inches and decrease propeller rpm to bring the tachometer to 2400 you can order the engineer to have the putt-putt turned off now and tell the Bombardier to come forward and take his combat position in the nose of the ship if this is an operational flight an enemy opposition is expected have the men put on their flak vests these vests are made of small overlapping links of tough steel sewn inside canvas quilting on the inside of the canvas provides further protection and also cushions the shock of impact above 10,000 feet oxygen masks must be worn by one man in each compartment when you reach the desired altitude level off and tell the engineer to set up cruising conditions first you move the throttles back to about 65% of full power individual manipulation of the throttles may be necessary to keep each engine at the same manifold pressure now you adjust the propellers and manifold pressure so turn the controls over to the copilot start with the props press the propeller rpm switches to decrease and bring all four propellers to 2,000 rpm then turn the manifold pressure selected down until the manifold pressure drops to 30 inches the needles should stay together in this case there you are 30 inches considerable juggling of throttles propellers and supercharger may be necessary before you get it just right but that's how you get a b-29 into the air it's a big heavy and powerful airplane bigger heavier and more powerful than anything you've ever flown for that reason it must be handled gently and precisely you must carefully follow the prescribed procedures even a super bomber is no good to the army if it's in little busted up pieces but don't get jittery the 29 is a sweet ship to handle when it stalls the nose drops so that the plane automatically recovers there's no tendency to spin stalling speed varies quite a bit naturally depending on weight and other conditions but generally it's between 84 and 135 miles per hour when turning or executing any manoeuvre take it easy this is a big plane remember not a fighter yet fairly steep turns can be made safely this 30-degree Bank can also be done with flow flaps that's about the limit and one evasive action is necessary you have plenty of tricks to pull just watch this b-29 and the b-29 does more than just fly well it packs a terrific wallop a wallop enemy fighters will quickly learn to fear that turret you see moving is only one of the five on the ship which mounts a total of ten machine guns and one cannon four of the turrets two on top and two beneath the fuselage can turn through 360 degrees in azimuth 90 degrees in elevation the tail turret is more restricted in movement but it has a 20 millimeter cannon in addition to the twin 50s the others carry but the big thing about the 29 s armament is the fact that the Gunners don't touch the guns the guns are controlled remotely from special sites and any gunner can fire almost any turret for example one side gunner might have control of two turrets firing four caliber 50 s at his target that's only the beginning of the story about guns so let's get back to what a pilot has to do now you're ready to land since you've descended below 10,000 feet remove your oxygen mask tell the copilot to take over control of the ship so that you can get out of your flak vest the vest is easy to take off just pull on the cord and it drops away this speed of removal becomes important if you ever have to bail out since the vest is worn over the parachute and well you figure it out if you've been riding with the automatic pilot turn it off you can't use it for landing of course or when taking off flying turbulent weather or setting trim tabs the copilot should now warn the crew to prepare for landing until the Bombardier to climb out of his seat in the nose and get in back with the engineer then the copilot has the engineers start the cut button you check the turret warning lights all the lights are off then call the control tower and get landing instructions at the same time asked for the field barometric pressure and set the altimeter to correspond now the copilot hits the brakes to test the hydraulic pressure both normal and emergency systems should have eight hundred to a thousand pounds to find out about the emergency pressure you have to ask the engineer at the same time you can see if he's ready to land and get his log he has calculated the new weight and center of gravity since you've used up a lot of gasoline by now you should look the log over but the copilot will check it carefully examining the center of gravity and weight computations the table on the instrument panel gives the stalling speed for the computed weight the co-product tells you the stalling speed and also reports that everybody in the crew is ready to land next you adjust the propeller rpm switches push them to increase until you get the tachometers to show 2100 rpm now adjust the manifold pressure selected to give you plenty of reserve power turn it all the way up to position 8 the setting for full military power when the plane is slowed down to 180 miles per hour or less order the copilot to lower the landing gear when the switch is set to the down position the wheels descend all the way LOC and the gear motors automatically stop when the left and right gear are down the side Gunners who should now be watching the wheels and flaps will report to the copilot he himself can make sure the nose wheel has been lured all the way by looking through the window and the floor the cockpit next the flaps should come down if you've been in combat the copilot should lower them first only 5 degrees if they were damaged lowering them all the way might rip them off the wing the Gunners can look them over and report on their condition the flaps are all right so the copilot can lower them 25 degrees notice that he snaps the switch on and off that way the flaps descend gradually and a sudden change in the lift characteristics of the airplane is avoided the Gunners will report when the flaps appear to be down 25 degrees and the copilot can check by looking at his wing flat position indicator when he has the flaps where he wants them he'll tell you then you'll probably have to reset the trim tabs because of the change in the flat position next adjust the throttle break to a comfortable tension and don't forget to turn off the detonator power switch now make a standard approach keeping the speed about 30 miles per hour above stalling and on the final approach order the copilot to lower the flaps all the way when you touch the ground the plans should be slightly tail low and going between 95 and a hundred miles per hour notice how the main wheels bear most of the shock of landing then the ship slowly settles forward don't apply brakes immediately let the plane lose some of its speed rolling then turn the manifold pressure selector all the way back to zero you won't need the turbos anymore and set the propellers that increase rpm raise the flaps now while you're taxing and have plenty of power you're done now you followed your checklist step by step but there are other checklists the engineers for example so suppose we go back over that landing procedure and see how the engineer's checklist fits in with yours five minutes before landing the engineer tells the tail gunner to start the putt but the ship enters the traffic pattern at a 45 degree angle to the downwind leg altitude is 27 60 speed is 180 here the copilot lowers the wheels the mixture controls are set to auto rich and the cowl flaps open 15 degrees at the end of the downwind leg the speed should be about 140 or 150 and at least three generators must be on the copilot lowers the flaps 15 degrees after the pilot makes the procedure turn the altitude should be twenty to sixty feet the copilot lowers the flaps to 25 degrees the planet sets the manifold pressure selected to position eight and adjust the propellers to 2100 rpm just before the final turn the engineer checks the Magneto's and turns the boost pumps on around the turn on the final approach speed should be at least 140 altitude eight hundred feet also six generators should be on finally the copilot lowers the flaps all the way and calls out air speed and hydraulic pressures the ship descends to the runway after the airplanes on the ground turbos come off and propellers are set to full increase rpm the engineer switches the boost pumps off and opens the car flaps all the way alright we're back where we were before tell the Bombardier to come forward and open the bomb bay doors the door should always be kept open when the ship is standing still to prevent the accumulation of gas fumes next turn off all the switches then you can get rid of some of your equipment that remains inside the ship and climb out for the after flight inspection yes you start with an inspection and finish with an inspection if there was anything wrong now is the time to find out about it and now is the time to correct it yes this is the airplane that you've been promised now it's up to you to weld this airplane and its crew into a single irresistible instrument of destruction that can be your promise to us you

Channel: ZenosWarbirds

Views: 298,296

Rating: 4.8783269 out of 5

Keywords: B-29, World War 2 Planes, Boeing B-29 Superfortress

Id: 1a8B7oYVtNY

Length: 36min 31sec (2191 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 06 2012