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Update 2026-4-21
Lucky Thirteen‘s top turret dome is held in place against the mold for the cockpit canopy. This mold will be used to press the curves here into the aircraft aluminum. Photo taken 7 April 2026. The inside of the cockpit canopy mold. The layout of the forward, side, and upper window can be seen here, […]
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Update 2026-2-27
The top turret dome for Boeing B-17F Lucky Thirteen is now repaired! Photo taken 16 February 2026. Sperry Gyroscope was charged with designing turrets for the B-17 at the outset of the war. Lacking the ability to produce turrets in-house, these turrets were license-built: Steel Products and Engineering of Ohio (SPECO) for the A-1 Upper, […]
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Update 2026-1-16
To start 2026 with some happy news, the hanger assembly for Lucky Thirteen‘s ball turret is now restored. The bolts to secure it to the trunnion, as well as the electrical plug for the main power conduit, are currently on the way. (The plug had to be special ordered so, despite being purchased on 15 […]
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Update 2025-12-1
Some big news, just in time for December – The missing leg and foot for the ball turret are now reinstalled! Here is the story: The ball turret trunnion and hanger assembly for Lucky Thirteen was acquired in August of 2024. One of costliest acquisitions for the project thus far, it was an effort years […]
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Update 2025-11-1
It has been a little while since I posted a proper update on Lucky Thirteen. We all have our quirks and, in this case, there was a particular project I wanted to complete before writing said update. But now that it is done, I am free to post. And boy do we have some BIG […]
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Roadtrip 2025 Pt 2
After leaving the Pima Air & Space Museum, 12 August saw us drive up to see our friend Robert Kropp of GossHawk Unlimited in Casa Grande, Arizona. Since we have already covered our visit to Robert in another update, I will pick up the travelogue from there. That same day saw us visit the Lauridsen […]
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Roadtrip 2025 Pt 1
Parts loaded for the trip west. Included are static engines for a Boeing B-17G and the fuselage to an early Vultee BT-13. Photo taken 9 August 2025. On the first day’s drive we stopped by Barksdale AFB near Bossier City, Louisiana, home of Air Force Global Strike Command. Because the base is closed on weekends, […]
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Update 2025-8-24
So, the long hiatus between updates is easy to explain: Eric and I have just returned from a joint Hangar Thirteen/Project Warbird expedition to California. Delivering parts, picking up parts, meeting people and making friends; it was an incredible adventure. And I am currently putting together an in-depth review of the trip. In the meantime, […]
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Update 2025-8-7
I know we have not posted a true update in a while but that was on purpose. I have been steady working this whole time on the ball turret trunnion assembly and wanted to surprise everyone when it was finished. And now it is. Hope everyone likes it! The trunnion for Lucky Thirteen‘s Type A-2 […]
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Update 2025-6-23
It is always a joy for us when bringing forth something that has not been seen since the war. This is another one of those pieces – we now have the oxygen line for Lucky Thirteen‘s Type A-2 Ball Turret. As mentioned in our previous update, museums and restorations regularly hang oxygen tanks on their […]
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