B-17 Flying Fortress Restoration

By: Jerome J McLaughlin

Narrated by: Bill Nevitt

Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

Through engaging narrative and first-person accounts, B-17 Flying Fortress Restoration captures the painstaking restoration of a World War II-vintage Boeing B-17 bomber by more than 100 volunteers in Pooler, GA. Airplane restoration and military aviation enthusiasts alike can follow the airplane's journey from the storage hangers of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum to the Combat Gallery of the Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, where it arrived in pieces on the backs of four tractor-trailers. B-17 Flying Fortress Restoration charts the volunteer team's frustrations and successes over a six-year period as they cleaned accumulated crud from the bomber's surfaces and carefully recreated its aluminum skin, operating systems, armament and even its nose art. In addition, the book traces the histories of the two City of Savannah B-17s - the original and the restored - and includes many personal stories of veterans as told by themselves or their families. The City of Savannah volunteers brought a wide range of skills to the task. They were airframe and power plant mechanics, painters, aeronautical engineers, electrical engineers, business people and administrators, even a former physics professor with a PhD and 30 years of flying experience. Many were drawn to the project after their day jobs at Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, LMI Aerospace, Inc., and the 165th Airlift Wing of the Georgia Air National Guard. Others were retired and eager to make a long-term commitment to restoring a vintage warbird.

©2016 Jerome J. McLaughlin (P)2016 Jerome J. McLaughlin

Educational Listen

I found this book to be very informational. Jerome J McLaughlin wrote a very interesting book and had some cool stories included in this book. Bill Nevitt did a good performance with his narration. He is very articulate. I do not listen to many non-fiction books, but am glad I did listen to this one. I requested this review copy audiobook and have voluntarily written this review.

Be careful what you wish for!

historical-research, restoration, museum, air-war, nose-art *****

Be careful what you wish for; you just might get it.
Any history geek into restoration can tell horror stories to back up that old saw,but few have dealt with a *free* historical relic the size of a World War 2 bomber. Imagine. First to get it cleared of debris, hire a specialized professional moving company, disassemble then reassemble at home site, then deal with cosmetics. And all on donations and volunteer work.
Excellent rendition of all the work done and unfortunate complications done in a matter of fact manner until time for crowing when all is done but the admiration of fellow aficionados.
Number Three son will certainly try to take his young family to the museum in Savanna!
Bill Nevitt is perfect for narrating nonfiction with his obviously interested presentation and clear unaccented voice.

Excellent book with only one drawback

I received this book from Bill Nevitt in return for an honest review.

I very much enjoyed this book as it details the restoration of the B-17 Flying Fortress The City of Savanna. Much detail regarding the history of the B-17 in general and this aircraft in particular. Jerome McLaughlin does an excellent job of telling the story. Bill Nevitt does an equally excellent job of narration. My only complaint about this book is that McLaughlin frequently takes the reader out of the story and onto rabbit trails in sidebars that are informative but distracts from the unfolding story. I would have preferred them to be put into an appendix in the back of the book and just let the story unfold naturally.

This is the only audiobook that I have finished so far this year.

Interesting book

I received a free copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

Its a good long and perhaps a little too in-depth discussion of the restoration. There's some things that I think could have been left on the cutting room floor, but overall an enjoyable and educational listen. If you like history you'll like this I think.

"Now back to the story"

Title is an oft-repeated phrase, and unfortunately it does get annoying. But as far as actually telling about the restoration, it's informative. Perhaps not the most interesting story ever told, but I did enjoy learning about the process behind the restoration project.

Nevitt is a fine narrator, rarely did I notice any background noise or mispronounced words.

Recommended for: anyone interested in learning the ins & outs of a restoration project for museums.

**I was provided with a free promotional copy, at my request, and have voluntarily left a fair and honest review**

TIMES OF THE WAR

A WONDERFUL NARRATION !
REMINDS US OF THE GREAT SACRIFICE AND LOYALTY THAT OUR MEN DISPLAYED IN WW2.

I LOOK FORWARD TO MORE FROM THIS NARRATOR!

Honoring A WWII Bomber's Restoration

If you could sum up B-17 Flying Fortress Restoration in three words, what would they be?

Honor, Duty, Veterans

Any additional comments?

This Book not only honors WWII veterans but how the volunteers spent thousands of hours restoring one of their B-17s

Great retelling although it loses steam at the end

3.5 / 5

The first two thirds of this book tell the story of how the National Museum of the Mighty 8th Air Force acquired and restored a B-17 flying fortress. Opened in 1992 the museum was built with the space for a B17, but it wasn't until 2009 that they got one - and in very bad shape. The next 6 years were built restoring the plane to it's former glory. The book tells the history of the plane (it never actually saw combat, but that an extensive post-war career) and how the restoration work was done. This was really interesting and highly informative.

The last third is pretty much just all recollections and statements from people involved. Some stories are interesting, some are just repetitive. It includes a large section that is just person after person stating how they got involved that why. It's an extended credits and thank yous, effectively. It is an important thing to capture, but it doesn't make for an exciting read. Especially after hearing something of "I did it a a memorial for the people who fought" twenty times in a row.

The writing and structure is a little stilted, but it works. Throughout the book it has little personal anecdotes or recollections from people involve in the work. they aren't included organically, instead are all prefaced with 'This was a recollection from XXXX' and end with 'and now continuing with out story'. It was very clunky.

But even with all my issues, I really enjoyed the book and the information within. I would definitely recommend googling the museum as there are lots of photos on it's website of the restoration. Would have been great if they could have been included in a PDF with the audiobook or something. I will admit, until I looked up the photos i was imagining in my head a B24, not a B17.

Narration by Bill Nevitt is good. He inputs the emotions of the personal anecdotes, but doesn't provide 'voices' for them. His accent (I'm guessing Georgian, to match the place of the book) grated at first, but I got used to it. He is well paced and clear and conveys the information well. Happy to listen to more of his work.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this review voluntarily.

interesting but somewhat dry

I did enjoy the content, but i did feel the content was. But i guess there is a limit to how interesting a book on vehicle restoration can be

A story of passion and pride

Caveat: I received this book free for a review.  Audiobook boom is a great source to find free audiobooks.  I do not ask for a book unless it is something I would be interested in otherwise.  So being as I got the book for free its price has no bearing on my review.

This book will not be for everyone.  I spent a few years of my professional career working with and around Coast Guard aviation.  I have seen aircraft taken apart and put back together.  I also knew some of the guys that were a part of the Phoenix Project.  This was the first and only Coast Guard aircraft restored and put in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.  So I knew some of the tedious labor involved in restoring an aircraft that no one makes parts for anymore.

This book is not for the WWII buff looking for acts of heroism or tales of espionage.  This book is about the elbow grease and years of dedicated service to restoring the B-17.  McLaughlin jokes how early in the project they didn't even know what they didn't know.  Luckily for the early volunteers, they were not afraid to ask for help.  They seemed to get help and donations from all over the place.  Being donated a turret. Being donated paints, and most of all people with skills donating there time to help pull the plane together.

The project took 6 years to complete.  One thing the Mighty Eighth Museum can boast about is it has the only static B-17 with working turrets.