Bally B-17

Bally’s Bomber (B-17)
	Bally B-17 at the 2023 EAA AirVenture Oshkosh
Role	Homebuilt aircraft
National origin	United States
Designer	Jack Bally, Don Smith (plans)
Status	Complete, Flying
Primary user	Jack Bally
Produced	2001-2018
Number built	1
Developed from	Boeing B-17

The Bally Bomber B-17 is a one third scale, single seat, homebuilt aircraft, intended as a replica of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress.^[1] The Bally Bomber made its debut during the 2018 EAA AirVenture Oshkosh.

Design and development

The Bally Bomber B-17 is an original design by Jack Bally, EAA 348338.

aluminum in construction with hexagonal bulkheads. The drawings were modified from a one ninth scale set of radio-controlled aircraft plans. Despite being a scale replica, the aircraft is relatively large for a homebuilt aircraft due to its 34 ft (10.4 m) wingspan. Most homebuilt aircraft are single engine designs with a few twin engine models produced, making the Bally Bomber's four-engined homebuilt a rarity.^[3]

The Bally Bomber took Bally 17 years and an estimated 40,000 man-hours to build.[4]

Operational History

The Bally Bomber officially debuted at the 2018 EAA AirVenture Convention held annually in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The aircraft's test pilot was Richard Kosi, EAA 666459, who also acted as an EAA technical counselor on the build. A prior unintentional flight occurred in 2016, when an unexpected gust resulted in a takeoff during a taxi test.^[5] Later in 2018, the aircraft was put up for sale by Bally.^[6] Larry Neu, EAA 104067, bought the Bally Bomber and returned to AirVenture in 2021 piloting the aircraft.^[7]

Specifications (Bally B-17)

Data from Experimenter

General characteristics

Crew: 1
Length: 24 ft (7.3 m)
Wingspan: 34 ft 7 in (10.54 m)
Empty weight: 1,800 lb (816 kg) Est.
Fuel capacity: 42 gal.
Powerplant: 4 × Hirth F-30 Two cycle piston, 85 hp (63 kW) each
Propellers: 3-bladed

Performance

Cruise speed: 110 kn (130 mph, 200 km/h) Est.
g limits: +/-6g

Armament

Replica chin, tail and ball turret

References

^ Chad Jensen (September 2012). "Jack Bally's B-17". EAA Experimenter.
^ Brian Lohnes (24 December 2020). "Incredible: Jack Bally Built A Flying 1/3 Scale B-17 Bomber From Scratch".
^ "Jack Bally's 1/3 Scale Replica B-17". Archived from the original on 17 August 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
^ Ti Windisch (21 July 2018). "Bally Bomber Drawing Attention in Oshkosh".
^ "Scale Replica B-17 Coming to AirVenture". EAA. 17 May 2018.
^ Yarrish, Gerry (9 August 2021). "1/3-Scale Home-Built B-17 Bomber". Model Airplane News.
^ Bryan, Hal (30 July 2021). "A Great Big Little Bomber". EAA.

[1] Chad Jensen (September 2012). "Jack Bally's B-17". EAA Experimenter.

[2] Brian Lohnes (24 December 2020). "Incredible: Jack Bally Built A Flying 1/3 Scale B-17 Bomber From Scratch".

[3] "Jack Bally's 1/3 Scale Replica B-17". Archived from the original on 17 August 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2012.

[4] Ti Windisch (21 July 2018). "Bally Bomber Drawing Attention in Oshkosh".

[5] "Scale Replica B-17 Coming to AirVenture". EAA. 17 May 2018.

[6] Yarrish, Gerry (9 August 2021). "1/3-Scale Home-Built B-17 Bomber". Model Airplane News.

[7] Bryan, Hal (30 July 2021). "A Great Big Little Bomber". EAA.

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