Quote Originally Posted by mklotz View Post
There are several B17s still flying and providing expensive flights for folks whose bank accounts exceed their common sense. (In 2019 one crashed at a Connecticut airport and killed five or six "passengers".)

My point is that not only does detailed documentation exist but he could possibly have obtained access to the real thing.

Much as I would love to fly on one, I won't trust a 70 year old airframe that was designed to only last a few missions and is now being serviced by rank amateurs with parts from who knows where and inspected by folks who have never seen one of these before.
So, if one wanted to build a new B17, and had the resources to do so, enough documentation would exist to completely build a brand new one?
I was under the impression that restoration was difficult because of the lack of blueprints, templates, sheet metal forms etc. not being available.
Perhaps what I heard of was rare and with few existing examples.
If there are more examples that could change things.