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Manuals B-17 B-29 Pilot`s Notes

How big is your Superfortress?

The B-29 is America's heaviest high-speed plane . . . civilian as well as military.

POWER PLANTS

Your B-29 Superfortress has four 18-cylinder, twin-bank R-3350 Wright radial engines capable of delivering more than 2200 Hp each. The 4-bladed propellers, reduction geared (.35) to the crankshaft and rotating clockwise when viewed from the rear, are Hamilton Standard constant-speed, full-feathering, hydromatic. Constant-speed control is maintained by governors which are operated electrically by four momentary-contact toggle switches located on the airplane commander's aisle stand.

CONTROLS

FLIGHT ENGINEER`S STAND

From the airplane commander`s and copilot's point of view the controls on the B-29 have been simplified—the majority of the power plant controls and most of the basic electrical and mechanical system controls are on the flight engineer's stand directly in back of the copilot.

Each engine has two exhaust-driven turbo-superchargers mounted vertically on each side of the engine nacelle. The turbo boost on all four engines is controlled simultaneously by a Minneapolis-Honeywell electronic turbo-supercharger control system operated by a single manual rheostat control knob on the copilot's aisle stand. Carburetors are Chandler-Evans automatic. Some late airplanes will have direct fuel injection systems of the Bosch or Bendix type. Vacuum pumps, one on each engine, provide vacuum for the cameras, de-icer boots, and instruments, and pressure for inflating the de-icer boots. Either inboard vacuum pump may be used for vacuum; the other three pumps provide pressure for the de-icer boots.

From his station he can visually check all engines and be in close communication at all times with the airplane commander and copilot.

Both airplane commander and copilot have control stands on which throttles (1) and trim tab controls (2) are mounted. The landing gear transfer switch (3) and emergency cabin pressure (4) emergency bomb (5), and emergency landing gear door releases (6) are at the rear of the airplane commander's control stand.

The controls for the C-l automatic pilot (7), the control surface lock (8), emergency brake levers (9), wing flap control switch (10), propeller feathering switches (11), turbo boost selector (12), phone-call signal light switch (13), alarm bell switch (14), landing gear switch (15), light switches (16), propeller increase and decrease rpm switches (17), and propeller pitch circuit breaker re-sets (18) are on the aisle stand to the right of the airplane commander's seat and within easy reach of the copilot.

EXCEPT FOR MANIFOLD PRESSURE GAGES AND TACHOMETERS, THE INSTRUMENTS ON THE AIRPLANE COMMANDER'S PANEL ARE ALL FLIGHT INSTRUMENTS:

1. Airspeed indicator

2. Altimeter

3. Bank-and-turn indicator

4. Rate-of-climb indicator

5. Turn indicator

6. Gyro-horizon

7. Pilot direction indicator (PDI)

8. Radio compass

9. Flux gate compass

10. Manifold pressure gages

11. Tachometers

12. Blind-landing indicator

13. Clock

14. Turret warning lights

15. Bomb release indicator light

16. Vacuum warning light

THE INSTRUMENTS MOUNTED ON THE COPILOT'S INSTRUMENT PANEL ARE:

1. Airspeed indicator

2. Altimeter

3. Bank-and-turn indicator

4. Rate-of-climb indicator

5. Turn indicator

6. Magnetic compass

7. Gyro-horizon

8. Flap position indicator

9. Propeller rpm limit indicator lights

10. Landing gear indicator lights

The flight controls are conventional and the forces necessary to move them are light, even at high flying speeds—a surprising fact to most pilots the first time they fly the B-29. The elevators are similar to those on the B-17. The ailerons, although considerably larger than those on the B-17, are so rigged, that they can be easily moved 18° upore down. The rudder gives maximum possible control and yet can be moved easily without the use of power boosts. Wing flaps and tricycle landing gear are lowered and raised by reversible electric motors. The Fowler-type flaps, which provide lift and drag, travel on track and roller mechanisms in such a manner that they project beyond the trailing edge of the wing when they are extended. Under normal operation the landing gear can be lowered in 40 seconds.

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