A number of the early B model Staggerwing had fake painted wood grain instrument panels. I don't have any photos of the original panel of my Staggerwing. However, I was able to talk to a person who flew it in the late 30's, Charlie Hickman. In 2001 when I bought this project, a friend, Dan Linn, told me about Charlie Hickman of Hurst TX. I was able to talk to Charlie a few times about my Staggerwing.

A few other bits of information were obtained from Charlie, and from the factory files at the Beechcraft Heritage Museum. In 1937 serial number 12 was sold to Island Airport Inc, Knoxville TN. The new owners were Tom O. Kesterson, L. H. French, and R. C. Jamison. Charlie was a pilot for this company. Charlie had a love for flying, so much so that he learned to fly before learning to drive. In 1939 it flipped over on landing at the new Knoxville Island Airport. The pilot was Tom O. Kesterson. Charlie said that Tom landed with the Johnson bar brake pulled back instead of the flap. Both the flap and the brake handles look the same; the flap is on the left and the brake is on the right. The damage to the Staggerwing was not too bad, prop, windshield and rudder.

Charlie also said the streamline tires were prone to ground looping. The 24" streamline tires did not like the new paved runways at the Island Airport. They preferred the old grass runways.

When WWII started or some reason Charlie could not join the U.S. Air Services, so he joined the Royal Air Force. He flew Hurricanes and P-39 Airacobras. Charlie told me that when he was stationed in North Africa, he helped modify a Hawker Hurricane into a two place aircraft. He was later transferred to the U. S. Forces. Charlie passed away in 2008.

After Charlie had told me that the instrument panel had a wood grain design, I started looking into that task. Two other B model restorations have used the original painted wood grain panel decoration, serial number 3 and serial number 49. I used photos of serial number 3 to guide the coloring and design of my panel. After finding how much it would cost to have it painted by a shop that specializes in this for antique cars, I decided to do it myself. A friend suggested I investigate using a large decal. This was a good idea as you can see what it looks like before committing to anything. Starting with a photo of serial number 3 and several hours with PhotoShop, I had an acceptable image. It took a couple of printings to get the color correct.

Other progress on the project had to do with the fuel system. I obtained a field approval for some replacement and modifications. I replaced the unavailable Parker valves with a pair of valves from Maule Air. The B17L had two valves for the upper left- and right-wing tanks located on the instrument panel. These tanks are 25 gallons each.

The extra tank in the fuselage is used by being pumped up with the wobble pump to the right-wing tank. The fuselage tank is 20 gallons. This tank is located behind the lower rear wing trust.

Another part of this field approval was to fix a hazard in the fuel system. As with most high wing fuel tanks, the Staggerwing tank has two outlets. One in the front for when you are headed down with less than a full tank. And one in the rear for when you are climbing with less than a full tank. The lines from the two rear outlets both go around the right side of the fuselage, under the rear window and forward to the fuel valve. The problem is that the fuel lines go up hill after passing under the window headed for the fuel valve. So, in the three-point attitude on the ground, this length of fuel line can trap water. The water would not flow forward until the tail comes up. I think this problem is unique to the B17L and the B17B which both have high main gear legs. I got a field approval to add a drain in these two lines which is accessible inside the wheel well. The Maule I owned for about a decade had two drains under the pilot's door for this reason.