Description
9/18/25- For sale is a B-17 Flying Fortress instrument panel. The frame of this panel is newly constructed of plywood but the vast majority of the instruments are original WW2 production. The panel is full-size and period accurate, including the stylized Flying Fortress name plate and informational panels for pilots regarding airspeed, fuel transfer protocols, and other important information. There are also two side panels with more switches and knobs. We believe this panel was made by a collector about 10-15 years ago, research reveals a website in which he wrote the following:
I had an interest in heavy bombers all my life and a while back, I had the chance to purchase a lot of original Boeing drawings of the B-17 instrument panel. I started by building a prototype panel in luan mahogany plywood. In a few months I had found most of the instruments I would need on ebay. Originality was what I really wanted and the original B-17's had a 3 piece phenolic panel screwed onto a plywood frame. To my knowledge, no one has successfully been able to build these frames, due to a lack of fully dimensioned drawings. I had half size drawings of all the wooden parts of this frame and some finished dimensions on other drawings. I put the two together and had the critical length dimension of the finished panel. Using a very high end large scanner and e sized printer, I was able to increase the size with the scanner until I had the length correct. I then created full sized paper templates from the scans. From these paper templates I created a set of full sized masonite templates. I will use these to cut and form up all the plywood sections of the main wood panel frame. I am a R&D machinery design engineer and in my daily job. I use some pretty sophisticated 3d cad and scanning/printing equipment. The ability to redraw the original Boeing panel plans into 3d, gave me a way of building 3D models of all the parts, including the gauges and putting them all together in a "Virtual panel.
The material is ¼ fir plywood, just as it was during WWII when Boeing built them. The back of the frame is open, allowing you to see the back of the dials and gauges, including some with WW2 era serial number plates and other production details. All adjustment knobs and switches are functional and make satisfying clicks when adjusted or flipped.
The panel measures approximately 64 W x 18 H x 16 D. The panel itself is in excellent condition with no damage and the gauges themselves have period appropriate patina and wear. The item overall is in excellent condition.
