- 5/4/2025
NOVA accompanies famed test pilot Darryl Greenamyer and his intrepid crew on a perilous mission to repair and refly Kee Bird, a B-29 bomber stranded on the Greenland icecap since 1947. In the face of incredible hardships, the team struggles to bring the old warbird back to life. Previously shown in the UK Channel 4 in the Encounters series as "Treasure of the Humboldt Glacier" on April 23, 1995.
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00:00Tonight on NOVA, a B-29 flying a Cold War spy mission crash-landed in the Arctic.
00:06Her crew was rescued, but the Keybird was left behind.
00:11Nearly half a century later, a new team wants to bring her home.
00:15It's like new again.
00:17It'll fly.
00:18You bet it'll fly.
00:19But conditions are harsh, the work exhausting.
00:22Their shared dream becomes a life-and-death drama as they struggle to free the B-29 frozen in time.
00:30A C-141 lifts off from Thule Air Force Base.
01:01Once a vital staging post for the nuclear bomber fleet, Thule is now a relic of the Cold War.
01:11While its radar dome still probed the horizon, it is eerily quiet and almost deserted.
01:15One of the most remote and isolated outposts of the United States Air Force, it lies on the inhospitable barren shore of Northwest Greenland, deep inside the Arctic Circle.
01:30The climate is harsh and unforgiving.
01:36Even in summer, when the sun never sets, it remains so cold that the sea is littered with icebergs.
01:43Inland, a vast unbroken ice cap stretches for 800 miles.
01:49The weather changes hourly from bright sun to dark-menacing storm clouds with gale-force winds.
01:58250 miles north of Thule lies another relic of the Cold War, an almost intact B-29 bomber.
02:08This plane, nicknamed the Keybird, became lost and crash-landed while on a secret mission.
02:21The crew was rescued, but the Keybird would lie here abandoned for almost 50 years.
02:29When the B-29 first flew in 1942, it could go higher and farther than any other bomber.
02:36In the war against Japan, it traversed the Pacific and crested the Himalayas.
02:41The culmination of the B-29's military service was when the Enola Gay dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, ending the war.
02:54Nearly 4,000 of these planes were built, but now less than a handful remain.
03:01If the Keybird could be recovered from this Arctic wilderness, it would be a unique treasure of aviation history,
03:07probably worth a great deal of money.
03:13Daryl Greenemeier, a former test pilot, has been working on a bold plan to rescue the B-29 and fly it back home.
03:24Daryl has flown higher and faster than most other living pilots.
03:28He had once been a test pilot on the U-2 spy plane and its replacement, the SR-71 Blackbird.
03:33In the 70s, he built his own Starfighter jet from spare parts to gain a low altitude speed record, which he still holds.
03:50An accomplished pilot and engineer used to taking risks, if anyone could pull this off, it was Daryl.
03:57It really is a unique opportunity.
04:01It may be the only airplane in the world that I can think of that's been sitting somewhere for 50 years,
04:07that you could actually get in and potentially fly.
04:10It's just in a far away place.
04:12That's the reason it's available.
04:13But getting the Keybird into the air requires more than skill and boldness.
04:26The bulk of the heavy supplies and machinery that Daryl would need has to be carried to Thule on the annual supply ship.
04:33A five-ton bulldozer will be needed to build a runway for the B-29.
04:42Bulky new tires and propellers are also required, along with four massive reconditioned radial engines.
04:49All of this equipment has to be carried north over the 250 miles of desolate Arctic landscape that separates Thule from the bomber.
05:04Daryl's solution is a 1962 Caribou, another of his salvaged wonders.
05:10It's basically a short field, you know, short landing and takeoff airplane.
05:16And it's made for unimproved fields.
05:18They use it in Vietnam a lot.
05:20And it's a pretty rugged airplane.
05:22It's ideal for this sort of thing, flying these engines in, and it'll carry a pretty good load.
05:31Rick Kriege, who had been Daryl's chief engineer for over seven years, is responsible for making his plans work.
05:37With the Caribou's arrival in mid-July, Daryl's team is complete.
05:44Cecilio Grandi has been Rick's assistant for three years, learning on the job.
05:50Dirt doesn't go through the filter.
05:52Vernon Rich is a toolmaker and machinist.
05:55And Bob Van Der Veen, as well as being another pair of hands, is going to do the cooking.
06:00Roger Von Groot, a retired airline pilot and a distant relative of Baron Von Richthofen, will fly the Caribou.
06:09Daryl and the others take off from Thule.
06:26What way? You can re-occupy the work system.
06:33Do your work system.
06:43Watch your one.
06:44Ledu brought back on the action by the way.
06:46their flight takes them over uncharted mountains and glaciers 250 miles north
06:58it is a risky journey into the unknown where the chances of rescue are slim
07:06finally they come to the valley where the b-29 came to rest
07:16they fly low over the valley floor roger lowers the wheels and makes a brief touchdown to test how firm the surface is
07:31it seems fine so they go around and come in to make a landing
07:43if anything goes wrong now the consequences could be fatal
08:13but they make it
08:17the relief and euphoria spills out as they examine their landing strip
08:33fantastic we can get the thing turned around in this soft dirt you know oh yeah we can and in fact with this i felt this is the first really soft stuff we hit look back there
08:42the team begins to set up camp as behind them the b-29 gleams like new in the chill arctic sunshine
08:57a time capsule preserved in this remote valley
09:00all around is evidence of the remarkable story of the keybird's last crew
09:12for them landing here had been nothing to celebrate
09:18it had been the start of a frightening three days
09:22i honestly didn't think i was going to get out of it
09:25i had made up my mind on the way down that
09:28this is no dream
09:31this is a reality
09:33face it
09:34and uh
09:36accept it
09:37then we realized once we're out the the plane was not on fire that was the main concern
09:42arnett made a hell of a good landing
09:44and uh
09:45the the airplane was intact
09:49nobody was hurt in the crash landing but they were stranded in a deadly climate miles from anywhere
09:55not knowing if they would be rescued
09:57my biggest concern i was too busy frankly
10:02wanting to get a position in
10:04to the
10:06search airplane so somebody would know where we were that was a big thing establishing our position and find out where the hell we are
10:13so we could be rescued
10:15our spirits are high we knew we were going to get out we just
10:18there wasn't one guy that didn't feel like we weren't going to make it
10:21but uh
10:23i remember the cold
10:25and no place to go to get worn
10:27that's
10:28the thing that i remember mostly about it
10:31on the second day
10:35an air force plane found the keybird
10:37the greatest we felt was when a
10:39when that plane flew overhead
10:41with the supplies they knew where we they actually physically spotted us
10:45that was the greatest feeling
10:48a day later a plane landed beside them and flew them out to safety
10:55now at last the keybird was going to be rescued as well
11:03i've got torn feelings
11:07and everybody's excited by getting it out
11:09and
11:10they can make a lot of money on it apparently uh... and everybody's gonna look at this airplane
11:14it's great and all that
11:15but somehow it's something like uh... going into an indian grave as far as i'm concerned
11:20i kind of feel like it belongs up there
11:27no longer claimed by the air force the keybird was now available to anyone who could fly her out
11:34daryl and his team go to work
11:37keybird
11:38keybird
11:39over
11:41the radio link to tuli is established
11:43uh...
11:50the tents set up
11:53and bob starts work on recovering the damaged rudder
11:56which despite the aluminum construction of the b-29
11:59had been covered in fabric
12:02then as the caribou taxis to return to tuli
12:05their precarious situation is brought home to them
12:08daryl was trying to taxi around and i was out watching and then he got going a little bit
12:12and then the nose wheel just went all the way 90
12:15both tires rolled off you know roll off the rim lost all the air
12:19i thought we were stuck there
12:29it takes hours to dig the wheels out of the sticky mud
12:32rick's idea to use propane gas from the camp stove allows the caribou to return to tuli
12:38even though the wheels could explode if they get too hot
12:55the plane takes off leaving rick bob and cecilio behind
13:00once at tuli they refill the tires
13:03don't make any spark
13:07just don't make any spark
13:11it is vital to get the bulldozer up to the b-29 and improvise a runway
13:16but the caribou will be seriously overloaded
13:18and as daryl inches the bulldozer onto the plane roger is concerned
13:22it's a little bit uh higher risk than i really thought it would be
13:26because uh daryl uh can access everything for the limit
13:29if both engines run it'll get off the ground
13:34but if one engine quits uh we're just gonna have to crash straight ahead
13:39because one engine's not going to carry the load
13:52the caribou slow and cumbersome returns to the b-29
14:02rick lights a bonfire so that roger knows the wind direction for his landing
14:06as the dangerously overloaded caribou comes into land
14:17people on the ground do not realize that something has gone seriously wrong
14:21the flaps had failed and roger had nearly lost control
14:38we came in uh no flapper
14:42i came i came up
14:44i knew you were coming up
14:45oh at 90 knots i was stalling i was in this shaker at 90
14:49and uh daryl said we can't do it with how they flaps
14:52and i don't want to go all the way back to it
14:55we're getting low on fuel
15:01the caribou has plowed into the soft earth
15:04another inch and the propellers would have smashed into the ground
15:07disaster had been narrowly averted
15:19daryl puts the bulldozer to work on the b-29
15:21immediately proving its worth
15:51the keybird is back on dry land for the first time in half a century
16:05i never say we got it eh
16:08when the giant b-29 crashed in 1947
16:23the bomb bay doors suffer the most obvious damage
16:26they will be taken off to be replaced later
16:29well the snow really cushioned it real well
16:33it built up under the bomb bays and the bomb bay doors took all the load
16:38and about ninety percent of the damage
16:41there's a little bit of damage on the aft fuselage
16:44but that and on the flaps but that's it
16:47the propellers were badly buckled by the crash
16:50and the main engine bearings were twisted
16:52new ones will be put in their place
16:54the key elements were the engines but
16:57uh we've got four new engines we ran two of them on the test stand
17:01they all ran they ran great
17:03we need to get these engines on and tidy it up and ready to run
17:07and then hang propellers
17:08they take an inventory of the work necessary to get the plane airworthy
17:14the tires they look good but they're rayon
17:18and rayon doesn't age well so we brought up some nylon tires to change them out
17:24the rudder and the elevators are going to be changed out
17:29coming on over here to the uh the ailerons
17:32the control surfaces were fabric and they uh they have to be changed
17:36they were paper thin you could put your finger right through them
17:44the summer here is very short so time is of the essence
17:47and daryl has a limited budget
17:49he planned to make a round trip in the caribou every two days
17:52to fly in the engines and parts from tule
17:55the weather so far has prevented this
17:58daryl hoped the whole project could be finished in a month
18:01but two weeks have passed and he has yet to fly a single new engine out of tule
18:06that's what i heard i was going to say it's good up there and it hasn't been good here
18:13in fact it's hot
18:14yeah it gets actually hot sometimes like 50 degrees
18:15and no wind
18:16and no wind
18:40back at the b-29 rick cecilio and bob continue working stripping off the old twisted propellers
18:55rick designed the hoist from old photos of b-29s being field maintained during the second world war
19:01it's okay
19:08it's okay this way
19:09all the way
19:13all the way
19:20Daryl and Roger return with a new engine, and the old ones are slowly eased off.
19:37Highlight down, just real easy.
19:41Come forward.
19:42Before the new engines can be installed, a lot of components need to be stripped from the old ones.
19:57Well, how do you want to dismantle this thing?
20:00Well, first, we've got to take the carburetor, take all this stuff off.
20:05Then we've got to take the injection pump off, and we've got to take the carburetor off.
20:09Okay.
20:10Then we take the quarter mount off.
20:12All right.
20:19Eventually, a small production line is set up, as old engines are dismantled to be taken back to Thule,
20:24and the new ones are made ready to be hoisted back into place on the old engine mountings.
20:29The engines themselves are massive 18-cylinder radials, the most powerful ever built.
20:36Changing these huge engines in a warm hangar is difficult enough.
20:39Doing it in the middle of the Arctic will be a back-breaking task.
20:52Rick is tireless, and his workload isn't only confined to the B-29.
20:56The caribou also presents problems.
21:10The caribou takes off on its third trip to Thule.
21:12It circles and returns to land.
21:25It circles and returns to land.
21:25Roger thinks there may be an engine fire.
21:42As soon as I went to cruise power, the light came on, and it was flashing.
21:48And I went back and looked at the engine.
21:50You know, I didn't see any smoke or anything, but, you know, I was reading in a book where they said you can get some fires internally with no smoke evidence.
21:57And so, well, we thought it was prudent to come back where the maintenance is.
22:05Rick discovers that the fire indicator on the engine is faulty.
22:09The abortive flight has cost Daryl more time.
22:13It's really disappointing.
22:15What can I say?
22:15I mean, it's, uh, here we've got two beautiful days of weather coming up, and, uh, we've got plenty of work to do, but it's, it's just gonna, you know, if, if we can't take off on Monday, then we are behind.
22:26We're gonna have people sitting on their hands doing nothing.
22:28Then the weather causes more delay.
22:34A month has passed, and it is now the second week of August.
22:38Snow is beginning to settle ominously on the surrounding hills.
22:52Rick and Cecilio keep working even in the rain, hammering on the exhaust cowlings.
22:59Well, that was easy.
23:03Who's side are you on?
23:09Have you got any of those bolts?
23:16Uh, have you heard a report from the Casa on the tops of the clouds, and also is it, uh, scattered or broken back, uh, Tulis?
23:23It's, uh, it's broken back here.
23:26Daryl is desperate to keep the shuttle flights going
23:32and feels that he has to risk flying in bad weather.
23:37Okay, I guess we'll give it a shot.
23:41We'll come around and then we'll try and come in under it.
23:56Okay, come down with it.
24:16Let's go ahead and go back up with it again.
24:26JT, turn it on and off.
24:35Turn on again.
24:43The work is physically demanding.
24:45Removing the old tires takes hours,
24:48even using the bulldozer to separate them from the rim.
24:52One, two, three.
24:56One, two, three.
25:05Hey, Bob.
25:07Now.
25:20A small one.
25:26Rick is beginning to show the strain of this hard work
25:36and looks exhausted.
25:56Mealtimes bring some respite
25:57and are an opportunity to tell stories of old exploits,
26:00like the time Daryl tried to take off in Panama without using the runway.
26:05They wanted me to take off on the ramp
26:07so they didn't have to open up the fence
26:09to get on Panama property to use the runway.
26:12So I said, well, no problem.
26:15But then they wanted me to take off a little bit downwind
26:19because if I went the other way, I'd be flying over the general's house.
26:24Okay.
26:25And so I said, well, okay, I think so.
26:27It was a downhill run and then a slight turn,
26:31about 60 knots, and then down the ramp.
26:35How much runway do you have, all told?
26:38I don't remember, but what happened was
26:40I went down the little hill and made the right turn,
26:44and then it started bouncing.
26:45And all of a sudden, the nose wheel steering kicked out,
26:49and I tried to hold it, and I was too close to the fence.
26:55And so it kind of lifted off
26:57and then squatted right down on the fence.
26:59But I didn't give up just then.
27:03I kept going.
27:09Working under the wing in that snowstorm, it was too hot.
27:12It was coming loose because of that.
27:14Oh, really?
27:16Bob has finished recovering the rudder with fabric,
27:18and he and Roger are now putting the finishing touches to it.
27:24Vernon has had to make many of the small components
27:26for the rudder cables and control surfaces from scratch.
27:29Without blueprints, it is not easy.
27:32...in its place, and then stick,
27:33drill this one out and stick it in the other end,
27:35so we'll have the same configuration.
27:37Just like we made the other two.
27:40Well, you just, yeah, except that,
27:43no, no, we'll go to this size bowl.
27:45Right, right.
27:46Yeah.
27:46So we're going up.
27:47Right.
27:52Just like new again.
27:54It'll fly.
27:55This is the real recovery work here.
27:57It'll fly.
27:58You bet it'll fly.
27:59By the time the rudder is ready to be hoisted back into place,
28:10the project has taken five weeks,
28:13far longer than Darrell's original forecast.
28:16Why don't you give me that, uh,
28:18your bowl?
28:21Is that the correct one up there?
28:23Yep.
28:23But the sun is now back,
28:27and people's spirits have lifted again.
28:31All right.
28:31I see the flange in front.
28:32I see the flange in front.
28:39It's got to be straight with this.
28:53I see the flange in front very well.
28:54I mean in back.
28:55In back, in the back of the flange.
28:57See, it's a flat spot.
28:58Yeah, I see the flat spot.
29:00Well, it isn't lined up.
29:01Well, it isn't.
29:03It's going.
29:04Yeah, it is.
29:06Hold it right there.
29:10That's it.
29:12Well, it fell in.
29:13Are you crying?
29:13Are you so happy with those tears of joy?
29:17You got it.
29:19The weeks of work are paying off.
29:22The rudder has been fitted,
29:23and four new engines are in place.
29:25The last major job is the propellers.
29:28The propellers came out of the prop shop in Tucson,
29:31and they've been overhauled,
29:33but they haven't been final assembled yet.
29:35We'll put those together and hang them on.
29:37But I don't anticipate any problem with that.
29:39I've done that before,
29:40and they usually go together pretty easy.
29:43These are awful big propellers,
29:44the biggest I've ever dealt with.
29:46That's not happening.
29:48Okay, come on, let's go.
29:56Carefully balanced in a workshop back home.
29:59They have to be assembled in the right sequence,
30:01or they'll rip the engines apart.
30:03Oh, Vernon, I stepped right on your foot.
30:05That's all right.
30:07Okay.
30:09Okay.
30:10Come on in.
30:13Oh, oh, it's a ring, fella.
30:16This way?
30:17Yeah, put it on the...
30:19It needs to be wiped off.
30:21It's probably got sand all over it now.
30:23Set it down.
30:24Set it down.
30:25Okay, down.
30:27Here, let me have it.
30:28All right.
30:30Up.
30:31Okay.
30:32You got it.
30:34All right.
30:34Here we go.
30:35Let's go.
30:36Hup!
30:36Let's go.
30:36Okay, set it down.
30:44That's it.
30:45Yeah!
30:47Look at that!
30:48See, that's what happens when you have the first team in.
30:50Oh, that's right!
30:53Let's go.
30:53Okay.
30:59Push!
31:0016 feet across and weighing almost a ton, they're difficult to maneuver.
31:04Okay, that looks good.
31:05Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo.
31:09We're gonna have to come down about an inch and a half first.
31:15How's the crane for it?
31:17Okay.
31:18A little bit more.
31:19Okay, hold it.
31:21Okay, that's it.
31:22Okay, now you should be able to rock it.
31:27Okay.
31:29Jump on it.
31:31Now, it's time to start an engine.
31:33Click.
31:34Click.
31:42Woo-hoo!
31:46It's the first real test of weeks of exhausting work, and the engine refuses to start.
32:03Rick thinks he knows what's wrong.
32:05Should you get me a pair of 10 snips?
32:07Somebody?
32:08Great.
32:10Get it again.
32:16No, no, it takes pressure.
32:28Carburetor doesn't want to work.
32:30The carburetor needs adjusting.
32:42Yay!
32:42Yay!
32:43Yay!
32:44Yay!
32:44Yay!
32:44Yay!
32:44Yay!
32:44Yay!
32:44Yay!
32:44Yay!
32:45Yay!
32:45Yay!
32:45Yay!
32:46Everyone is jubilant, but still, only one engine has been tested.
32:59Time is running out fast, and Vernon is still working on the other three.
33:03We've got to hook everything up to them to make sure that they work.
33:08We've got to put the magnetos on, the generators, all the fuel system, the oil system.
33:14It probably takes 12, it probably takes 12, 14 hours after the time you stick it on there
33:19per motor to actually get them going.
33:23And that's in a nice heated hanger with all the tools that you need, but so when it's blowing
33:28snow sideways, it takes a little bit longer, and we'll fix it.
33:32We'll get it going.
33:32The last major hurdle is a runway.
33:34Darryl uses the bulldozer to level the ground, but the heavy rain has left the tundra waterlogged,
33:48with shallow lakes dotting the surface.
33:54Normally, a B-29 will use a runway of over 5,000 feet, but the most Daryl can hope for
34:01is 2,000 feet of dry earth to take off in.
34:05This is the worst spot of all right here, and it's really at a critical distance.
34:11Well, you know, like you were saying, two days ago, there was no water here, so hopefully
34:14with three or four good days, just like this, this water won't even be here.
34:24It's August the 22nd, and the first sunset, at midnight, signals the approach of the polar winter.
34:39Finally, all four engines have their controls and fuel systems connected and are ready to be tested.
34:46Daryl climbs into the cockpit, and the first engine is turned over.
34:54Falling back, will you pull under, and it looks a better pattern.
34:59If you look up the entire window, you'll be doing damage before the waves.
35:08That's the 4-1 room.
35:17We do not see such the red.
35:21Then, leave yourrina a little bar.
35:21The engines will have to run perfectly to lift the giant bomber from such a short runway.
35:44Rick knows that everything needs to be double checked.
35:46Why don't you stand off on that side and look down there and see if you can see the oil leaks.
36:09Work continues on the engines, eliminating oil leaks and making sure that everything will
36:13work as it should.
36:14That one's got an oil leak, that one's got a loose push rod tube.
36:19It seems that the flight of the Keybird will be only a few days away.
36:29The Caribou departs for Thule to pick up more fuel for the bomber.
36:37But just as success seems within reach, Rick has become ill.
36:41For several weeks he's been taking painkillers for what he's insisted is a badly twisted back.
36:53In those days he's faced the grueling schedule in great pain.
36:58He is now collapsed and can no longer do any work.
37:02Then the Caribou returns with a serious mechanical problem.
37:16That puts everybody's safety in jeopardy.
37:19We lost partial power on the right engine of the Caribou and we thought it was probably a cylinder problem.
37:25And then when we arrived, we found that we had a stuck exhaust valve and it was hitting the top of the piston.
37:33And we need a cylinder to get out of here with any kind of safety at all.
37:46The winter finally hits, bringing gale force winds and freezing rain.
37:52The temperature plummets.
37:54Soon life here will be impossible.
37:57If they don't get out now, they never will.
38:01The first of the winter snow is settling on the camp.
38:16After two months, time has beaten Daryl.
38:31Work on the Keybird stops as everyone's attention focuses on the Caribou.
38:38The Caribou is their lifeline and Vernon and Cecilio struggle to fit a spare cylinder.
38:44Despite inadequate tools and freezing fingers, they manage to do it.
38:59But the engine still has a serious oil leak and there's no guarantee it won't give out altogether
39:03as they fly over the glacier back to Thule.
39:06You fly this now?
39:10Yeah.
39:11If we can put oil in the engine while we're flying, then we have absolutely no problem at all.
39:25Every flight of the Caribou is a flirtation with death.
39:30This is ever more so.
39:37As ice is knocked off the Caribou's wing, Daryl faces up to the fact that he can go no further.
39:43I'm just going to have to sit down and take a long thinking session about what we're going
39:48to do.
39:49I haven't given up.
39:50We're too close.
39:51We're too close.
39:52The airplane is essentially ready to fly.
39:56We never did get a runway suitable to take off this year.
39:59The winter caught us.
40:02Rick is sicker than a dog.
40:03We've got to get him out of here and probably to a hospital.
40:06And so things are coming to a screeching halt.
40:16At last they're ready to pull out, leaving the Keybird where it has been for nearly 50
40:20years.
40:33Halfway through the flight, the Caribou's right engine loses power, but they manage to struggle
40:39on one engine in Tuttuli.
40:41Rick is carried off into an ambulance.
41:06Suffering from internal bleeding, he has flown to a hospital in Canada and rushed to surgery.
41:11two weeks later, this kind and gentle man, a resourceful and highly skilled engineer, died
41:23of a blood clot.
41:33Darrell could barely come to terms with Rick's death.
41:36But having come so far, he was not prepared to give up his struggle to recover the B-29.
41:41It would mean bitter disappointment and financial disaster.
41:50Nine months later, with the Caribou still out of action at Tuttuli, Darrell returns to the
41:54Keybird in a chartered twin order.
41:55He has enlarged the team with the inclusion of Matt Jackson and John Cater, both specialists
42:01in radial engines.
42:02One, four!
42:03Number four!
42:04Number four!
42:05Number four!
42:06Number four!
42:07Number four!
42:08Number four!
42:09Number four!
42:10Number four!
42:11Number four!
42:13Number four!
42:14There's three or four of those fittings around here.
42:15And Thad Doolin, a qualified B-29 flight engineer.
42:18and John Cater, both specialists in radial engines.
42:26An old friend, Al Hansen,
42:28and Thad Doolin, a qualified B-29 flight engineer.
42:36The temperature never rises above 24 degrees Fahrenheit.
42:40The cold makes the work far more difficult,
42:43but Daryl's plan is to use the surface of the frozen lake as a runway.
42:46We were trying to get here as late as possible before the ice melted
42:51so that we could use the lake for the runway
42:53and yet not have miserable cold weather.
42:58The lake is covered in snowdrifts,
43:00but Daryl's main concern is how long it will remain frozen.
43:05I'd say two weeks we've got to get on that lake or we're in trouble.
43:12The snow has piled up around the Keybird.
43:16And the engines need to be thoroughly checked after the winter.
43:23The new team is all business.
43:25The biting cold is a spur to their determination to get the job done.
43:28What did you do with that biting?
43:30You took off a number one feathering pump and took the line on?
43:37Daryl is concerned about the effect the cold will have on the engines.
43:41It takes his time warming them up.
43:45He's running at low RPM until the oil temperature gets up.
43:49How long will that take?
43:50Ten minutes.
43:51They discover a number of oil leaks.
44:07We're fighting little gremlins right now because of the weather.
44:13You know, moisture and cold really wreaks havoc on an airplane.
44:17You can bring a brand new airplane up here and let it sit for a week
44:20and you'll have the same kind of problems.
44:21The engine cowlings have to be taken off and replaced
44:31every time something needs fixing in the engines.
44:36And every time an engine stops,
44:38great care has to be taken before it can be restarted.
44:41After a week of work,
45:01the engines are running smoothly
45:02and the oil leaks have been eliminated.
45:04The flight of the Keybird is approaching
45:06and Daryl turns his thoughts to the runway.
45:09What I'm concerned about is the drifts on the lake.
45:13I tried to flatten them out with the bulldozer
45:16and the grater that we've got,
45:18but I may have created more problem than I cured
45:21because it left little mounds.
45:23The problem with the B-29 is there's no nose wheel steering,
45:26and so when I hit one of these mounds with the right gear,
45:29it's going to pull right.
45:30It's a problem.
45:31We're just going to have to get out and try it.
45:36The engines cool quickly in this climate,
45:38and an oil-burning heater pipes hot air under the cowlings
45:41to keep them close to working temperature.
45:44Preparations get underway for the first flight.
45:47Daryl must be ready as soon as the conditions are right.
45:52Today is a good day.
45:53It's warmer, and what we'll do is we'll start at one end.
45:56We're preheating one engine now,
45:58and we'll start it, and we'll start the next one,
46:01and then get to the third one.
46:02By the time we get to the third one,
46:03we'll probably go back and run the first one,
46:05and so we get them all up to temperature at the same time.
46:10And then once we get them up there,
46:11we've got to keep them there.
46:12That's why it's so critical to,
46:15once we get everything warmed up and ready to go,
46:18that we don't dally, we go.
46:20Otherwise, we've got to start the whole process again,
46:22and that's burning fuel,
46:23which is a precious commodity up here.
46:25You know, when the engines are running,
46:26there's a surge of adrenaline.
46:28I want to get in it and go,
46:30and I think it'll make it.
46:45Daryl strides to the cockpit.
46:47The dream that has obsessed him for three years
46:50is just hours from being realized.
46:58Thad sits at the flight engineer's console
47:02to start all four engines.
47:04Go on four, Daryl.
47:05Okay.
47:05Instruments that have remained dormant for 50 years
47:29once again register life in the machine.
47:31The giant radial engines can deliver
47:43over 2,000 horsepower each.
47:54Thad makes last-minute adjustments
47:55to the oil pressure and the carburetors
47:57to get the engines running sweetly.
47:59I don't have much of the way
48:02in those oil pressure on three, Daryl.
48:04Well, it's coming up now.
48:08Manipold pressure gauge just came loose.
48:12There she comes.
48:25As the propellers shimmer in the sunlight,
48:27Daryl puts the coordinates for Thule
48:28into the newly installed satellite navigation system.
48:31Let's go.
49:02The plane has frozen into the mud and snow, and it takes maximum power to break the wheels free.
49:11The nose wheel can't be controlled, and at slow speeds, Darrell has to adjust the engine power to steer the plane.
49:31Finally, it is moving in a wide circle out onto the lake on its way toward the end of the runway.
49:50The plane is bounced and shaken by the frozen snowdrifts.
50:10Suddenly, smoke can be seen pouring from the windows in the cockpit.
50:15The auxiliary power unit, a standby generator, was thrown from its mounting in the rear fuselage and caught fire.
50:29Fortunately, the crew managed to jump clear.
50:34Darrell shouts for more extinguishers, but it's too late.
50:39The fire has already swept through the plane.
50:41He can do nothing but stand and watch as this irreplaceable piece of aviation history is consumed by fire.
50:52With it go the years of planning and hard work by so many people.
51:00It's going to burn to the ground.
51:02Apparently, the APU was left running in the tail,
51:31and the fuel tank broke loose and dumped fuel on the APU and started to fire in the tail.
51:38That's where the fire extinguisher was, but we couldn't get to it.
51:43I don't think it would have made a difference which way we took off.
51:45It would have been airborne a third of the way across the lake.
51:51Well, I almost threw my bag in before you pulled out because I figured we were going to go.
51:58So I just put my tools in.
52:01Where are they up front?
52:02No, they're in the tail where the fire was.
52:05Oh, shit.
52:06I'm gone.
52:07My tools are up front.
52:12Well, it wasn't because you didn't try.
52:14It was ready to go.
52:26That's the real tragedy of it.
52:28I mean, we were so close.
52:31Success was right there.
52:33It was right there.
52:34But this is my game, and I'd do it again.
52:38Darryl had faith that the B-29 would fly once again with him at the controls.
52:57But instead, it remains on the frozen surface.
53:02When the ice melts, what's left of the Keybird, the new engines and propellers,
53:07will sink and come to rest on the dark bottom of the lake forever.
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