Thu, Dec 04, 2025
One of the many unique airplanes at AirVenture 2018 was a 1/3-scale B-17 bomber built by Jack Bally, who talked about the 17-year project with Aero-News at the show last summer.
Bally said that the idea was born over "too much beer one night with a bunch of buddies" as they talked about what kind of airplane they could build that would be the only one of its kind. They settled on the B-17, because as far as they knew, there were no flying 4-engine scale models WWII airplanes. They had originally intended to build a B-24, but that airplane would not scale properly.
Bally used scaled-up model airplane plans to build the Bally Bomber. The single-place airplane has a wingspan of 34 feet, 7 inches and is 25 feet long. It is powered by four Hirth 80 horsepower engines rated at 45 horsepower due to modifications, cruises at 110 knots and stalls at about 50 knots.
Bally said that during the construction process, he was visited by several WWII B-17 pilots, "and those were some real good stories."
Bally's story is a good one too. Congratulations on bringing your dream to a reality.
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