Chairs, chairs...

Having an authentic seat from a WWII aircraft in your radio shack is always a treat, if not the most comfortable thing you can sit on. The incredible variety makes it impossible to be "wrong" for whatever aircraft radio suite you might have, though some of the seats fetch high prices because of their rarity. Shown below are two different types from a B-29. The first is an early radio operator's chair, with the suit heater control mounted on a plate (not shown here) across the rear two legs. This type bolted directly to the floor in one position and therefore wasn't very comfortable for tall OPs.

Early B-29 Radio Operator's Chair

The second chair base below is from a later B-29, and was used in several positions because of its adjustment capability. The mounting rails, shown here in a length that will span two positions on the "flight deck", were made in several different lengths for the actual aircraft installation. These particular rails had to be milled from aluminum bar stock to the required "T" cross section, since the original rails were usually melted down with the aircraft and aren't available anywhere. Releasing the two Dzus fasteners (also made from scratch out of stainless steel because they were no longer produced in this specific configuration) allows swinging the whole assembly upward to clean the deck underneath. The yellow paint on the knobs is specified in 1945 Boeing drawings.

Late B-29 Flight Crew Chair on adjustable rails

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