OT - More for plane folk - lost another B-17

[gak]

Sad - another one gone, leaving only 13 flying, according to CBS tonight. Good news - all 7 got out.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/ ... story.html

EDIT: The Post link is goofing on me (and maybe others) this morning...If so, try this
http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/20 ... erty-belle

This second link's a better one anyway. Persist with the links for more full coverage, pics, etc. Just when you think you're done, scroll some more.

[RIHMFIRE]

Thats too bad...
one of the 14 was restored down here in New Symrna Beach airport
its one hell of a bird....

[pdentrem]

Just like our fathers, uncles, brothers who fought in WWII and the ranks are getting thinner every day, so are the planes. Another piece of history is gone forever.

[Lobo]

Big Sigh !

ex-Air Force Guy

[pokey]

a little duct tape, a little baling wire, presto good as new.

those were/are some tough old birds, but she won't fly without
something holding the wings and tail together.
i bet somebody rebuilds that one.

[pdentrem]

Just about any bird can be rebuilt with enough dedication and money.

Canadian Warplane Hertiage Museum lost 6 birds in a hanger fire. On February 15, 1993, a fire destroyed one of the museum two hangars. Destroyed in the fire were also the Hawker Hurricane, Grumman TBM Avenger, Auster, Stinson and Supermarine Spitfire. The current replacement structure was opened in 1996 and houses the entire museum
Fortunately the Lanc was not lost too. It was a near thing.
The hangers were WWII vintage wood structures. Fire suppression system was the next system to be installed but the fire came first.

[Thunder50]

Sad to see it happen. So few left out of the thousands built

[olyinaz]

A huge loss.

Oly

[Borregos]

That is a shame.

[Lawyer Daggit]

Sad, I saw it on the news tonight. No mention of the crew in the report here in Australia. Hope they got out.

Sad to see an old girl like that on fire.

I often visit the war memorial in Canberra Australia, there is a good selection of warbirds Me 109. Me 262, the rocket fighter that preceded the 262, Lancaster etc- as well as a large number of other war birds. It is sad that none of these birds fly but at least we do not run the risk of their loss. It also has a few WW1 aircraft including an Albatross.

Perhaps one solution may be to restrict their operation to taxiing- so that we can at least enjoy the sound of their engines without endangering the plane and crew in a 70 year old airframe that was not designed to last anything like that.

At least that way my son may get to share the sound of 4 roaring Merlins with his son.

[gak]

I edited my OP with a second, better/more thorough link. The first link is goofing today.

[stretch]

That's a shame, and it ain't like you can go and get a new one these days.

Hopefully they can salvage some of it - although with a crash and burn
like that it'll be an uphill battle.

My dad flew in B-17s during the Berlin airlift. They used 'em as weather planes
among other things. We're all big fans of "The Queen" in my family. I remember
reading the pilot's handbook for it when I was a kid.

-Stretch

[gak]

Stretch said:
"I remember reading the pilot's handbook for it when I was a kid."

Same here! I also wore his head gear, earphones and throat mic (still worked--plugged it into some sort of amp!)
Of all the planes my father flew (bomber instructor pilot most models 17s through 29s), he had the most hours in the B-17 and it was his "emotional favorite."

[J Miller]

They keep calling it a crash. The aircraft did not crash. The pilot made a proper controlled wheels down landing with the #2 prop feathered. Shut the engines down and then they all walked away.

The bad part is he landed it in a wet field and by the pictures the fire trucks had a lot of trouble getting to the aircraft. By the time the foam truck got there is was too late.
Had they made it back to the airport most likely they'd been able to save her.

Sad, very sad.

Joe

[stretch]

They keep calling it a crash. The aircraft did not crash. The pilot made a proper controlled wheels down landing with the #2 prop feathered. Shut the engines down and then they all walked away.

You're right, of course. The pilot made a nice landing, especially on
a soft field under less-than-ideal conditions (plane on fire!). Too bad
it wasn't closer to firefighting facilities. In the audio I heard on one
site, the pilot of the T-6 chase plane was pretty adamant about
getting it on the ground NOW! Could they have made it back
to the airport before it burnt in half? We'll never know - but they
made the best decisions they could with what they had and everybody
walked away, so far be it from me to question their choices.

It's a real shame, though.

-Stretch

[J Miller]

Stretch,

Where did you hear the audio?

I've seen a lot of pics but no links to that.

Joe

[stretch]

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?sectio ... id=8187278

Here ya go, Joe.

-Tom

[Aussie Chris]

This made me really sad.

I love the B-17 and remember the sweet sound of 'sentimental journey' as she did a fly pass at NAS Oceana VA, at an airshow I was at it '97.

Maybe this should be some inspiration to finally finish my 1/48 scale model of the Memphis Belle

Chris

[Yodar]

The B-17 was powered by four Wright Cyclone GR-1820 nine cyclinder air cooled radial engines. No roaring Merlins here.

The pilot did the right thing by landing right away. During an emergency right after takeoff, the best thing to do is land straight ahead. Many people have been killed trying to make it back to the airport under emergency conditions.

[J Miller]

Official statement from the Liberty Foundation:
http://www.libertyfoundation.org/index.html

The aircraft would have survived if the fire trucks had gotten to it. Due to the wet field, they just sat and watched it burn to the ground.

Joe

[Crazy Horse]

I sure hated to hear this. I love B-17's. One of my best friends dad was a ball turret gunner and flew 29 missions.

[Ridgerunner]

RIHMFIRE, was the one reworked down your way called "Chuckie" after the owner's wife? If so, I saw her at the Virginia Military Air Museum just up the road from my house.....Beautiful old warrior....

[gak]

I THINK this provides some additional background from my OP.
http://beaconnews.suntimes.com/news/594 ... asure.html