B17 Pink Lady

Hmm.. well winters nearly at an end so i’d be surprised at that one. I have seen Sally B land quite comfortably on the grass at Dx, but i don’t ever recall her taking off from the grass. Anyone know the respective grass runway lengths for Duxford and La Ferte.?

There has been rumblings that she is to become a Museum exhibit for a couple of years now, something to do with lack of people to take over the reigns of maintaining and flying her, Dont know whether that is why shes there now.

The french guy at Legends rambled on about it for the entire weekend of 2008. I was surprised to see her again in 2009, considering the amount of time spent talking about her being “put to rest”.

The french guy at Legends rambled on about it for the entire weekend of 2008. I was surprised to see her again in 2009, considering the amount of time spent talking about her being “put to rest”.

Didnt he just! But then as you say it returned. Hoping that bloody French guy Melv is not commentating at next Legends, but you can guarantee he will be there to talk over everything again!! Pink Lady can come back though of course:D

There were talking about to ground her since a little time now. Several factors have played: Costs. Insurance is the same price than for an airliner as this is based on the weight of the plane… one another factor was the state of the plane that needed more than a general overhaul.

Sentiments aside this B-17G flew 5 missions with the 351st from Polebrook and then transferred to the 305th BG at Chelveston in 1945 . It is a real 8th Air Force machine and deserves all the attention it can get. I do hope it will not be grounded permanently.

Did the crew of Pink Lady ever consider setting up a suppporters club like Sally B and The Fighter Collection?

so no official word yet? Whats the name of the french guy who always posts those amazing pics from La Ferte Alais?

Hello (I’m a new poster on this forum but reading since a few months)

According, the team of “La Ferté Alais” the runway there is now long enough to permit a take off with minimal carburant aboard.

Regards

Iclo

A post on Facebook claimed that they “left the gear down too long and cooked the motors”

?????
What does this mean? What Motors? Undercarriage Motors?
If they mean the undercarriage motors, then the undercarriage set up must be wrong or faulty because they should cut out automatically upon reaching travel limits in either direction.

Mike J
City of Savannah is being restored to airworthy condition according to a recent issue of an American magazine…but they’ve been wrong before. :rolleyes:

Hmmmmm.

I had a good look over it a few weeks back on a trip to the East Coast. It is in a building where the only way to get it out will be to take it apart, miles from the nearest airport. The parts being used for the restoration are not, AFAIK, to airworthy standard, and the work is not being signed off as airworthy by a licenced enginner. Ergo, it will not be ‘airworthy’ once it is completed.

Mike J
City of Savannah is being restored to airworthy condition according to a recent issue of an American magazine…but they’ve been wrong before. :rolleyes:

The Museum of Flight does seem to fly its DC-2, but that has more to do with Clay Lacy than the museum I’d suspect. Still, it would be great for them to have the option of flying the B-17 in the future. I hope someone there shares that opinion…

I misspoke, I meant to say that Shoo Shoo Baby is airworthy.
As is the Evergreen example…so there are several ground-bound airworthy examples out there, all it will take for some to fly is a new owner or change of museum policy.

But realistically, AVGAS will be the main limiting factor in the future of these and all piston warbirds.

Thought you might be interested in this article about B-17 owners and operators from the Smithsonian Air and Space magazine.

http://www.airspacemag.com/military-…-17-Co-op.html

If you scroll thru the images that accompany the article you’ll stumble on this one …..

I was asked if I had any images to submit by Don Price of the CAF Gulf Coast Wing ~ to go with his interview for this article.

I sent three ~ and they used one of my favorites from the 2010 tour stop.

Taken with a Canon G11 “point & shoot” perched on top of a mono pod with a remote release and held as high as
I could get it whilst standing at the back of the queue for ground tours on a hot Saturday afternoon.

As Kevin Costner might have said ….. If you tour with it ~ they will come 🙂

There are 4 or 5 under rebuild to flying status..

Indeed. But they are VERY long-term projects.

Thought you might be interested in this article about B-17 owners and operators from the Smithsonian Air and Space magazine.

http://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/At-the-B-17-Co-op.html

Talking of Lyons…I wonder if they are aware of how their A26 “Feeding Frenzy” got that name… 😉

There are 4 or 5 under rebuild to flying status..

Spookly enough ~ according to the Lyon Air Museum’s web site press release ~
http://lyonairmuseum.org/2012/lyon-air-museum-b-17-flying-fortress-fuddy-duddy-in-history-takes-flight-event-feb-11/

….. B-17 “Fuddy Duddy” was slated to fly on January 23rd 2012.

Unfortunately they broke it while operating out of Chino a day or two beforehand. A post on Facebook claimed that they “left the gear down too long and cooked the motors”

I believe the French group when they say that they’re storing it and will fly it in the distant future. Why not preserve one to have it fly in 50 or 100 years? I believe a scandinavian group is doing something similar with a DC-3.

We’ve seen that flying any aircraft, no matter how carefully or well intentioned has its risks.

As far as the Boeing Bee, I do hope the Seattle Museum of Flight parks the Bee in an area where it can be removed and flown periodically.

Many of the displayed B-17s (NMUSAF Shoo, Shoo Baby and Memphis Belle, The Mighty Eighth AF Museum in Savannah, etc) have or are restoring their aircraft to airworthy status but museum policys won’t let the planes fly.

The main reason given for the French for parking the B-17 is the increasing age of the crew looking after it. I doubt that process will be reversed in 50 or 100 years. Shoo Shoo Baby is destined for the Smithsonian. Neither Memphis Belle nor City of Savannah (which I visited a few weeks back) are being restored to airworthy. As for the MoF, they do not fly their Boeing 247, and have shown no signs of wanting to operate the B-17 – it simply does not tie in with the museum’s mission as a static collection.

I believe the French group when they say that they’re storing it and will fly it in the distant future. Why not preserve one to have it fly in 50 or 100 years? I believe a scandinavian group is doing something similar with a DC-3.

We’ve seen that flying any aircraft, no matter how carefully or well intentioned has its risks.

As far as the Boeing Bee, I do hope the Seattle Museum of Flight parks the Bee in an area where it can be removed and flown periodically.

Many of the displayed B-17s (NMUSAF Shoo, Shoo Baby and Memphis Belle, The Mighty Eighth AF Museum in Savannah, etc) have or are restoring their aircraft to airworthy status but museum policys won’t let the planes fly.