French B-17 Pink Lady to be "grounded for good"!!!

Good news….?

Interesting link here about the status of Pink Lady for the 2008 season.

http://www.thepinklady.fr/post/2008/03/27/Status-of-the-Pink-Lady

Happymeal,
I find your statement interesting because around X-mas there was a statement of sort saying till the insurance can be dealt with that Pink Lady will Most Likely not fly during the 2008 airshow season.

Also by what I understand there are two different US Based Buyers who have inquired about purchasing Pink Lady.

As for a B-17 on Display in Europe there is already one but the problem is it sitting in storage at the French Air Museum maybe thats the one someone should be looking at to purchase.

There has been no official statement from the FTV organisation.

As of now, they are looking at incoming airshow bookings to see if they can balance the year financially. Mechanics are hard at work every tuesday in Melun, and have been working at replacing an engine for the last weeks.

Any idea if there has been an official statement from the group / operators yet or is it still at the rumours stage?

re

As for the political comments at the end of your post rather than enter into a major political discussion on this thread, all i will say is in this country at this time there is no alternative to Labour/ Conservative partys there all IMHO the same.[/QUOTE]

Kind of agree, the anti EU parties are whatever Kilroy is squabbling about (UKIP etc) some bunch of louts led by Gary Bushell (ex boot boy) and the BNP who are living in the 1930s. Not ideal. The BNP want to pull out of the Geneva convention and NATO. Not anyone you would want to associate with.

The garbled post over on WIX would hardly constitute an official statement – just because it comes from a FTV ‘member’.

And, IMO, no person connected with Pink Lady would state “Bigs regrets but it is better that a crash which would destroy her… “

I would suggest a mistranslation of “than” as “that”. The sentence makes a lot more sense that way!

My previous post on this subject notwithstanding (I’m not a big fan of the insurance business and had to get that off my chest…), I do seem to recall reading somewhere (when Sally-B had insurance problems) that the situation was different with Pink Alice as was insured under a contract covering all of the Salis Collection aircraft, and that therefore no increase in fees was levied :confused:

The garbled post over on WIX would hardly constitute an official statement – just because it comes from a FTV ‘member’.

And, IMO, no person connected with Pink Lady would state “Bigs regrets but it is better that a crash which would destroy her… ”

So don’t feel an idiot – hopefully that honour will be reserved for the person starting this rumour….

And really, when have the French taken any notice of any EU ruling? 😀

sorry to sound like an idiot here, but has there been an official statement from the team who operate pink lady, or is it just a rumour?

I agree, there should be a flying B-17 based in Europe.
My comment wasn’t about returning it because it was made in the US.

If it comes down to making it a static or keeping it flying….then it should go back to the USA.

Maybe a man in the USA should buy Pink Lady have a US reg etc and US insureance and have it based in france or get Roman Abramovich to buy her 😎

Unfortunately the BBMF would have no interest in a B-17 as this is obviously predominately identified as an American bomber, even though the RAF did operate them.

Such a shame they wont have Sally-B I could see her now in these colours with the Black and Yellow stripe starboard engine:cool:
http://www.tricatus.co.uk/AA31101.htm

On Sally-B Website it says

“With the help of politicians, the Civil Aviation Authority and our many friends and supporters, we have managed to get the ear of the Regulators in Brussels. It is now appreciated that an oversight has been made in this third party issue for Sally B.

“But, to change a law like this will take time. Once an EU law has been made, it takes years to reverse it. But, the pioneering work has now been done and I am confident that within the next 18 months this unjust law will be changed, not only for Sally B, but for vintage aircraft in general

So hope its soon 😮

And a nice video off inside Sally-b http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=lcTJPD7t2EQ
and the sound of the engines makes a lump go to your thoat 🙁

James

So, you’d rather she be grounded?
Rather than go to the U.S. (land of her “birth” and where she would be well looked after)…
Talk about a dog in the manger….

Simply. there are two choices…
Grounded in (or out) of a museum…possibly outdoors.
Flying…if not in Europe, than certainly in the US…where there are people willing to pay money to fly B-17s…(witness the recent sale of a flyable Fortress “Fuddy Duddy” for about $2 million.)

And to our UK friends…rather than just gripe about the EU, try electing a party that will do something about it.

As an outsider it seems that Labour has a permanent hold to the keys to 10 Downing Street…work for a change if you don’t like current policies.

No in an ideal world i would like for her to fly. If she is to be grounded ground her here as a memorial to the many who flew in B-17’s over this side of the pond.
If she did go to the USA who’s to say she wouldn’t be put into a static enviroment? Not all B-17’s in the US fly.

As for the political comments at the end of your post rather than enter into a major political discussion on this thread, all i will say is in this country at this time there is no alternative to Labour/ Conservative partys there all IMHO the same.

I’m sure there are facilities in Europe which would do the same….. for a price….

re:

There are facilities in the US that would configure her to absoulte stock condition, which cant be a bad thing.

Has she a record for flying almost non stop since being built?

a lot of noise from nothing again. today the B17 is based at Melun villaroche (77) and is in maintenance from what I have learned . one day may be it will be based at la ferté, not in 2007/08. will probably fly again in 2008, i hope.
all the problem about the situation of the B17 is due to the lack of info not given directly by the B17team forteresse volante.
yp

That’s strange, I could have sworn that the link to the other thread on the other forum lead straight to a posting by ……………wait for it…………a member of the FTV, although how active a member that person is, I have no way of knowing.
That said if you definately know something different then say so and don’t use words like “from what I have learned”, “one day maybe” and “will probably fly again in 2008, I HOPE”
Unfortunately your posting offers nothing ‘solid’ to dispel the very rumours that you are trying to say are unfounded!
All i’m afraid I read are your own hopes and wishes.

I would of course like to think that she will still be able to operate as a flying aircraft, having spent many an hour enjoying the drone of her four (and on one occasion three) wright cyclones.

Bomberboy

a lot of noise from nothing again. today the B17 is based at Melun villaroche (77) and is in maintenance from what I have learned . one day may be it will be based at la ferté, not in 2007/08. will probably fly again in 2008, i hope.
all the problem about the situation of the B17 is due to the lack of info not given directly by the B17team forteresse volante.
yp

Bigs regrets but it is better that a crash which would destroy her…

What sort of warped logic is that?…….

Don’t the French have something like our own BBMF? If not why not as that might be a way forward here if it gets any worse for our own sally b.

Unfortunately the BBMF would have no interest in a B-17 as this is obviously predominately identified as an American bomber, even though the RAF did operate them.
Albeit in rather smaller numbers than compared to say the B-24.
They do of course operate the Dakota which is an American built aeroplane, but of course as we all know, was very widely used within the RAF.

For the same reason, I could not see where the French ‘MOD’ would operate a B-17.

Bomberboy

Don’t the French have something like our own BBMF? If not why not as that might be a way forward here if it gets any worse for our own sally b.

What a great idea, they could turn up at the nearest airshow and surrender 🙂

It might be where she was born but she thought WWII in the skies of europe not USA, You have planes that where born over here flying in the US like the Fairey Firefly etc

James

I agree, there should be a flying B-17 based in Europe.
My comment wasn’t about returning it because it was made in the US.

If it comes down to making it a static or keeping it flying….then it should go back to the USA.

So, you’d rather she be grounded?
Rather than go to the U.S. (land of her “birth” and where she would be well looked after)…

.[/I]

It might be where she was born but she thought WWII in the skies of europe not USA, You have planes that where born over here flying in the US like the Fairey Firefly etc

James