LIBERTY BELLE CRASHES!

About a year ago,this "Lady" visited Springfield and I really wanted to
do the ride. Unfortunate for me,it was 300$ per person for a 30 minute ride!
 
...wait a minute... WHY is she so badly destroyed? I've seen pix of B-17's after having been shot down from thousands of feet up that looked healthier than this! Looks like somebody is tryin' to conceal the evidence... I don't mean to make light of a tragedy but Really, all that's left are the engines and wing tips...
 
popsaka said:
...wait a minute... WHY is she so badly destroyed? I've seen pix of B-17's after having been shot down from thousands of feet up that looked healthier than this! Looks like somebody is tryin' to conceal the evidence... I don't mean to make light of a tragedy but Really, all that's left are the engines and wing tips...
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Your right Popsaka, that caught my attention too!... Farewell dear Belle,
you will be missed!
:salute::salute::salute:
 
popsaka said:
...wait a minute... WHY is she so badly destroyed? I've seen pix of B-17's after having been shot down from thousands of feet up that looked healthier than this! Looks like somebody is tryin' to conceal the evidence... I don't mean to make light of a tragedy but Really, all that's left are the engines and wing tips...
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It didn't just crash land like aircraft that sustained mechanical damage from gunfire. The article said that it was on fire before it crashed. Most of those bombers that caught fire at operational altitudes exploded well before they hit the ground.
 
Man this sucks! We can't be losing these types of birds...but I guess it's innevitable when they're flown still.
 
It is a great loss, but as mentioned luckily no one died. I read somewhere that it landed perfectly well, although on fire, in a field close to the airport. Fire crews were called but due to previous rain showers, were unable to drive on the field as it was water logged. Apparently the plane would of been saved if the crews could of got to it sooner, instead the pilots had to watch what had been an extinguishable fire engulf the whole aircraft. I was lucky enough to see Liberty Belle at Duxford in 2008 and had the opportunity to walk through it. I was surprised at the time how cramped it was inside for an aircraft of its size.
 
ndicki said:
Look on the positive side - it's not a Lancaster.

(Head down and runs for cover!)
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:kilroy:Yes, losing that one is a terrible shame.

I, too, have seen that one up cloase and personal.

*points at ndicki in hiding* There he is, guys, right behind those bushes.

:173go1:

:d

:salute:
 
A great pity to lose the old girl. :salute:



All seven aboard walk away without serious injury after the Illinois crash
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Obviously it wasn't a Hobbit in the cockpit, they wouldn't have stood a chance... :173go1:
 
Seriously though, I do wonder whether the time isn't coming when the warbirds people ought to say that enough is enough. Some aircraft are plentiful, so they aren't really concerned yet - Spitfires, Mustangs, Harvards and so on. But what about, say, Steven Grey's Hawk-75 or the Swiss-owned MS-406? One of each, and that's all. Drop it and there won't ever be another.

The problem is that if nobody could make money out of restoring old wrecks, nobody would have the money to restore old wrecks. So if you can't fly them and so cover the cost and even generate enough surplus to do the next one, what's the interest in spending all your money digging one out of its resting place and taking quite literally years in some cases to get it back into condition?

So you're damned if you do, and damned if you don't... But I do think that when only one or two are left, you have to be very, very careful - as indeed they are. But accidents happen...
 
Very true, Nigel. However, the FHC's genuine (and unique) Fw190A is something I'd really like to see fly, so I wish them the very best - and safe landings!

Same goes for those restoring a Tempest V for Kermit Weeks - although the Sabre engine is all to do yet - I'd really like to see that fly too. And I just hope the Pegasus in the Navy's Swordfish holds together for a few more weeks and the weather is kind for the Yeovilton Air Day. :jump:

also the Centaurus holds together for the Sea Fury - last time I saw one it went U/S a few days later...
 
Warbird running costs

Something I read this week: 100-octane aviation fuel now costs more than £2 per litre in the UK - over £9 per imperial gallon. A Merlin on cruise burns an imperial gallon a minute - 60 per hour; on display power that goes up to 80-100 gallons an hour and full power burns 180 gallons an hour. :eek:

A Lancaster has four of these, so if the fuel burn is similar (on a US engine? no chance!!!) then just imagine how much the fuel cost to fly Liberty Belle from the US to Britain and back again, like they did in 2008. I'm not even considering the engine oil either...

Ouch!
 
Actually, the most expensive thing for warbirds owner is insurance increasing costs, not fuel.

This is why, for exemple, the 'Pink Lady' is grounded. This is the only airworthy B17 in the world that has been engaged during WWII, she flew 6 missions in april 1945.
 
Led Zeppelin said:
Actually, the most expensive thing for warbirds owner is insurance increasing costs, not fuel.

This is why, for exemple, the 'Pink Lady' is grounded. This is the only airworthy B17 in the world that has been engaged during WWII, she flew 6 missions in april 1945.
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Yes, another resounding triumph for our unelected European Union jackboot-wielding masters in Brussels... Aircraft such as the B-17 have now to be insured according to the same type of policy as commercial multi-seaters such as the B.747. There is no specific policy available for this type of aircraft any more.
 
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