Admiral Rockwell Tory
Diamond Member
There are lots of them in museums.They're irreplaceable historical artifacts.
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There are lots of them in museums.They're irreplaceable historical artifacts.
PEOPLEThey're irreplaceable historical artifacts.
They're irreplaceable historical artifacts.
HUMAN BEINGS DIEDThey're irreplaceable historical artifacts.
Tell that to their FAMILIESYes, and they died doing what they loved
I was told by a pilot many years ago that these WWII bombers ran on leaded fuel and it was increasingly hard to find. I've always wondered if they converted the fuel systems on these aircraft or not. That's a damn shame, but the air cobra clearly did not see the B-17 flying until it was too late. This was the result of pilot error, not an aircraft falling apart mid flight. No reason to ground these aircraft. It's a shame to lose the aircraft, but greater loss is the people who fly and work on them. RIP.
I went to an air show and saw 5 flying aircraft: F4U, P63, Kate and 2 Texans. That's why I asked.Yes, only three or four P-63's
That's too bad, too.PEOPLE
HUMAN BEINGS DIED
Now there are two less.There are lots of them in museums.
So build moreNow there are two less.
They don't make WW2 aircraft, for obvious reasons...lolSo build more
It's called a typo Speller QweenWere
Not
We’re
Actually, we are both wrong. There are 45 airframes that are complete, worldwide, depending on the year between 7 and 9 are airworthy.
Tell that to their FAMILIES
Exactly. It was pilot error, and I would venture to say it was the error of the fighter plane not estimating the speed of the B-17 correctly. From most of the videos that I've seen, on here and in other places, the pilot of the fighter plane appeared to be trying to turn behind it, possibly demonstrating a strafing run on the B-17 and was going too fast, which is why he clipped off the back end of the B-17.
And, for you people who say these planes should have been grounded, or who are thinking that there were passengers on it, you should really read/watch a news report about this. It was an airshow demonstration (passengers are NOT allowed on demonstration flights), and the B-17 was crewed normally (5 people onboard) and the fighter plane had only the pilot in it. And, the aircraft that show up in an airshow are VERY well taken care of, and the maintenance on them is up to date and done well. If it weren't, they wouldn't be allowed to fly in the show.
Yeah. This was a tragedy. Lives were lost and historical artifacts were destroyed. But, we should look more to the people that died in this accident rather than worry about the planes that were lost.
And..................I hate to say it..................but pilot error happens. I remember that our sister squadron (VFA-136) lost a pilot and an FA-18 during a detachment to Fallon. Seems he had his head in the cockpit and missed the mountain coming up in front of him and flew into the ground. It happens. Not very often, but it does happen. Just like you can get distracted looking at things inside your car and end up going off the road, the same thing can happen to a pilot in an aircraft. Only trouble is, instead of doing 30 to 60 mph like a car does, the plane is doing 100 plus in the air, with very little time to react and correct if something bad is gonna happen.
I feel for the people who died and all of their families.
Mkay. You said 45 were airworthy. I said 8 were. You said I'm wrong and said between 7 and 9 are airworthy. That would be 8.
Thanks.
Pretty much every airframe in a museum is airworthy. Some would require very little work to get them going.
I mean like five days worth of work.
The others I mentioned are "working aircraft" like this one that was tragically lost. On any given year, one or two are down for deep maintenance.
That is not how you determine if an airplane is airworthy.
It is considered airworthy if it has a current airworthiness certificate. There are 8 currently that remain airworthy.
They have one at the museum in Dulles.Westwall......
Why would you not want the LAST flying B17 grounded permanently?
Should it keep flying until more lives are lost?
They are VERY old.
The B-17 was supposed to line up on the runway, and there were supposed to be two fighters to either side as they made a photo pass.
The pilot of the P-63 got careless and lost spatial awareness, and as he flew in to the pattern he was too fast and didn't realize he had cut inside of the B-17.