That's a damn shame. I got the pleasure of watching her fly a few landing approaches into New Castle County airport last year.
That's just Terrible!
I love to see the old birds like this get excercise but it's just so sad when one goes down. IIRC there are only like 15 flying B-17's. This weekend @ fresca field there was a ford Trimotor giving rides. It was like watching a barn take off and land. It's just so neat to see the old planes.
Anybody know the name of this one? Before they stop flying these at all, if you have a chance to see one, GO. Even if it's a bit of a drive, out of the way....just to hear those 4 engines idling away, then rumbling down the runway. Must be there to get the full experience, film/TV doesn't do them justice.
Wonderful sound.
one of my uncles flew one of these in ww2
Not just any B-17 either. She was a real Warbird that survived WWII (the only one of her squadron to return from one particularly nasty bomb run). I'm glad the crew all made it out, but that airframe is a total loss. Hopefully they can rebuild the motors for another plane and mount the wings in a museum somewhere.
Sad, sad event. 
July 25-31 is http://www.airventure.org/ in Oshkosh, WI. The event normally has a good assortment of WWII air craft. America's largest fly-in, for those not in the know.
Liberty Belle
Joey
Oh, that's terrible! And y'all are right about the sound. Can you imagine what one of those large raids with 6-700 of them sounded like?
My favorite fly-by at the Indy 500 was in 1995. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of D-Day they had four P-51 Mustangs leading a B-17 over the track. To top it off, Chuck Yeager was flying the lead Mustang. Completely awesome!
I count myself as lucky to have seen (and heard) a B-17 in flight. The best looking of all bombers IMHO. They were also crucial in winning the war.
For a great first-person account of flying B-17s in WWII, check out Smokey Yunick's autobiography. There are some great, harrowing accounts of what it was like.
sad sad sad that this one went down
The senior member of our sports car club was a B-24 pilot in WWII. When he finished his tour, he started flying Mosquitos. He had had enough of the B-24.
On one of the club field trips to Savannah, Ga, the club took him to the Eighth Air Force Museum. They have a surround sound theater that simulates a flight over Germany. It shook him up bit and he said he was gald he did it, but wouldn't do it again.
When I saw the yellow tail, I thought for a minute it was Fuddy Duddy...I grew up not far from her home in Genneseo, NY.
Sad to see this happen to a bird like that.
Not a repost from WWII.
Joe Gearin wrote: My favorite fly-by at the Indy 500 was in 1995. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of D-Day they had four P-51 Mustangs leading a B-17 over the track. To top it off, Chuck Yeager was flying the lead Mustang. Completely awesome! I count myself as lucky to have seen (and heard) a B-17 in flight. The best looking of all bombers IMHO. They were also crucial in winning the war. For a great first-person account of flying B-17s in WWII, check out Smokey Yunick's autobiography. There are some great, harrowing accounts of what it was like. sad sad sad that this one went down
They really are a beautiful looking airframe, and the sound of 4 radial engines rumbling in unison is just amazing.
The pilot and crew landed OK, but the fire must have been pretty intense during the last moments of the flight:
Sad that the local FD didn't have the proper suppressants to save the airframe.
As previously noted, the sound of radial engines is wonderful. Whenever I hear that, I immediately look to the skies.
wbjones wrote: one of my uncles flew one of these in ww2
Salanis' grandfather flew two at once.
Shot down by Illinois Nazis?
Three years ago I toured another B-17, called Aluminum Overcast. It flew by our hose and shook the hell out of it! Sad to see an old warbird like Liberty Belle crash like that.
Lost a Goodyear Blimp too.
Bad day in aviation!
I know of B-17 in Chino California that could probably use some of the surviving parts. Not likely to be restored looking at the damage, but it probably still has a data plate, so never say never.
Here is a pic from when it was restored to flying conditions:
Here is a link to info about the plane (sold as scrap in 1947):
http://www.warbirdregistry.org/b17registry/b17-4485734.html
Click on the Restoration Images to get an idea of the work that was done.
Love those 'ol Warbirds !!
Every single piece of the wreckage will be saved for possible reuse/museum display/sample of/auction of for funds of other planes....that, and the fact no one was hurt, is the best to come of this.
Here's some photos my wife and I took at this year's Chino Air Show. Talk about flying history......
As a note for things you should consider doing, if you are ever in Los Angeles and you like these old planes, the Chino Planes of Fame museum is a MUST see:
Very possibly the best air museum in the world. Not as big as the Smithsonian, but most of the planes at Chino still fly, and they have some VERY unique planes there (e.g. the only flyable original engined Zero, a prototype flying wing, and even a P-59 Airacomet under restoration). The airshow of course will always be quite good, but it is still good to go there when the show isn't going on.
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