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Old 10-03-2019, 04:41 PM
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Lightfoot Lightfoot is offline
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Unhappy One Less B-17

Still haven't heard anything about this on national news yet, because they are so pre-occupied with fake news.

Just one local news station reported it on today's 12:00 news. Probably only because it was just here in Maine one week ago. Flight experiences were $450 per person. I don't think I'd ever have the courage to do it, cause those planes are getting older every year. I don't even want to fly commercial if I don't have to.
Thought I heard the P-40 flying within earshot on one of the days they were in town.
I was thinking of climbing Streaked Mtn near their arival or departure time so I could catch a glimpse of them with good visibility. The Lewiston/Auburn airport is 15 miles away as the crow flies.

https://www.wickedlocal.com/news/201...radley-airport

Pics I took four years ago.
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Last edited by Lightfoot; 10-03-2019 at 04:47 PM.
  #2  
Old 10-03-2019, 04:51 PM
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A few more pics.
The first one is a smokey engine start.
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  #3  
Old 10-03-2019, 05:17 PM
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I heard it on ABC yesterday?
They didn't have much info yet other than the plane and the amount of people on it.
I was wondering if the plane was at a show where they gave rides.
About time for the ones around here to have theirs.



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Old 10-03-2019, 05:22 PM
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It certainly didn't make "Front page" new but I saw it as well. Not to many of these great birds left. Tragic on several levels.

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Old 10-03-2019, 05:29 PM
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Check here..... https://www.wfsb.com/news/names-of-v...02ec67428.html. Pictures and news.

I lost a good friend on that flight.... Ernest McCauley. Mac as he was know to us all, was the pilot on 9O9. I've know him since 2004 when I helped with the tour stop up in Massena, NY. I'm a tour stop coordinator here at KILG for the Collings Foundation. They've been here several times in Delaware since I moved here and started getting them to stop here. I've ridden in 9O9 more times than I can remember. No matter what has been said, these WWII planes are very well taken care of. Problems do happen, but this had to be catastrophic for this to happen. Would I ride in a WWII bomber again.. you bet yer a** I would. And that goes for their B-24 Witchcraft and their P-51 Toulous Nuts.

Edit:
I'd like to give my condolences to the families that lost loved ones, and a speedy recovery to those injured. This is something that doesn't normally happen. No matter what's been said on WWII bomber crashes, the Collings Foundation is topnotch for their maintenance on all of their WWII aircraft. As are any WWII aircraft flying. The support of all who buy rides and donate help keep these WWII aircraft in the air so we can see a part of history that kept us and the world free.

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Last edited by GT182; 10-03-2019 at 05:46 PM.
  #6  
Old 10-03-2019, 05:33 PM
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Gary,
Profoundly Sorry for you guys loss.

Charles

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Old 10-03-2019, 05:34 PM
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I worked at Bradley airport for Fedex. I read Facebook postings from former coworkers. It crashed right by the Fedex cargo area. From what I read the plane lost power on takeoff and was never able to gain enough altitude to return safely. The New England air museum is right off Bradley and the B17 was here for an air show this weekend. Very sad story.

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Old 10-03-2019, 05:47 PM
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That's really sad news. There were only about 10 airworthy B-17's in existence to begin with. That Collings bird flew into Torrance about 3 years ago and I got to take a close look at it.

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Old 10-03-2019, 05:48 PM
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Very sad story, first the loss of life and then a piece of history.

Viewed 909 a few years ago in Mesa, Az. Everyone should have a walk thru a warbird to imagine what our servicemen went thru during WWII.

George

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Old 10-03-2019, 05:51 PM
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Gary, Condolences on the loss of your friend.

I got to see that plane and Witchcraft and got to walk/crawl around them once and it was a event I will never forget. There was a P51 there also. My father was in the Army Air Corp in WW2 so seeing the planes was even more special.

Touring with those aircraft, your friend added a lot to the lives of countless people across the nation. I remember I talked with a couple of the crew that day we were there, perhaps Mr. McCauley was one of them.


Last edited by JimFB400HO; 10-03-2019 at 05:57 PM.
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Old 10-03-2019, 06:05 PM
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Several of us have been through the B-17 stationed in the Phoenix area and it was a bit of a squeeze in that thing.. I am no longer an 18 year old kid who weighs 160 lbs and I remember thinking "this would really suck if we were upside down & on fire"
Really sad deal but I was really put off by the chest thumping blowhard from Conn. Blumenthal is calling for the National Transportation Safety Board to investigate the crash as soon as possible.
Yeh, pretty much SOP there Captain Obvious!

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Old 10-03-2019, 06:14 PM
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Condolences.

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Old 10-03-2019, 06:15 PM
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Terrible loss of people if report is correct.
And a piece of history gone.

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Old 10-03-2019, 06:17 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lightfoot View Post
Still haven't heard anything about this on national news yet, because they are so pre-occupied with fake news.
Leave politics out of it. There were reports on national and local news last night, as well as today.

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Old 10-03-2019, 06:30 PM
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There is some speculation that it was misfueled with Jet A. That's an all too common occurrence these days and will certainly bring a piston engined airplane down.

Condolences and prayers.

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Old 10-03-2019, 06:52 PM
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I read about it (from a national new source) late morning yesterday. It hit me, as I know this same plane comes to a local airport (Oxford, CT) earlier in the season every year. Even so, Bradley is still somewhat local. This plane has flown directly over my house at low altitude a few times. You could hear it for what seemed like an eternity before it became visible. Every time it came past, it made me think about what it must've been like to be in Europe during WWII with these things things flying overhead all the time.

My condolences to those who lost loved ones.

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Old 10-03-2019, 07:27 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuart View Post
Leave politics out of it. There were reports on national and local news last night, as well as today.
Yes officer.

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Old 10-03-2019, 07:32 PM
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Here's a link on Mac. He was one of a kind.... especially with 7,300 hours of flying a B-17. http://www.courant.com/breaking-news...u6q-story.html. Scroll down to the heading I've shown above. I can attest that he loved that B-17, and it showed by the way he took care of her. IF the littlest thing was out of whack or bothered him their mechanics were right on it. And yes, qualified mechanics were always traveled with them on the tour. She was his life's blood. I can attest to that.

As for Jet A in the tanks... no way in hell. Mac and the crew fueled that 17 themselves, and knew the difference. Just like you and I know the difference by smell of gasoline and kerosene. The guys that drove the fuel trucks out to them never ever got up on the wing to fuel her... and they too knew those engines were not jet engines. We all learned that... I worked at an FBO in 1969, and it was drilled into my head what the difference was the first day I was there. The NTSB checked the only remaining intact wing's fuel tank and found 100LL in it.

Goatless.... I bet it brought out those goose bumps too didn't. It always has for me, along with those same thoughts. I had a uncle that was a "toggleier" on an F model B-17 early in WWII with the 385th Bomb Group. He was wounded on a bombing flight over Germany and was returned back to the US. He would never talked about the war, even if we got him half drunk when my cousin I was visiting with him in a bar. Yeah he love to drink... I guess to forget.

George, a walk thru isn't much. You need to ride in a 17 to truly understand it. Even at 3,000 feet it's something you will never forget. I can only imagine tho what it was like at 30,000 feet.

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Old 10-03-2019, 08:11 PM
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Flew in the Aluminum Overcast out of Trenton, maybe 20 years ago. Got a short video out of the top turret on take-off. .......what a trip! Even now, when the tour is in-town, I keep an eye out for the planes. Month ago, a 24 flew directly over the house, at maybe 1500 ft., and as Goatless said, you can hear 'em coming a mile away

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Old 10-03-2019, 08:46 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GT182 View Post
Here's a link on Mac. He was one of a kind.... especially with 7,300 hours of flying a B-17. http://www.courant.com/breaking-news...u6q-story.html. Scroll down to the heading I've shown above. I can attest that he loved that B-17, and it showed by the way he took care of her. IF the littlest thing was out of whack or bothered him their mechanics were right on it. And yes, qualified mechanics were always traveled with them on the tour. She was his life's blood. I can attest to that.

As for Jet A in the tanks... no way in hell. Mac and the crew fueled that 17 themselves, and knew the difference. Just like you and I know the difference by smell of gasoline and kerosene. The guys that drove the fuel trucks out to them never ever got up on the wing to fuel her... and they too knew those engines were not jet engines. We all learned that... I worked at an FBO in 1969, and it was drilled into my head what the difference was the first day I was there. The NTSB checked the only remaining intact wing's fuel tank and found 100LL in it.

Goatless.... I bet it brought out those goose bumps too didn't. It always has for me, along with those same thoughts. I had a uncle that was a "toggleier" on an F model B-17 early in WWII with the 385th Bomb Group. He was wounded on a bombing flight over Germany and was returned back to the US. He would never talked about the war, even if we got him half drunk when my cousin I was visiting with him in a bar. Yeah he love to drink... I guess to forget.

George, a walk thru isn't much. You need to ride in a 17 to truly understand it. Even at 3,000 feet it's something you will never forget. I can only imagine tho what it was like at 30,000 feet.
I agree 100% when you said you need to ride in a B17 to truly understand, I rode on the 909 in 2009 while it was in KC, and it was the best life experience I have ever had. It too was on my bucket list, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. In fact I had been waiting for it to come back to KC, and I was going to go up again, and take my two sons with me, both who have their pilots licenses. I believe Mac was the pilot on my flight, I took video of my flight, and had full access to the plane while in the air(except for the tail section)and I got to sit right behind the pilots during the landing. My sons took the video and made a CD of the experience for me. Yesterday my oldest son texted me and told me of the accident and I was in disbelief. I came home yesterday from work, put in the CD and watched the video again, it brought tears to my eyes. I am still in shock of what has happened. My condolences to all the families of the victims of the crash, and to you, for the loss of your good friend Mac.
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