wolf wrote:
I had to read the FAA report several times, and it would surprise me to find that a majority warbird flying today for these type of flights do not have the properly trained crews on board. If this B-17 crew chief was doing OJT as a FE then no way should he have been on this aircraft (for example, how many B-17 operator check the MLG landing gear struts for cracking - during WWII it was recommend every flight and 200 hrs disassembly / replace the hardware) (for example, how many B-17 operators have the FE manually check the gear extension o n land, as well as a visual ?) - for example, how many B-17 operators know how to put out a wing fire in a B-17 (chop a hole in the wing, shove the nozzle inside the cavity and fill the wing with foam) - this is all basic WWII flight information that obviously has been neglected.
I agree with most of what your saying. The Foundation is screwed, the report is damning, gross negligence, etc etc...
The Wings of Freedom tour is now a thing of history. The feds put a stop to it, its over. That said, here is where you go off the rails...you chose to take a few reads through the FAA report, then come on a WIX forum and then start to infer or imply that all organizations and operators are operating their planes in a similar, negligent manner. Many of the active participating contributors to these threads are pilots, crew, volunteers, mechanics, or members of the various operators that support this passion. Many will be offended by your remarks because they all take take a lot pride in their respective contribution (however small or large it may be) to keep these memories alive. You should spend as much time and effort researching each of the organizations that operate these birds that you do reading old manuals and accident reports. Many of them in recent times made the difficult decision to ground their plans while they sorted issues. For example, FiFi was grounded for years for safety reasons until they figured out a new power plant solution. That said, there will likely be a deep dive into all operators' records. There will obviously be a lot tighter scrutiny. The feds may stop all rides all together, who knows. That said, don't come onto an anonymous message board making blanket statements about how "the majority" of warbird operators are cutting corners, neglecting regulations and don't have basic knowledge about the air frames they spent a lifetime being passionate about. It's an absurd notion.
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