Registry: B-17 Flying Fortress/44-83525/Suzy Q

[T J Johansen]

Did this B-17 fly from Paris to Tamiami or was it trucked there? And who were the pilots who flew it if that was the case.

On a different note, I really thought this amount of birdsh!t only emanated on planes at Chino...



T J

[Warbird Kid]

A Sikorski S-43 somewhere as well.

Isn't this one being restored somewhere in Owatonna?

The S-38 is being restored in Owatonna, WI. The S-43 is down at Fantasy of Flight with the wing off of it. Kermit has expressed that he wants to fast track the S-43 ASAP (which I'm very excited about). My guess is that when AeroTrader is finally done with his A-26, they might be contracted to overhaul the S-43 since they've done multiple twin-engined aircraft for him. Just a guess.

[JimH]

Suzie Q was part of the Tallmantz collection, then Junior Burchinall in Texas. Kermit flew it from Texas to Tamiami and I'm not sure how much is was flown after that, it was pretty rough. He's also got the parts machine that he turned in to a display at Fantasy of Flight and a significant amount of B-17 airframe parts stored at Borrego Springs with Aero Trader. He also has parts for a second B-26 Marauder, not sure how much beyond a complete nose section.

Jim

[bdk]

My guess is that when AeroTrader is finally done with his A-26, they might be contracted to overhaul the S-43 since they've done multiple twin-engined aircraft for him. Just a guess.

I like that idea! Then I'd get to see it.

Last edited by bdk on Tue Oct 18, 2022 11:46 am, edited 1 time in total.

[Warbirdnerd]

A Sikorski S-43 somewhere as well.

Isn't this one being restored somewhere in Owatonna?

The S-38 is being restored in Owatonna, WI. The S-43 is down at Fantasy of Flight with the wing off of it. Kermit has expressed that he wants to fast track the S-43 ASAP (which I'm very excited about). My guess is that when AeroTrader is finally done with his A-26, they might be contracted to overhaul the S-43 since they've done multiple twin-engined aircraft for him. Just a guess.

Slight correction. The S-38 is being restored in Owatonna, MN not WI.

[menards]

Suzie Q was part of the Tallmantz collection, then Junior Burchinall in Texas. Kermit flew it from Texas to Tamiami and I'm not sure how much is was flown after that, it was pretty rough. He's also got the parts machine that he turned in to a display at Fantasy of Flight and a significant amount of B-17 airframe parts stored at Borrego Springs with Aero Trader. He also has parts for a second B-26 Marauder, not sure how much beyond a complete nose section.

Jim

Will be interesting to see what happenes to his vast collection in the coming years. Alot of the stuff has been sitting in more or less "storage" for the last two decades. He keeps hinting at an "Act Three" but hes also getting up there in years. His videos are on youtube are comical, I believe that he has made purchases that hes straight up forgotten about. He has a couple of vids out there where he tours other museums... and every new plane he looks at..."I have one of those, a project, we need to get working on it."

[JimH]

Will be interesting to see what happenes to his vast collection in the coming years. Alot of the stuff has been sitting in more or less "storage" for the last two decades. He keeps hinting at an "Act Three" but hes also getting up there in years. His videos are on youtube are comical, I believe that he has made purchases that hes straight up forgotten about. He has a couple of vids out there where he tours other museums... and every new plane he looks at..."I have one of those, a project, we need to get working on it."[/quote]


Kermit is an enigma, and I'm sure he reads this forum. He recently did an "unboxing" video of his Lancaster project that was pretty telling towards the end. He said he has no intentions of restoring it and some comment on how people say he should spend his money. I get that...it's not our money, BUT, the warbird collector market is pretty finite. There are collectors that would love to have the P-47 project, the P-38, the Hellcat, the Lanc, the B-17, and so on. The world has changed so much in the last 30 years and we all know these aircraft can't fly forever. By the time these hit the open market (and that is a huge assumption) it may be too late. We all saw what happened to the Paul Allen collection and fortunately it had a positive outcome, maybe that will happen again with KW?

Jim

[Silverplate]

I was a supervisor at TMB tower when Suzy Q arrived from Paris. Kermit did an incredibly low approach down 9L upon arrival and taxied to ramp. Beautiful! Never say ever fly or even get an engine start up after that.

[Randy Haskin]

Did this B-17 fly from Paris to Tamiami or was it trucked there? And who were the pilots who flew it if that was the case.

Check out this video at about the 24:00 mark, and Kermit talks about the engine problem on takeoff from Paris.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF4b4Vn7sfk

[RyanShort1]

Will be interesting to see what happenes to his vast collection in the coming years. Alot of the stuff has been sitting in more or less "storage" for the last two decades. He keeps hinting at an "Act Three" but hes also getting up there in years. His videos are on youtube are comical, I believe that he has made purchases that hes straight up forgotten about. He has a couple of vids out there where he tours other museums... and every new plane he looks at..."I have one of those, a project, we need to get working on it."

Kermit is an enigma, and I'm sure he reads this forum. He recently did an "unboxing" video of his Lancaster project that was pretty telling towards the end. He said he has no intentions of restoring it and some comment on how people say he should spend his money. I get that...it's not our money, BUT, the warbird collector market is pretty finite. There are collectors that would love to have the P-47 project, the P-38, the Hellcat, the Lanc, the B-17, and so on. The world has changed so much in the last 30 years and we all know these aircraft can't fly forever. By the time these hit the open market (and that is a huge assumption) it may be too late. We all saw what happened to the Paul Allen collection and fortunately it had a positive outcome, maybe that will happen again with KW?

Jim[/quote]
If he reads here, it would be interesting if he'd consider selling a few, to fund more manageable restoration work and let others restore those sold.

[florida.warbirds]

Some photos I have from 7 years ago: https://floridawarbirds.com/2015/03/15/fantasy-of-flight-golden-hill-bombers/

[phil65]

Did this B-17 fly from Paris to Tamiami or was it trucked there? And who were the pilots who flew it if that was the case.

Check out this video at about the 24:00 mark, and Kermit talks about the engine problem on takeoff from Paris.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF4b4Vn7sfk

Great video of the old days...

Thanks,
Phil

[T J Johansen]

Did this B-17 fly from Paris to Tamiami or was it trucked there? And who were the pilots who flew it if that was the case.

Check out this video at about the 24:00 mark, and Kermit talks about the engine problem on takeoff from Paris.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF4b4Vn7sfk

Thanks for that one Randy. Nice to see him bring out footage from earlier recoveries/ ferry flights and the like. Wonderful that someone filmed this stuff, and that it is being made public. Hopefully more VHS stuff from other groups/ individuals will come to light in the future.

T J