B-17 movement

[mustangdriver]

http://www.covnews.com/archives/56734/

That whole shuffle of aircraft at Warner Robins is just what I thought. They were making room. A B-17 is coming in from the cold.

[bomberfan]

Excellent news, and so many worthy candidates to be moved I can't wait to see which one has been chosen.

[Pat Carry]

Great!! Probably the closet one is at Eglin in Florida therefore cutting down on transportation costs.

[hang the expense]

Great!! Probably the closet one is at Eglin in Florida therefore cutting down on transportation costs.

I think one from a much colder climate.

[APG85]

Great!! Probably the closet one is at Eglin in Florida therefore cutting down on transportation costs.

I think one from a much colder climate.

The one at Eglin (Armament Museum) is in pretty rough shape. It sits outside in a harsh, hurricane prone, climate, has corrosion issues and is a gutted shell. Every once in awhile, they coat it with a new layer of paint. Don't get me wrong, they do the best they can with the resources they have. Unfortunately, I don't believe the museum has any future plans of constructing a larger building to house its collection...and they do have a nice collection of planes.

[Chris Brame]

Great!! Probably the closest one is at Eglin in Florida therefore cutting down on transportation costs.

I think one from a much colder climate.

Well, that narrows it down to two outdoor B-17s- 44-83690 at Grissom (Indiana) and 42-3374 at Offutt (Nebraska).

Last edited by Chris Brame on Sun Feb 22, 2015 11:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Triplane102]

Thank you Everyone, for your Great info & insightful input to this subject , Great job !

[sandiego89]

Perhaps those at Dyess and Lackland could be on the the list as well. I agree that those outside in California/Arizona are more likely to stay put due to more favorable climate.

Not sure what the reasoning is, get the "worst" ones inside as quick as possible, or pick the "best" one? How are other factors weighed, like weather/climate, "health" of current museum/base, visitation figures (some are gate guards), B-17 provenace/relevancy at current or future site, future plans/funding, move distance, condition....

I think I would lean towards getting the best, most structurally sound one for an official USAF museum that seems to have a solid indoor display plan in mind. As a recieving museum I think I would rather start with something better than a gutted hulk. Downside it puts the worst more at risk.

[APG85]

I don't know. I would think you would want to pick a museum that has the funding and resources to take a basket case and turn it into a fine, complete museum example for display that will last indefinitely.

[mustangdriver]

I think that what the NMUSAF looks at is over all condition along with what the plans and capabilities of the museum are. They want to see a specific plan for maintaining the aircraft. There is one up north that has no plan, and is in rough shape.

[TAdan]

I'm going to guess that it is either "Homesick Angel" B-17F 42-3374 from Offutt or possibly "Liberty Belle" from Grissom. Nice to hear one more will be moving indoors.

[mustangdriver]

The Grissom bird is in the worst shape and with no restoration plan.

[TAdan]

Gotcha Could that be why her tail turret has been sitting in a crate in Dayton since it was finished?

[Django]

Locals will be upset surely but sounds like it's a WIN for the airframe.

[tractor_guy]

If it is the Grissom bird, any idea's on how soon the move willbe? I need to get there before it's gone.

Joe