Blue skies Bill Greenwood

[Zac Yates]

This was posted at the Key.aero forum by member Prop Strike:

Very sad to hear tonight of the death of Bill Greenwood, a great warbird enthusiast, and long-time owner of Spitfire T9 TE308, which he operated for many years at Aspen, Colorado.

He was a high profile character on the American warbird scene for a couple of decades , and through his generosity many people got the rare chance to fly in a Spitfire at a time when only a handful of two-seaters flew, on a strictly private (non-commercial) basis. He bought it at a time when warbirds were a costly indulgence, but you did not need to be super-rich. Over time, operating costs became more and more of a stretch for 'regular guys', as Bill described himself.

TE308 was damaged in a runway collision in Texas in 2008, and with spiraling rebuild costs, he never got the chance to fly it again. It was sold, and returned to the UK, and now operates out of Biggin Hill, still giving rides.

Bill was for a long while a regular on WIX forum, and no doubt his friends there will pay tribute in the coming days. He will be missed by many on both sides of the Atlantic.

I'm struggling to find any obituaries or death notices online. Very sad news, I'd love to have seen/heard his reaction to TE308's return to flight. I became a WIX member about five years toward the end of his time here and it was amazing to read material from an actual Spitfire owner-pilot.

Rest in peace, Bill.

[Michel Lemieux]

Wow...thank you for sharing.

Blue sky Mr. Bill.

I always enjoyed your posts! I felt so sorry when you had to part ways with your beloved Spit.

Making me realize more and more we are no longer spring chickens.

[OD/NG]

Sad news - I had not heard that yet. Does anyone know, without getting too specific or personal, as to the cause?

Even though he had some interesting perspectives on politics, I always enjoyed seeing him debate with others on WIX before he got banned. I'll never forget him and "muddyboots", ganging up together to fight off the hordes that would dogpile him after he made controversial statements on here. Despite his unpopular political tendencies, I always thought that he had a good heart and was passionate about his Spitfire, flying and warbirds in general. In that vein, I thought he was a good ambassador for our movement.

RIP to Bill, he's probably out there in the big airport in the sky, flying tail chase in his Spit against Howard in his Corsair. Ah, so many memories of those two, even though they were so different!

My thoughts go out to his family and friends.

[Scott Rose]

His son made a post in the forums
http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=72282

He has a couple of requests so please check it out.