Warbird Information Exchange

I just read in the latest Air Classics that the B-25 Yellow Rose was damaged last September down in San Marcos, Texas by a ground Fire. From the picture it looks like a fuel leak ignited by a stack Fire? Are there and other reports and updates?

Thanks, Lynn

There had been a thread about this on Facebook, and there were two stories being told. The first one I don't know if I believe, was that they were taxying on one engine and overheated the brakes. The other story was that something let go during a run up. That one I put more stock in. I'm not sure if the real story will ever reach the public.

Looking at the picture it does look like a brake fire but in the 10yrs I flew on her, we never had an overheated brake, stack fire oh yeah...

You can't taxy a B-25 on one engine as it has no nose wheel steering and being short coupled doesn't want to do it. If you tried using heavy breaks you might move a bit however the nose wheel likes to cock. Written from experience.

I concur , you can’t taxi a B-25 on one.

Once at a fly-in, I saw an exhaust stack fire that seemed to go on forever. The pilot/owner had left the electric fuel pump on while ticking the Merlin to start in his P-51D. ALso saw the same on the EAA's B-17G many years ago. The pilots gave the number three engine a bit of prime to coax the engine to continue to start. It started and there was lots of flames, and flaming fuel was leaking onto the ground. I thought they had ruptured a fuel line. The electric fuel pump had accidentally been left in the on position.

A good reason not to have a fire guard standing around in tennis shoes,shorts,and a T-shirt.I know it gets hot out there in the summer time but it beats skin grafts.