Fuddy Duddy Tour? Airshows?

[Ztex]

Any one know if Fuddy Duddy will be out on the Arishow/Tour circuit this summer?

I can't seem to find any new information on-line about her.

Thanks
Z

Last edited by Ztex on Mon Jan 08, 2007 2:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[bomberflight]

Ztex ~ that makes TWO of us !

There is a web site for General Lyons house building company, but I haven't found a web site for his warbirds.

I've had a Google alert running now since he bought it and thats yielded nothing so far ....

Sounds like a job for ...... Aerovintage !

Scott ~ do you have any more info you can share ?

[bdk]

I'm not aware that the owner does touring with any of his other aircraft, although they do occasionally appear at shows. Right now the aircraft is getting prop ADs complied with and getting some of the paint touched up (if the wind will stop blowing long enough to keep the masking paper on the airplane).

[mustangdriver]

I had the chance to fly Fuddy Duddy two years ago at Oshkosh. It was the best money I ever spent.

[groundpounder]

i flew in fuddy duddy 2 years ago out of seattle. cool aircraft but a bit stripped down inside. any idea if a ball turret is in the future for this plane? just what does a private collector do with an airworthy b-17 (besides throw money at it) anyway? sim.

[greasemonkey]

I was originally form geneseo ny and I was there the day the b-17 came to geneseo ny. I knew the woman that purchased the plane for the museum. fuddy duddy was a oil leaking fire bomber in the 80's with no frills. its amazing what the volunteers did in geneseo in a grass field, fuddy duddy as we know now. Its very sad that the national warplane museum broke up over bs political s--t and the moved to emilra ny. I cant say that the 1941 hag could afford the b-17. but they always paid there bills with what they had. It was very sad to this beautiful plane leave geneso, maybe if there is some interest in this post i can dig up some old pics.

[mustangdriver]

With otu a doubt. I thought that she looked pretty good. THe turret was not a real one, but I cvan live with that. It is better to have a replica than none at all.

[greasemonkey]

Im no pilot, but i respect the hard work of these people like Gary Austin, I flew to TX last year just to see FIFI. I hope gary remembers the Yank that flew down for a tour from NY it was a dream of a lifetime!!! Fuddy Duddy was a dream of a small town in western NY, money and allot of hard labor made this b-17 what it is now. Farmers and working people made this example of a wwII bomber happen. She deserves to be displayed proud no matter where she is (not on the ground!!!) Its amazing where money can come from when people are proud!!!

[Former Member]

i flew in fuddy duddy 2 years ago out of seattle. cool aircraft but a bit stripped down inside. any idea if a ball turret is in the future for this plane? just what does a private collector do with an airworthy b-17 (besides throw money at it) anyway? sim.

I got to tour the inside of Fuddy Duddy while she was visiting Wausau, WI a couple of years back. She looks beautiful from the outside but I admit she does need some work on the inside in order to make her look more authentic (but we all know that takes big $$$'s). Not sure if they'll put a full ball turret on her or not...good luck trying to find one though since they're kind of hard to find. Can't complain though...the important thing is that she's still flying!

John

[Steve Nelson]

Fuddy Duddy may not be the most detailed B-17 out there, but she's special to me, as she's the only one I've had the privelage to fly in. A couple of years ago when the EAA was touring her while Aluminum Overcast was in the shop, I got a free hop as a member of the media (nobody else at the radio station where I worked was interested!) We were only up for ten or fifteen minutes, but it was an incredible experience!

SN

[chico]

I figure our touring schedule won't get really firmed up for another couple weeks. I'm sure by now there are a lot of 'soft' confirmations set, places we went last year and are expecting to go again this year, etc., but I wouldn't expect to see official flying season schedules out until early Feb.

That's all just a guess from my experiences last year. I figure the Fuddy Duddy folks are probably in the same boat.

[aerovin]

The airplane is at Chino getting new Plexiglas and my understanding is that it will do at least some flying this summer, possibly only in California.

[bomberflight]

Thanks Scott

[ang1sgt]

Im no pilot, but i respect the hard work of these people like Gary Austin, I flew to TX last year just to see FIFI. I hope gary remembers the Yank that flew down for a tour from NY it was a dream of a lifetime!!! Fuddy Duddy was a dream of a small town in western NY, money and allot of hard labor made this b-17 what it is now. Farmers and working people made this example of a wwII bomber happen. She deserves to be displayed proud no matter where she is (not on the ground!!!) Its amazing where money can come from when people are proud!!!

greasemonkey.

I was one of the many that got to do some work on Fuddy Duddy. My Uncle and myself used to perform electrical and mechanical work down there in Geneseo. The passion that people had for that old bird was truly amazing. I wish I could have spent more time at the Museum and had taken the time while a member there with my Uncle to get my pilots license. It would have been cheap, and I had a plane or two available at the time that I could have used. About the time I was going to start my training, I got called back to active duty for Desert Storm. After that, my priorities changed and my focus changed.

It is a shame what transpired down there in Geneseo. It is not the same for many people. I went down their this year bright and early for the Airshow to take in the pancake breakfast and to walk the flightline in the mist like I used to do so many mornings. By the time the sun was up and many more people were walking around, I decided that it was time for me to go.

Chris

[Warbird Kid]

My father had gotten a chance to go visit several of the now legendary shows that took place in the late 80's early 90's. Myself, being probably 4 or 5, remember him telling about those "cornfield warbirds" and what a show it was.

The visual representation didn’t stop there either thankfully. I still have a VHS of a few recorded shows on the Discovery Channel. They are of The National Warplane Museum, and more exclusively The Wings of Eagles Airshow. I can't tell you how many times I’ve watched that tape being amazed at that B-17, or any of the others for that matter! Let alone the other numerous warbirds that attended those airshows year after year!

I had the chance to see "Fuddy Duddy" too. Twice in Stratford CT, when there were a few shows hosted there, and then at Elmira a bunch of times in 1999, 2000, and so forth.

Now 19 (still a youngen), I miss that big silver and yellow bird. It’s one less Fortress in New England and one more in California. I guess I really can’t complain. Its still flying, I think that’s most important. I mean I’m a B-24 kind of guy but I'll tell you this. No B-17 comes close in my book next to "Fuddy Duddy". Even if some others are in more of an authentic stock condition, there’s just something magical about that bird.