Warbird Information Exchange

Posted some shots of the Lacey Lady on webshots. As most of you know the tail gun position was knocked off by a milk truck. She is looking much worse for the wear. The cockpit section has sat untouched and outside at Aurora airport for the last three years I have been there. It is basically the skeleton in a jig.

jimh[/u]

Jim
Can you post the URL forthe photos? I havent seen or heard anything on this B17 since her cockpit was removed.

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Cheers,
Peter

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am I missing something which album is she under?

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Cheers,
Peter

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National Tour 2005, page 7, last two photos. Brace yourself

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All right, Mister Dorfmann, start pullin'!
Pilot: "Flap switch works hard in down position."
Mechanic: "Flap switch checked OK. Pilot needs more P.T." - Flight report, TB-17G 42-102875 (Hobbs AAF)

I've been squalking to you guys about this for a long time. It's a disgusting discrace what they're done to this airplane. All it is to them is something to bring people off the street to their establishment. That's why their IRS non-profit app was denied. The AF should have hauled it away years ago. Looking at this thing I can't imagine anyone complaining about the Memphis Belle's condition.

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Don't touch my junk!!

Sad just doens't sum it up.

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www.tailhookstudio.com

Hi All,

In a word....UGH !!! This old girl is in SERIOUS need of some TLC and really should be brought indoors. That's no way to even think about displaying a B-17 !!!

Paul

Paul,
This isn't an airplane but merely a tool to bring potential customers off the street. It will stay up until it comes crashing to the ground in pieces. Unless the AF takes her back. But why would they? They have many B-17s and the funds this would need would suck up $$$$(like a black hole!!!) that could be spent on many other aircraft.

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Don't touch my junk!!

Hey Jack,

Just a dumb question. Where is this one located ? I ask because IF this 17 remains where it is, all it is gonna do is corrode away until the scrappers get their greedy little mits on her. I guess what Iwas trying to say is that somewhere or somehow this now rare bird needs a new nest to call home. And then get some of the TLC she needs BADLY.

In other words....someone needs to talk to the right people to get them to pull their collective heads out of which ever bodily orifice they have them stuffed in and make them understand that that old girl isn't gonna last forever and wether or not they agree...it IS an historic reminder of our national past and deserves to be treated with some respect for the men who flew her and her sisters.

My aoplogies for the rather salty remarks...but this is how I feel about stuff like this. If they want a "gate guard" or something to bring in customers...then contact AMARC at Davis Monthan and the Air Force about replacing the 17 with something "newer" that is due for the scrappers ministrations. Decommision that and replace the 17 with the "newer" model. Besides, in buisness they always say...change is good...don't they ?? So WHY NOT swap out the 17 with something else ?

Again, my apologies.

Respectfully,

Paul

There would be an ownership dispute if the Air Force tried to reclaim the airplane. The Lacey's hold a bill of sale from the U.S. govt. that, I believe, technically gives them the right to display the airplane (not legal title, however). It was purchased with that limitation in 1948 from the WAA for $1,500 and the gov't would have a tough time trying to reclaim the airplane unless they could come up with the actual paperwork that granted the display agreement from its own records. Good luck with that, as those records have long been either consigned to some obscure box in the National Archives or destroyed. If those records were available, though, it would still grant Lacey the right to exhibit the airplane. I don't think there were any "condition of display" limitations imposed, so I think in the letter of the law Lacey is meeting his obligation. If he tried to sell or scrap the airplane, it would technically return to the jurisdiction of the gov't, except the gov't doesn't know nor care about it. At this point, I think the government would concede it is Lacey's airplane. Bottom line, however, is that it is a shame to see a B-17 go downhill like this in 2005 after we know better.

It's located up in Oregon City on McGloughlin Blvd. at the Bomber Restuarant (I swear I'd gag if had to stare at that rust bucket while eating a meal) formerly the Bomber Service Station. They have the nose reconstructed and it's in a small museum they have. They actively solicited donations for a restoration while waiting on the 501C3 app. The feds ie IRS denied the app correctly pointing that their main purpose was making money. I was told they were forced to return almost 1 mil in $$$.

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Don't touch my junk!!

Maybe it's time to take it down and replace it with a fiberglass copy - if it's good enough for Lackland AFB's B-24, or the 94th Aero Squadron restaurant chain, it should be good enough for them; after all, the whole setup is supposed to be a roadside attraction in the first place, and I bet most tourists would still stop and look and maybe buy a burger whether or not it's a real plane. And while they're at it, maybe raise the platform another ten feet so it would be out of reach of the trucks that have been running into it for the past 60 years .

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All right, Mister Dorfmann, start pullin'!
Pilot: "Flap switch works hard in down position."
Mechanic: "Flap switch checked OK. Pilot needs more P.T." - Flight report, TB-17G 42-102875 (Hobbs AAF)

Poor Plane Sad Real SAD. I just hate to see potential flyers on sticks