B-17 "Fuddy Duddy" for Sale at Courtesy Aircraft

[setter]

I hope one day somebody down here buys one of these - there were quite a few in Australia over the years and it and the B24 were quite important to Australia.

Regards
John P

[Roger Cain]

For those with trouble following the link, try: http://www.courtesyaircraft.com/N9563Z% ... 20Spec.htm

[Lynn Allen]

"I don't know where they would keep it. When Thunderbird was in town she took up Cavanaugh's whole ramp."



I think they could make room for it. Its been high on there list of A/C..

Lynn

Last edited by Lynn Allen on Sat Oct 22, 2005 8:55 am, edited 1 time in total.

[krlang]

WOW!

63Z is for sale!

Ryan, get the boss to pick it up cheap. Then you could book it at a close by airport. Sell discounted rides in the 909 & 7/8th's. what could be better!

[Ryan Keough]

...last time they try to sell Fuddy Duddy the State of NY got involved because they used $$ to purchase Fuddy from the State of NY so i don't see it being sold if Jeff Clyman who offered 2.5 million for it was denied because of the whole NY getting involved.

Fuddy Duddy was not originally bought with NYS funding or even a portion... when she was bought from Globe Air originally, the National Warplane Museum wasn't even a 501c3 yet.

The reason why NYS was involved when it was attempted a few years back was because the state of NY was the lienholder on some of the outstanding debts and that the museum, being a NYS Board of Regents accredited museum, was under their control at the time... in dire straits I might add. Clyman was not allowed to purchase it at the time because the stipulation of the sale was that it had to go to 1) another NYS museum, and 2) the entity it was transferred to had to be a 501c3... which the American Airpower Museum was not.

I see the current sale of the plane being more of a shift of focus than anything else. The museum has been integrated with the Museum of Science idea and I can't see them being able to afford the insurance and to keep the current, mostly static collection afloat. The plane has been more or less gone for the past 2 years with the EAA using it, so maybe they'd rather use the $3.5 million (keep in mind the 2.5 million it was being sold at before was before the wing spar AD was complied with) to keep the museum going and able to accomplish more projects and marketing that they haven't been able to do because of their cash strapped condition.

Knowing that they are not really flying anything anymore, I must agree with their decision. I could see her going to one of about 5-6 people around the country who would fly her more and maybe even get more original equipment into her...

... and maybe get rid of that blasted bug spray smell inside her. Anyone else know what I mean?

Ryan Keough

[TimAPNY]

I'd hate to see NYS loss her but I'd love to see her fly more and to be outfitted in a proper B-17 condition.

My over all hope is to see Fuddy Duddy fly more and be visible to the public.

[Eureka181]

I would love to see good old Fuddy Duddy fitted with original turrets. What she needs is a total restoration. A good amount of down time to get her as authentic as money allows. Along with inspecting and keeping her fit to still fly.

Eric

[tom d. friedman]

very sad.... a real sign that the u.s. / world economy is tanking & collapsing & taking it's toll on everything & everybody in every income bracket, both individually, as well as with companies, both charitable/historic foundations etc. all the natural disasters, hurricanes etc, fuel costs, super inflated rip off insurance premiums, on & on. all of these unfortunate situations are caving in what is left of a workable warbird movement. even guys like kermit weeks have to feel the bite on the wallet!!!! regards, tom

[Warbird Pilot]

very sad.... a real sign that the u.s. / world economy is tanking & collapsing & taking it's toll on everything & everybody in every income bracket, both individually, as well as with companies, both charitable/historic foundations etc. all the natural disasters, hurricanes etc, fuel costs, super inflated rip off insurance premiums, on & on. all of these unfortunate situations are caving in what is left of a workable warbird movement. even guys like kermit weeks have to feel the bite on the wallet!!!! regards, tom

Hardly. The NWM made some poor decisions a dozen years ago, or so. Saddled themselves with some huge debt and now have to sell to maintain the overhead they created in an area that cannot support it.

The warbird movement is VERY healthy. In particular the heavy iron market. The prices on airplanes are rising, not falling, and there seems to be no lack of buyers for the high priced airplanes. Fuddy Duddy won't be on the market long.

[bdk]

very sad.... a real sign that the u.s. / world economy is tanking & collapsing & taking it's toll on everything & everybody in every income bracket, both individually, as well as with companies, both charitable/historic foundations etc. all the natural disasters, hurricanes etc, fuel costs, super inflated rip off insurance premiums, on & on.

'Scuse me while I go look for a window to jump out of...

[tom d. friedman]

warbird pilot... i hope your enthusiasm is contagious & true!!

[Eureka181]

I agree with warbird pilot. I see a very good future for warbirds of all eras. There are many young people I know who are getting into warbirds. There seems to always be somebody new interested.

Eric

[spookyboss]

If you own a B-17 it can make money enough to pay for itself, several years ago the EAA brought there B-17 here and in talking to the crew found out they make over $800,000 a year with it. It's hard to believe they can't fly Fuddy Duddy and make money enough to support the museum.

[Lynn Allen]

Like any business, it depends on who is running the store and how well its done........

Cheers,

Lynn

[Ryan Keough]

If you own a B-17 it can make money enough to pay for itself, several years ago the EAA brought there B-17 here and in talking to the crew found out they make over $800,000 a year with it. It's hard to believe they can't fly Fuddy Duddy and make money enough to support the museum.

The problem with that equation is that you have to probably spend nearly $2M to conduct the tour in the first place, train and maintain a pool of viable pilots and volunteers, and have a large enough parts and maintenance pool to keep the planes running... and on top of that, you need a press agent (or three) to get the word out in the areas you tour to. I know EAA does because they have the cash flow... AND they have plenty of local volunteers with EAA chapters being the hosts at each place. Does NWM have chapters? Nope. Does NWM have a nationwide presence? Nope. Does NWM have the cash flow, parts, or pilot pool outside of the EAA assistance? Nope. A barnstorming tour isn't an immediate solution to a long term problem that mainly involves the museum not being able to support the high overhead involved in maintaining a physical museum.

Ryan Keough