Lacey Lady has a roof over her head for the first time

SaxMan · **Posted:** Fri Dec 12, 2014 1:34 pm

cooper9411 wrote:

Unfortunately according to people at NMUSAF, aircraft such as the B-17 in Tulare at this time will continue to sit as is/where is. At the time of the aircraft being "loaned" no plans or agreement was in place as far as maintenance/upkeep. There is really nothing that can be done until such time the recipients of loaned aircraft can no longer/ or want to be reponsible and the aircraft are turned back over to the museum. Bureaucracy and red tape? What a great thing to deal with! :roll:

Once upon a time, people thought the Lacey Lady would never come down from the gas station either. Granted the Lacey B-17 is privately owned, which makes a HUGE difference. Eventually, though, someone in the USAF is going to realize how many millions of dollars they could make if they started auctioning off their loaned aircraft, particularly the rarer types like the B-17, etc. When all is said and done, they could probably raise enough money to buy an F-35.

If they can take the Memphis Belle from a group that was legitimately trying to save and preserve her, I'm sure they'd have no qualms recalling their airplanes from various organizations that have done little to preserve their donations.

aerovin · **Posted:** Fri Dec 12, 2014 1:42 pm

SaxMan wrote:

cooper9411 wrote:

Unfortunately according to people at NMUSAF, aircraft such as the B-17 in Tulare at this time will continue to sit as is/where is. At the time of the aircraft being "loaned" no plans or agreement was in place as far as maintenance/upkeep. There is really nothing that can be done until such time the recipients of loaned aircraft can no longer/ or want to be reponsible and the aircraft are turned back over to the museum. Bureaucracy and red tape? What a great thing to deal with! :roll:

Once upon a time, people thought the Lacey Lady would never come down from the gas station either. Granted the Lacey B-17 is privately owned, which makes a HUGE difference. Eventually, though, someone in the USAF is going to realize how many millions of dollars they could make if they started auctioning off their loaned aircraft, particularly the rarer types like the B-17, etc. When all is said and done, they could probably raise enough money to buy an F-35.

If they can take the Memphis Belle from a group that was legitimately trying to save and preserve her, I'm sure they'd have no qualms recalling their airplanes from various organizations that have done little to preserve their donations.

Well, maybe. The NMUSAF has a whole bunch of B-17s, many outdoors also. And even though it was almost sixty years ago, it was a high ranking USAF general (Preston) that personally made the arrangements that brought the B-17 to Tulare. Not sure the NMUSAF has a lot to gain to pull the B-17 when there are many others also wanting some serious attention. And, to be fair, the Tulare B-17 has enjoyed sporadic attempts at preservation. Just not a good environment to keep it up without constant attention.

mustangdriver · **Posted:** Fri Dec 12, 2014 3:33 pm

SaxMan wrote:

cooper9411 wrote:

Unfortunately according to people at NMUSAF, aircraft such as the B-17 in Tulare at this time will continue to sit as is/where is. At the time of the aircraft being "loaned" no plans or agreement was in place as far as maintenance/upkeep. There is really nothing that can be done until such time the recipients of loaned aircraft can no longer/ or want to be reponsible and the aircraft are turned back over to the museum. Bureaucracy and red tape? What a great thing to deal with! :roll:

Once upon a time, people thought the Lacey Lady would never come down from the gas station either. Granted the Lacey B-17 is privately owned, which makes a HUGE difference. Eventually, though, someone in the USAF is going to realize how many millions of dollars they could make if they started auctioning off their loaned aircraft, particularly the rarer types like the B-17, etc. When all is said and done, they could probably raise enough money to buy an F-35.

If they can take the Memphis Belle from a group that was legitimately trying to save and preserve her, I'm sure they'd have no qualms recalling their airplanes from various organizations that have done little to preserve their donations.

The NMUSAF did not take it from them. The MBMA stepped and and made the tough decision that they would not be able to house it in a climate controlled building in the near future. You are going to see more 17's come in down the road. The problem is finding museums that can actually take on the task.

Ken · **Posted:** Sat Dec 13, 2014 9:12 am

SaxMan wrote:

It's great to see something that most thought was impossible only a few years ago actually happening. It gives us hope that other situations that seem currently "impossible" will have similar results

My thoughts exactly.

warbirdcrazy · **Joined:** Sat Jan 19, 2013 9:55 pm **Posts:** 59

Yep we got her inside. After a well deserved break for the holidays we will be back at it again working on the Lacey Lady. It was a lot easier for us to load and transport the fuselage the way it was rather than pull it apart at the production break at bulkhead 6 which is at the back of the radio room. The move was like repeating history. We did it in the middle of the night with Art Lacey's grandson leading the convoy. The transport went smoothly no issues. It was quite the sight seeing her traveling down the road. Our crew worked tirelessly to get her dismantled and transported and inside. We had a few set backs during the dismantling but we never gave up and met each challenge head on more determined than ever to get the job done. There have been many people from around the world who have said for years that the Lacey Lady would never be brought down off the poles and brought inside. Well just like in WW2 hard work and determination paid off. We have a big year planned for 2015 so stay tuned. Follow our progress on our website www.b17alliancegroup.com
Or our facebook page. B-17 Alliance Group.

Zac Yates · **Posted:** Sun Dec 14, 2014 4:10 pm

warbirdcrazy - that's so great to hear, especially with Art's grandson in the lead. I've heard about this project on WarbirdRadio and it really gets me going. Bravo!!! :drink3:

Enjoy your festive season, I can't wait to see what the New Year will bring.

Pat Carry · **Posted:** Sun Dec 14, 2014 4:27 pm

warbirdcrazy wrote:

Yep we got her inside. After a well deserved break for the holidays we will be back at it again working on the Lacey Lady. It was a lot easier for us to load and transport the fuselage the way it was rather than pull it apart at the production break at bulkhead 6 which is at the back of the radio room. The move was like repeating history. We did it in the middle of the night with Art Lacey's grandson leading the convoy. The transport went smoothly no issues. It was quite the sight seeing her traveling down the road. Our crew worked tirelessly to get her dismantled and transported and inside. We had a few set backs during the dismantling but we never gave up and met each challenge head on more determined than ever to get the job done. There have been many people from around the world who have said for years that the Lacey Lady would never be brought down off the poles and brought inside. Well just like in WW2 hard work and determination paid off. We have a big year planned for 2015 so stay tuned. Follow our progress on our website http://www.b17alliancegroup.com
Or our facebook page. B-17 Alliance Group.

Good job. thanks for the update

cooper9411 · **Posted:** Sun Dec 14, 2014 7:08 pm

[quote="warbirdcrazy"]Yep we got her inside. After a well deserved break for the holidays we will be back at it again working on the Lacey Lady. It was a lot easier for us to load and transport the fuselage the way it was rather than pull it apart at the production break at bulkhead 6 which is at the back of the radio room. The move was like repeating history. We did it in the middle of the night with Art Lacey's grandson leading the convoy. The transport went smoothly no issues. It was quite the sight seeing her traveling down the road. Our crew worked tirelessly to get her dismantled and transported and inside. We had a few set backs during the dismantling but we never gave up and met each challenge head on more determined than ever to get the job done. There have been many people from around the world who have said for years that the Lacey Lady would never be brought down off the poles and brought inside. Well just like in WW2 hard work and determination paid off. We have a big year planned for 2015 so stay tuned. Follow our progress on our website http://www.b17alliancegroup.com
Or our facebook page. B-17 Alliance Group.[/quote

Stupid holidays!

wendovertom · **Posted:** Mon Dec 15, 2014 3:53 pm

Awesome, I wish she was a little closer to me - i'd love to put in a weekend here and there to do whatever is needed.

Tom P.

Warbird Information Exchange

Lacey Lady has a roof over her head for the first time

Who is online