B-17 Liberty Belle Runs off Runway at Fulton County Airport

[warbirdguy]

I just saw this on another forum. Liberty Belle blew a tire while taxiing at Fulton County Airport in Georgia. The planes was getting ready to head to McCollum Field (Cobb County Airport). Hope the damage isn't too severe.

[TAdan]

I am hoping for the best. I hope the damage isnt too bad.

[Warbirdnerd]

Does not sound too bad:
Not much of an update, but here it is...
B-17 Runs Off Runway At Charlie Brown Airport

POSTED: 6:40 pm EST March 2, 2006

FULTON COUNTY -- A vintage war bird limped to a sad stop at Fulton County's Charlie Brown Field Thursday afternoon.

A B-17 bomber ran off one of the runways at the airport after blowing a tire while taxiing.

The restored bomber veered into the grassy area between two of the runways and became stuck.

No one was injured during the incident

The plane is known as the "Liberty Belle".

The restored "Flying Fortress" flies to air shows around the country.
Found it here:
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/7626954/detail.html

[warbirdfinder]

As usual, the newspapers blew it all out of proportion. While taxiing, the tailwhell tire blew. Rather than stop and block the taxiway, the pilot pulled off into the grass. No damage, no problem.

[N3Njeff]

glad to hear that it was just a snake bite

[warbirdguy]

That is great news. Yes, sometimes the media does throw everything out of context.

[chico]

I've heard through 2nd, 3rd, and 4th-hand sources that tail wheels for 17's are getting extremely hard to come by. They're not being made any more, goodyear / firestone destroyed the molds for the originals, and those that are left are reaching a point where they can't be safely re-capped. I've also heard that the only reasonably priced sources for new tires are overseas (honduras & china) and there are concerns about the quality of those sources.

Can anyone that's more "in the loop" add some truth or clarification to this?

[Robbie Stuart]

I can't shed any light on the tailwheel/tire avialibility issue, but I can tell you this.....I am at Peachtree-Dekalb Airport, thats across town from Charlie Brown/Fulton County Airport, & looking out my office window I see a big ole B-17 sitting over on the Mercury Air Group ramp, so I guess the boys got the tire changed & flew Liberty Belle over here last evening.
Robbie

[Eric Friedebach]

Can anyone that's more "in the loop" add some truth or clarification to this?

The only loop I’m in is the noose around my neck, but…

No, you’re correct. I first heard this around 20 years ago.

I happened to be talking to a 17 operator today on the phone (not the a/c that is the subject of this thread). The molds were saved when the manufacturer wanted to get rid of them. Every now and then the hat gets passed around among all the operators when they need to have some manufactured. Not sure who is manufacturing them, though.

[N3Njeff]

I'd imagine its the same for the17 as for the DC-3. When I was in plattsburgh, we had a bunch ordered as they were making a fresh run of tires from Goodyear. So it was one of those,,,,,,get yours now if you need them or not!