LOUISIANA BELLE REPAINT

[seabee1526]

[Warbird Kid]

Yeah, it appears that they've made an.... interesting decision. Why isn't she in Willow Run yet?!

[Pat Carry]

This plane needs to go inside somewhere soon.

[JohnB]

Why isn't she in Willow Run yet?!

Simply put: Not enough political power to put it there.
The NMUSAF is nothing if not a political organization.
Generals have influenced locations and paint schemes of aircraft for years.
Aircraft are sent to locations based on rank and perceived need rather than what's best for the aircraft.

Thus, there are 2 B-17s in the Omaha area, one parked outside.
The bigger the base and the more powerful general on it, the more power they have with the NMUSAF.

[mustangdriver]

Has the YAM requested it along with a plan for the air frame?

[JohnB]

Has the YAM requested it along with a plan for the air frame?

Good luck with that!
As long as Barksdale is home to the 8th AF, they'll have a B-24 as part of the unit's history...and it should have one.

The only way the YAM could get it is to offer a fiberglass B-24 in exchange and make a solid case that the real airframe needs to be indoors.
Even then it will need some pretty high firepower to support it...the CSAF, SECDEF or President would help.
Too bad the YAM isn't in the Prez's old home turf of Chicago...or someone from Michigan isn't president (dig up Gerald Ford or perhaps elect Mitt Romney since he was born there).

[Spectre_I]

Why isn't she in Willow Run yet?!

Simply put: Not enough political power to put it there.
The NMUSAF is nothing if not a political organization.
Generals have influenced locations and paint schemes of aircraft for years.
Aircraft are sent to locations based on rank and perceived need rather than what's best for the aircraft.

Thus, there are 2 B-17s in the Omaha area, one parked outside.
The bigger the base and the more powerful general on it, the more power they have with the NMUSAF.

^^^ That ^^^. Seen it many times.

[mustangdriver]

Yeah, much better to do nothing.

[peter]

A fresh coat of paint will at least protect her for a few more years...

[ALOHADAVE]

looks like a bad paint job, but better than nothing for now.
Remember they are hiding another B-24 Liberator, RCAF KK237, in storage at Barksdale (info posted on another thread). They need to send Louisiana Belle to the Y.A.M. when the new bomber plant museum building is finished next year.

[ALOHADAVE]

looks like a bad paint job, but better than nothing for now.
Remember they are hiding another B-24 Liberator, RCAF KK237, in storage at Barksdale (info posted on another thread). They need to send Louisiana Belle to the Y.A.M. when the new bomber plant museum building is finished next year.

[Triplane102]

So THAT's what the old "Diamond Lil" would have looked like with turrets... ...sort of...

[TheBigBadGman]

Wow, that's rough looking. I wonder what the thinking was with that paint scheme.

All we can do is keep fighting to get her indoors - eventually someone will take heed. Who knows, maybe the museum in Savannah will expand one day and they can get put it beside their B-17. It's coloring ain't accurate either, but they have taken the time to get its radios and turrets working (which is impressive). This Lib deserves to have just as much TLC.

-G

[JFS61]

As long as Barksdale is home to the 8th AF, they'll have a B-24 as part of the unit's history...and it should have one.

Which makes the paint scheme all the more bizarre, as I was under the impression that only 9th AF B-24's were painted in desert colors.

[Steve Nelson]

WTF?????

A B-24M, and one of the few remaining Ford-built machines, and they slather it with a desert D paint job? That's just beyond forgivable! It's one thing to put a blatantly inaccurate paint scheme on a privately-owned warbird, but this is a museum aircraft. By definition it should be portraying the artifact in as correct a context as possible. And here I was hoping to make a trip to see her next year..by then they'll probably have her painted in AVG shark mouth markings.

SN