Warbird Information Exchange

Photos don't lie. Just the gomers posting them I suppose!

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Don't touch my junk!!

That would have been really great to see!

That was taken during the most recent combat exercises based out of Guam over the summer. Interestingly, Paul Tibbets grandson, Paul Tibbets IV is a B-2 pilot as part of the 509th Bomb Wing. He took part in these exercises, and may even have been in the B-2 pictured here.

Cheers. Richard

I'm sure one day there will be a B-2 on the deck of the Intrepid in NYC.

Yeah, but it will be hard to see.

That's interesting... another Tibbets as a bomber pilot.

this thread got my attention!! an old saying....... if it's to good to be true it always is!!!

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tom d. friedman - hey!!! those fokkers were messerschmitts!! * without ammunition, the usaf would be just another flying club!!! * better to have piece of mind than piece of tail!!

Too bad the 4 Tomcats weren't flanking the B-2.

As for one being on Intrepid one day, well... will Intrepid still be afloat when they are retired ? Where would you put a plane with a 172 ft wingspan on a carrier ? I guess they could get another barge from NASA and put her on it length wise. They could tie it up next to the Concorde.

That rather assumes Concorde will still be there, because going by Inteprid's current record, the aircraft will either have decayed away into a pile of scrap or will have been taken back by BA and given to an organisation actually interested in looking after her.

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Awfully nice aeroplane piccies available

Actually Damien, they are doing quite a bit for the Concorde. Perhaps if you read my article in the October Aircraft Illustrated it would allay some of your concerns. However, it has to be admitted that in the end, the only truly safe place for any aircraft is inside a building. Still, they have a $57M upgrade for the carrier and the pier, and should see some real progress on maintaining the aircraft. The new curatorial team at the museum is far more concerned and involved with the aircraft, and restoration side of things.

All the best,
Richard

I have little faith in announcements that come from the Intrepid as they have so often proved to bear little relation to reality. Perhaps you could summarise your article here for us Richard?

The situation with the Concorde in NY is a disgrace; the interior in particular is filthy. They have no home for it while the Intrepid is away for repairs despite promises to the contrary and have recently stated that they'd like some undercover accomodation for her, but the provider of this accomodation must pay all the costs involved! Finding a benefactor to allow the use of such a facility would be difficult enough without making them pay the transport costs and being liable for the aircraft for the whole period!

The pier the Intrepid was scheduled to be tied up at in Bayonne has turned out to have "crumbled" and so the ship will have to tie up elsewhere until Spring, further delaying the refurbishment and stranding the Concorde for even longer.

Intrepid, of course, is also the museum that wants to dispose of aircraft such as the Scimitar, as being not in keeping with their collection. It is only a carried-based aircraft of course... unlike the A-12 or Concorde!

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Awfully nice aeroplane piccies available