Pink Lady

[Mayfly]

Good to see Pink Lady the French B17 flying again - the last I heard she was grounded due to the new European insurance laws I think it was.

This pics shows her with 2 P51s whilst doing some filming in the Czech Republic

http://planes.cz/cs/photo/1051446/b-17g-flying-fortress-f-azdx-private-milovice-lkml/?win_res=1024

[Saracenman]

why have i had no knowledge of 'The Pink Lady' until now?

French registration, so guess she's been around Europe - she's never been here though has she?

sm

[Mayfly]

I believe she is the only survivor that saw action in Europe still flying - she was used in Memphis Belle, I think painted in different colours each side to represent Mother & Country & Pink Lady.

The filming in Czech Republic is evidently for the new Tuskegee Airmen film

[Mayfly]

from wiki SM - This answers your question

This aircraft was present at "The Flying Legends" (Duxford, UK) air display on 12 & 13 July 2008.

[Saracenman]

yeah - just been reading up on her - mighty interesting

looks like they had issues last year too, but they managed to overcome them and she flew. no further info about this year though

i can't help seeing the crazy irony here though - if it European regs that have seen her grounded - how was it that a free Europe exists today?

sm

[Gully]

Few pictures of Pink Lady from Duxford last year:









At the time it was rumoured to be her last season of displaying purely as the engineers and flight crew were (in their words) getting too old to maintain and operate the aircraft to their satisfaction!

Gully

[Saracenman]

blimey - apparently there are 14 airworthy B-17s around the World - I'd be amazed if newer, younger crews were not available

sm

[Gully]

I guess it depends where those ground and air crews are located. Probably most are in the US and Pink Lady is based at Paris-Orly, maintained and operated by the Association Fortresse Toujours Volant en France (Forever a Flying Fortress of France).

Not sure how old the guys are that fly Sally B nowadays either!

Gully

[Saracenman]

if she's grounded due to fatigue or similar, then Fairy Nuff - but what a great shame it would be if a perfectly serviceable aeroplane is grounded because the aircrew are too old!

Mayfly - d'you know any multi-engine wartime bomber qualified pilot, with a wife who wouldn't mind a holiday in France?

sm

[Mayfly]

might do

[Cluny]

Glad to hear shes flying again , thought this was her last display in the UK

Hopefully not now
Edit
Just noticed shes in my sig as well

[Mayfly]

Glad to hear shes flying again , thought this was her last display in the UK

Hopefully not now
Edit
Just noticed shes in my sig as well

thats very observant of you Cluny

[Jigsaw]

Glad to hear shes flying again , thought this was her last display in the UK

Hopefully not now
Edit
Just noticed shes in my sig as well

thats very observant of you Cluny

Who shall henceforth be known as lightning

[Hihonyr8811]

Glad to hear shes flying again , thought this was her last display in the UK

Hopefully not now
Edit
Just noticed shes in my sig as well

thats very observant of you Cluny

Who shall henceforth be known as lightning

LMAO

[Mayfly]

Pink Lady has finally been placed in long term storage after 25years of flight.......... She has been hit with various troubles including new regs, insurance & crewing problems in the last couple of years.

It is hoped she will fly for the 100th anniversary of the end of WWII but that's 35 years away........

[Nickolas]

Pink Lady has finally been placed in long term storage after 25years of flight.......... She has been hit with various troubles including new regs, insurance & crewing problems in the last couple of years.

It is hoped she will fly for the 100th anniversary of the end of WWII but that's 35 years away........ :(

Better start breeding the crew then madam............

[Mayfly]

Just reporting what I've read......................

[Spitfire]

Seems you're spot on - this is as good as Babel Fish can get the official statement from the French - but it basically says just that

Today, after 25 years of flights and thanks to the quality of the team which surrounded the fortress, B-17 comes to be posed in Ferté Alais with the same people (crew, flying personnel, mechanics) that at its beginnings and as that was envisaged since 1985. The team made the choice undertake Major inspection which is necessary for him (the work estimated at more than 3 years by a minimum of 2 people in suitable workshops). She thus decided to remain within the framework of her statutes: to bring back to Ferté Went. In 1993, it had been envisaged a hangar on the aerodrome for B-17, alas this one is filled today by many planes. Also, with the support of our commune of Cerny and our Community of Communes, it was decided to build a new hangar, called “Memorial 1939/1945”, which will come to supplement the project of redeployment of the museum Jean Salis: passing then from 6.000m ² to 10.000m ². The Fortress will be one of the showpieces of the new museum and will be visible of the public whereas it was not it until then. Our future ambition on B-17 is to preserve it under very good conditions for obviously trying to remake it to fly in the future. But especially to protect it so that it can commemorate by a historical flight the Centenary of the end of the Second world war. The steps to classify the Fortress, Historic building with the Inheritance of France are in hand. We launch today a call with sponsoring and the gifts to protect it and maintain it as well as possible.

[IanM]

Duxford last year...

[Cluny]

Her last display in the UK