I toured the B-17 "909" in 2008, and videoed it, including engines warm-up and takeoff, when it came to Manchester NH. I recognize Bill Purple as the WWII B-17 pilot who shared stories that day, sitting in a lawn chair next to the B-17. Thanks Bill Purple.
Thank you Mr. Bill Purple for your service and your valuable input. God Bless the survivors and may those who have gone on because of this great tragedy and their families, be comforted in your loving embrace.
My humble opinion from far away Switzerland: Obviously Bill Purple is a survivor. Hope the Collings Foundation survives as well. They are good folks and I think it is important to keep those old birds alive. They are one of the reasons we have a (more or less) free press... UA-cam is a good example ! This crash was tragic and no doubt we'll all learn from this after we get the results of the difficult NTSB investigation. Let's give them some time. We all want answers right now. The answers we get right now are historically not the correct ones. In about two weeks or so we will know what happened. Hope the journalists give their readers the facts and not just the quick and incorrect news. I have compared the TV news with reality for a long time. They were wrong most of the time. It's not only their fault. It's the pressure of the news media owners and the pressure of us, the consumers, who want immediate results. Old aircraft are as airworthy as brand new airplanes. It all depends on good maintenance. The Collings Foundation is well known for their excellent maintenance and the outstanding quality of their pilots. Keeping warbirds alive is a very expensive and labour intensive task. We had four P-51's years ago. I feel sorry for the survivors of the crash and the families of the victims of the crash. Hope they find a way to enjoy life again. It's worth it, no matter what happened. All the best to you and best regards from Switzerland, jumping into my 747-8 cockpit later today. R.
95 years old, 35 sorties and a fully booked flight? This man has a guardian angel looking after him, maybe insuring he continues to the his story's. Thank you for you service Bill, job well done.
I was fortunate enough to fly on the Madras Maiden B-17 in May 2018 in Kansas City. It was the most joyest day in my life and the smoothest flight in an airplane I have ever took. It was on my bucket list and I gained a new appreciation for what the flyers of WW2 went through every day. They were all heros never to be matched and thank you Bill Purple for your sacrifices when you were the pilot. In my opinion you are 100% correct. Greatest aircraft ever built.
My godfather and neighbor Robert E "Gene" Roberts was a member of the 379th Bomb Group and I posted an inquiry on the group website asking if anyone remembered him. Less than an hour later the phone rang. It was Bill! You see, Gene was Bill's flight engineer. They flew 15 missions together and Bill was promoted and his co-pilot Mac McKinnon took over. We had a wonderful chat and Bill sent me a whole packet and information of all of Gene's missions. Gene passed away way too soon when I was a teenager, but I was able to give all the information to Gene's son Norman who had no idea what his dad had done. God Bless you Bill, you are a true American Hero!
Well this Veteran is correct, with the preliminary report out now, it does not look good. The air speed was too slow and the plane was too low. Also there was an additional problem with the #3 engine as well. Also engines #1, #2, and #3 were just overhauled with zero hrs logged. I don't understand why passengers were allowed to fly until these engines were broken in.
i agree. the B17's airworthiness is not a question. its not like this is a piece of junk 737-MAX. something went wrong here, it should not have happened.
@@GH-oi2jf i read comments that people leave that make it sound like for example nine-o-nine was just pulled out of the boneyard, had some fresh paint, fresh fuel and started flying it. nothing is further from the truth. the way these museums overhaul these aircraft they are essentially a brand new 70 year old aircraft. corrosion is removed and corrected, every nut and bolt is inspected and replaced, fully overhauled 0 time engines and propellers are installed. control cables are replaced, electrics and hydraulics rebuilt. the is not much left original on these vintage aircraft.
Bless him. The greatest generation... no doubt.
I toured the B-17 "909" in 2008, and videoed it, including engines warm-up and takeoff, when it came to Manchester NH. I recognize Bill Purple as the WWII B-17 pilot who shared stories that day, sitting in a lawn chair next to the B-17. Thanks Bill Purple.
Thank you Mr. Bill Purple for your service and your valuable input.
God Bless the survivors and may those who have gone on because of this great tragedy and their families, be comforted in your loving embrace.
My humble opinion from far away Switzerland: Obviously Bill Purple is a survivor. Hope the Collings Foundation survives as well. They are good folks and I think it is important to keep those old birds alive. They are one of the reasons we have a (more or less) free press... UA-cam is a good example ! This crash was tragic and no doubt we'll all learn from this after we get the results of the difficult NTSB investigation. Let's give them some time. We all want answers right now. The answers we get right now are historically not the correct ones. In about two weeks or so we will know what happened. Hope the journalists give their readers the facts and not just the quick and incorrect news. I have compared the TV news with reality for a long time. They were wrong most of the time. It's not only their fault. It's the pressure of the news media owners and the pressure of us, the consumers, who want immediate results. Old aircraft are as airworthy as brand new airplanes. It all depends on good maintenance. The Collings Foundation is well known for their excellent maintenance and the outstanding quality of their pilots. Keeping warbirds alive is a very expensive and labour intensive task. We had four P-51's years ago.
I feel sorry for the survivors of the crash and the families of the victims of the crash. Hope they find a way to enjoy life again. It's worth it, no matter what happened. All the best to you and best regards from Switzerland, jumping into my 747-8 cockpit later today.
R.
95 years old, 35 sorties and a fully booked flight? This man has a guardian angel looking after him, maybe insuring he continues to the his story's. Thank you for you service Bill, job well done.
I was fortunate enough to fly on the Madras Maiden B-17 in May 2018 in Kansas City. It was the most joyest day in my life and the smoothest flight in an airplane I have ever took. It was on my bucket list and I gained a new appreciation for what the flyers of WW2 went through every day. They were all heros never to be matched and thank you Bill Purple for your sacrifices when you were the pilot. In my opinion you are 100% correct. Greatest aircraft ever built.
Thanks Bill, what a hero...….
My godfather and neighbor Robert E "Gene" Roberts was a member of the 379th Bomb Group and I posted an inquiry on the group website asking if anyone remembered him. Less than an hour later the phone rang. It was Bill! You see, Gene was Bill's flight engineer. They flew 15 missions together and Bill was promoted and his co-pilot Mac McKinnon took over. We had a wonderful chat and Bill sent me a whole packet and information of all of Gene's missions. Gene passed away way too soon when I was a teenager, but I was able to give all the information to Gene's son Norman who had no idea what his dad had done. God Bless you Bill, you are a true American Hero!
What a TRUE hero! God bless him! JA
escaped death again
Well this Veteran is correct, with the preliminary report out now, it does not look good. The air speed was too slow and the plane was too low. Also there was an additional problem with the #3 engine as well. Also engines #1, #2, and #3 were just overhauled with zero hrs logged. I don't understand why passengers were allowed to fly until these engines were broken in.
I agree that this shouldn’t have happened. As long as planes are properly maintenanced they’ll last and hold up.
i agree. the B17's airworthiness is not a question. its not like this is a piece of junk 737-MAX. something went wrong here, it should not have happened.
Andrew Donohue - The B737-MAX is not “junk.” It is a solid aircraft which had one fatal, but correctable design flaw.
@@GH-oi2jf but its no B17 with 75+ years of PROVEN reliability either.
@@GH-oi2jf i read comments that people leave that make it sound like for example nine-o-nine was just pulled out of the boneyard, had some fresh paint, fresh fuel and started flying it.
nothing is further from the truth. the way these museums overhaul these aircraft they are essentially a brand new 70 year old aircraft. corrosion is removed and corrected, every nut and bolt is inspected and replaced, fully overhauled 0 time engines and propellers are installed. control cables are replaced, electrics and hydraulics rebuilt.
the is not much left original on these vintage aircraft.