The Aspiring Pilot

Unsure about EAA AirVenture 2011 in Oshkosh? This should help you decide!

If the North American public debut of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner on the Friday of the show wasn't enough to make you want to attend, just watch this video if you need that extra little push to make your way up to Oshkosh... 

 

 

 

 

Liberty Foundation statement on loss of the Liberty Belle

The Liberty Foundation posted the following statement on their website regarding the emergency landing and subsequent loss of the Liberty Belle:

 

Statement from Liberty Foundation Chief Pilot:

June 14, 2011 - First, let me start off by sincerely thanking everyone for the outpouring of support that we are receiving. I am sorry that I have not yet had the opportunity to return the many phone calls, text or e-mails that I am receiving offering to help. Again, thank you for all of the kind words that we are receiving and for incredible offers to help emotionally, financially and/or with the recovery process. I hope this statement will help fill in a few details that everyone is wondering about that led to the loss of our “Liberty Belle”.

Yesterday (June 13, 2011) morning, both our P-40 and B-17 were scheduled to fly from Aurora, Illinois to Indianapolis, Indiana. We were in Aurora for the weekend as a part of our scheduled tour. Over the course of the previous week, we completed a scheduled 25-hour inspection on the B-17 which was completed by Saturday. On Saturday, the weather stayed below the required ceiling to give any passenger flights, however the B-17 flew in the morning on a routine training proficiency flight, performing several patterns. Following the flight, other maintenance issues arose that required us to cancel our Sunday flying schedule for repairs. The maintenance performed has not been, in any way, associated to the chain of events that led to Monday’s fateful flight, but is being considered in the preliminary investigation. However, due to the media’s sensational (mis)reporting, there is a large amount of misinformation that continues to lead the news.

Here is what we do know… Flying in the left seat of the B-17 was Capt. John Hess. John has been flying our Liberty Belle since 2005 and one of our most experienced B-17 pilots. He is an active Delta Air Lines Captain with over 14,000 hours of flying experience and flys a variety of vintage WWII aircraft. In the right seat was Bud Sittic. While Bud is new to the Liberty Foundation this year, he is also incredibly experienced with over 14,000 hours of flying time in vintage and hi-performance aircraft. He is a retired Captain with Delta Air Lines.

The news misidentified the P-40 as flying chase during the accident. I was flying our P-40, however I had departed 20 minutes prior to the B-17’s takeoff on the short flight to Indianapolis to setup for the B-17’s arrival. The aircraft flying chase was a T-6 Texan flown by owner Cullen Underwood. Cullen is one of our rated B-17 Captains and an experienced aviator tagging along as a support ship.

The takeoff of both aircraft was uneventful and proceeded on-course southeast. Prior to exiting Aurora’s airport traffic area, the B-17 crew and passengers began investigating an acrid smell and started a turn back to the airport. Almost immediately thereafter, Cullen spotted flames coming from the left wing and reported over the radio that they were on fire.



As all pilots know, there are few emergency situations that are more critical than having an in-flight fire. While an in-flight fire is extremely rare, it can (and sometimes does) indiscriminately affect aircraft of any age or type. In-flight fires have led to the loss of not only aircraft, but often can result in catastrophic loss of life. It requires an immediate action on the flight crew, as the integrity of aircraft structure, systems and critical components are in question.

Directly below the B-17 was a farmer’s field and the decision was made to land immediately. Approximately 1 minute and 40 seconds from the radio report of the fire, the B-17 was down safely on the field. Within that 1:40 time frame, the crew shutdown and feathered the number 2 engine, activated the engine’s fire suppression system, lowered the landing gear and performed an on-speed landing. Bringing the B-17 to a quick stop, the crew and passengers quickly and safely exited the aircraft. Overhead in the T-6, Cullen professionally coordinated and directed the firefighting equipment which was dispatched by Aurora Tower to the landing location.

Unlike the sensational photos that you have all seen of the completely burned B-17 on the news, you will see from photos taken by our crew that our Liberty Belle was undamaged by the forced landing and at the time of landing, the wing fire damage was relatively small. The crew actually unloaded bags, then had the horrible task of watching the aircraft slowly burn while waiting for the fire trucks to arrive. There were high hopes that the fire would be extinguished quickly and the damage would be repairable. Those hopes were diminished as the fire trucks deemed the field too soft to cross due to the area’s recent rainfall. So while standing by our burning B-17 and watching the fire trucks parked at the field’s edge, they sadly watched the wing fire spread to the aircraft’s fuel cells and of course, you all have seen the end result. There is no doubt that had the fire equipment been able to reach our aircraft, the fire would have been quickly extinguished and our Liberty Belle would have been repaired to continue her worthwhile mission.

Let me go on the record by thanking the flight crew for their professionalism. Their actions were nothing short of heroic and their quick thinking, actions and experience led to a “successful” outcome to this serious in-flight emergency. John and Bud (and Cullen) did a remarkable job under extreme circumstances and performed spectacularly. While the leading news stories have repeatedly reported the “crash” of our B-17, fact is they made a successful forced landing and the aircraft was ultimately consumed by fire. Airplanes are replaceable but people are not and while the aircraft’s loss is tragic, it was a successful result.

This leads me into discussing the exceptional safety record of the Boeing B-17 and to hopefully squash the naysayers who preach we should not be flying these types of aircraft. Since we first flew the “Liberty Belle” in December of 2004, we have flown over 20,000 passengers throughout the country and if you count our historic trip to Europe in 2008, worldwide. Of the other touring B-17s, some of which that have been touring for over 20 years, they have safely flown hundreds of thousands of people. The aircraft’s safety record is spectacular and I am certain the overall cause of our issue, which is under investigation, will not tarnish that safety record. In fact, as many of you know, other B-17 have suffered significant damage (although not as bad as ours!), only to be re-built to fly again. From a passenger carrying standpoint, I can think of few aircraft that offer the same level of safety as the 4-engine “Flying Fortress”. As mentioned earlier, in-flight fires are extremely rare and certainly could affect any powered aircraft under certain circumstances. I would put my children today in any of the other touring B-17s to go fly. I suggest to anyone that was thinking of doing so when a B-17 visits your area to do so without giving our loss any thought.

There is wild speculation going on as to the cause of our fire and the affect to other operators. Please let the investigation run its course and report the findings. The NTSB and FAA were quickly on the scene and we are working closely with them to aid in the investigation. As soon as we receive some additional information, we will release it via the website.

The ultimate question remains, where does the Liberty Foundation go from here? After the investigation and recovery, we will determine our options. We are still committed to the restoration and flying of World War II aircraft. Again, we appreciate the support and people offering to help get us back flying.

Please check back for updates. I will close by thanking everyone that made our tour so successful. From the first day of the B-17’s restoration, thank you for all of you who labored to get her flying over the initial restoration years and to everyone that has worked on her out on tour since. Thank you to the crewmembers, tour coordinators and volunteers who gave up weekends and countless hours to support her on the road. And finally, thank you to the passengers, donors and media patrons that flew aboard and everyone who supported our cause. Hopefully, this will not be the end of the story, but a new beginning.

Regards,
Ray Fowler
The Liberty Foundation, Chief Pilot

 

Liberty Belle's final mission. The Liberty Foundation's B-17 Flying Fortress

(expansion on my Chicago General Aviation Examiner article from this morning)

This morning, the Liberty Foundation's famous and historic B-17 'Flying Fortress' flew her final mission. It wasn't over a WWII frontline, or during one of it's many charity flights around the United States. The grand lady flew her final mission over the suburbs of Chicago. On a ferry flight, from Aurora Municipal Airport to Indianapolis, the #2 engine caught fire.

photo: Chicago Tribune

A few minutes after departure, as the plane climbed out of ARR, near the town of Oswego, a local T-6 Texan pilot that was escorting her away gave a call over the radio that indicated severe trouble. 'You're on fire!' was the radio call picked up by controllers at ARR. The controller didn't know who made the call or who was on fire. The expected 'Who's on fire' was the ATC response. For the next minute or two, repeated calls of 'You're on fire!' are heard. Then, 'You're on Fire, Get her on the ground!' over and over. Finally, ATC figured it out and you hear 'Whose on fire, is it the Fortress?'. The T6's pilot gives a single word response, 'Affirm.' Shortly after, she asks, 'Is the Fortress on the ground?' and then confirms the B-17 landed about 2 miles southeast of the airport with the yellow T6 circling overhead. He remained there so that the emergency responders would know where to respond to.  Audio link below is from LiveATC.net.

 

N390TH_fire

 

photo: Chicago Tribune

The pictures show the pilot made a successful emergency landing in the field with no damage to the aircraft. The engine was still on fire however and it quickly intensified. The fire spread to the fuselage and eventually destroyed the aircraft. The engine was shutdown in flight as you can see the propeller's of the number 2 engine are in the feathered position. 

The aircraft did have a oil leak earlier in the week; however, the problem was said to have been repaired. The first picture above however, almost appears to have the signature of a cascade effect in the fire. That is almost indicative of a decent descending flow of flammable material. It's possible it may have been a fuel leak in the number 2 engine which is why the flame consumed the aircraft so quickly. A video of that specific moment would be much more telling. A NTSB reports, even the preliminary one should shed some light as to what the indications were to the crew inside. 

I'm trying to get in touch with the Liberty Foundation to do an article on Liberty Belle as a tribute (obituary/eulogy) to highly her history and milestones in her storied life. If anyone can help (I'm sure my email is buried as one of hundreds from media outlets around the country)

 

 

Heavy Metal Jet Team - The Pilots

Posted up some basic information on the aircraft used by the new civilian aerobatic flight team earlier and will focus on the pilots. I will provide just a summary, with links back to the teams site with pilot's bio's that will have their full list of accomplishments. All information here is obtained from the team's site.

The team will make it's debut in Illinois at Rockford Airfest this weekend, on the second day, June 5th. 

The team lead is Lt. Col. Jerry 'Jive' Kerby, USAF (ret.). Jerry grew up in Lancaster, Mo and was alerady flying before he had his drivers license. By 17, he had his private pilot license and by the time he entered US Air Force OTS at 24, he already had his ATP license and over 4,000 flight hours. While in the Air Force, Jerry excelled in his training, finishing 1st in his pilot training class and being awarded an F-15 training slot. He also attended and graduated from the US Air Forces Fighter Weapons School. He was heavily decorated, receiving the Meritorious Service Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters among many other commendations. He has performed in over 150 air shows over 5 years and has logged over 11,000 hours in 50 different aircraft.

Them team solo is well known and respected veteran of the air show circuit, Capt. Dale 'Snort' Snodgrass, USN (ret.). Dale is from Eastern Long Island, NY and was one of the first Navy Flight School graduates selected for the F-14 Tomcat training. He eventually went on to become a graduate of the Navy Fighter Weapons School (Top Gun) and followed that up by becoming a Top Gun instructor. He was named the Navy's top pilot of the year in 1985 and in 1986,  Grumman Aerospace named him 'TopCat of the year', the best F-14 pilot. Dale is the highest time F-14 pilot, logging over 4,800 hours in type and over 10,000 hours in fighters in total. He then spent 12 years on the air show circuit as the Navy's F-14 demonstration pilot. He has a total of 22 years on the air show circuit with over 1,000 low level performances. He is also a member of the USAF Heritage Flight and USN Legacy Flight programs.

 Two of the formation pilots are former US Air Force Thunderbirds. Major John 'Slick' Baum, USAF, was the Number 2 jet during the Thunderbirds 2009-2010 season. He has over 2,250 hours as a pilot and is a US Air Force Weapons School graduate and instructor. The other was the Number 4 jet, the Slot pilot, during the same 2009-2010 air show season, Major Sean 'Stroker' Gustafson, USAFR. Sean has over 2300 hours as an Air Force pilot and over 1000 hours as a commercial air line pilot for Delta, flying a Boeing 767ER.

The team is fully sponsored by United Bank Card, Inc, whose founder and CEO is also a team pilot. Jared 'Rook' Isaacman maintains a personal fleet of warbirds, including 4 L-39's, a T-33 and a T-28.

There are 3 other pilots on the roster; however, I have not been able to find out who the 4th pilot will be for the team during the AirFest performance. Once I find out who will fill out the team, I will provide his bio here. In the meantime, read the full bios at the links provided throughout the article. From the experience present in this team, the show's they put on should be exciting and spectacular.  

Next Heavy Metal Jet Team article to come tomorrow

Due to some timing issues as well as focusing on the tragic news from the San Francisco FD, where a fellow firefighter died in the line of duty and a second is fighting for his life in the hospital I just couldn't focus on finishing up the article on the team pilots. I'll work on it tomorrow and get it up in the afternoon. 

Heavy Metal Jet Team - The Airplanes

See my article at Chicago General Aviation Examiner on their debut performance in Illinois on Sunday at the 2011 Rockford Airfest! 

The team was established earlier this year and has been performing across the US during the 2011 air show season. The team is the newest, civilian aerobatic precision performance team that is available for air show performances across the U.S. Yesterday, Rockford Airfest organizers had announced the addition of the team to the 2011 Airfest lineup, marking their Illinois debut.  Unfortunately, the Heavy Metal Jet Team will only perform on the second day of the show, Sunday, June 5th. 

Continue reading on Examiner.com New precision performance Heavy Metal Jet Team to make Illinois debut June 5th - Chicago General Aviation | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/general-aviation-in-chicago/new-precision-performance-heavy-metal-jet-team-to-make-illinois-debut-june-5th#ixzz1O9FQoFGh

The team is a collection of military pilots and civlian pilots that have quite an extensive aviation background. I will have more on the performance at Airfest Sunday (and maybe an interview with them), but in the meantime, I'd like to cover the team a bit for those that have never heard of them. 

First, the aircraft. The team performs in a flight of 5 aircraft, 4 L-39's and a CT-133 (Canadair built T-33).

The L-39 Albatros, a Czech built military jet trainer, is considered one of the most, if not THE most widely used jet trainer in the world. 

It is also still in military use by over 30 different countries air forces. 

(photo: L-39 Albatros, Air Expo 2008)

(via flickr.com / Pete Markham)

The L-39 has a never exceed speed, of Mach 0.8  (609 mph) and a maximum listed speed of 466 mph.   

The jet is also a popular jet among pilot's who have the money to buy their own version. Some flight schools and flying clubs actually have L-39's and allow pilot's to purchase time in the airplane with an instructor. For example, Gauntlet Warbirds, at Aurora Municipal Airport (KARR) outside Chicago, offers dual flights in the L-39 at a measly $2,200 per hour. 

The CT-133 (Canadair built version of the T-33 Shooting Star) jet is also a trainer that was in use from the 1950's until 2005 by the Royal Canadian Air Force. The CT-133 differed from the T-33 mainly with a different engine, a Rolls Royce rather than an Allison engine. 

(photo: T-33 Shooting Star)

(via: flickr.com / D. Miller)

The CT-133 has a maximum speed of 570 mph, about 100 mph faster than the L-39's. 

The CT-133 was also used for a few years, from 1958-1969, as a demonstration aircraft for air shows across North America. The airplane was painted red and called the 'Red Knight.' 

In their most recent filmed performances, it appears that the team has been utilizing 5 L-39's; however, their website still lists the 4 L-39 and 1 T-33 lineup. I'll provide any updates on this during the airshow on Sunday prior to and during their performance. 

I'll follow up this evening with a second post on the actual pilot's of the group. There are some pretty accomplished pilots that are part of the team. 

Rockford Airfest should still amaze this year!

Even with the Blue Angels having canceled, Rockford Airfest organizers keep putting out press release after press release, announcing more and more amazing plans for this coming weekend. I will be there on Sunday to cover the event as 'media' so stay tuned for some great articles and photos from Airfest. In the meantime, here are some of my most recent articles on what's planned for the weekend.  (add in 60+ static aircraft on display as well as over a dozen military and civiliat aerial performers and the event is still sure to please any aviation fan!) 

Embry-Riddle University and Aircraft to be displayed at Airfest 2011

Rockford announced today that Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) will have a static display during this years Airfest. ERAU already maintains an Embry-Riddle Worldwide campus on the airport grounds and will be honoring it's first graduate during the air show weekend. 

ERAU is also still looking at Rockford Airport as one of the finalists for their third residency campus with a decision hopefully coming soon. Initially, the decision was supposed to have been made by November of 2010; however, ERAU had delayed the decision indefinitely. They stated they are still looking to add the third campus and are expecting to make an announcement sometime this year.

Continue reading on Examiner.com Embry-Riddle University and Aircraft to be displayed at Airfest 2011 - Chicago General Aviation | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/general-aviation-in-chicago/embry-riddle-aircraft-to-be-displayed-at-rockford-s-2011-airfest#ixzz1O5ONvEO5

 

NASA Astronauts to appear at Rockford's 2011 Airfest

Earlier today, just prior to Airfest organizers discovering that the Blue Angels had cancelled their appearance, Rockford announced that NASA will have also have a presence at the 2011 Airfest air show. With the help of U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo, Rockford Airfest organizers were able to secure the attendance of two astronauts as well as NASA's “Journey to Tomorrow” trailer. 

The two astronauts, Serena M. Aunon and G. Reid Wiseman, will be making an appearance on the first day of the air show on Saturday, June 4th. The inclusion of NASA in the Rockford Airfest continues on NASA's public outreach initiative. Both were selected in 2009 at 2 of the 14 astronauts that are part of the 20th NASA astronaut class. Their appearance helps to show the public that there is still a NASA astronaut program even with the shuttle program coming to an end. 

Continue reading on Examiner.com NASA Astronauts to appear at Rockford’s 2011 Airfest - Chicago General Aviation | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/general-aviation-in-chicago/nasa-astronauts-to-appear-at-rockford-s-2011-airfest#ixzz1O5OkocBK

 

Lots of articles to come! Rockford Airfest, Dupage Open House, possibly Airventure!

Well, since I'm not back up in the air Definitely have some great material coming up for amazing articles on here and my examiner columns. I have media credentials for the 2011 Rockford Airfest and will be attending it Sunday (see my prior posts regarding the loss of the Blue Angels). Even without the Blues, there are plenty of static aircraft and other amazing performances scheduled. 

I'm also going to attend the DuPage Open house in July during which the CAF B-29 Superfortress 'Fifi' will be present along with their P-51 Gunfighter. Would love behind the scenes access to those for articles and photos, heck, I can even hope for a media flight! I'll be sure to present everything here for you all! 

Finally, I'm waiting on a response on media credentials for EAA's 2011 Airventure at Oshkosh. If I get them and am able to attend, I'll be there for the last few days, tweeting, blogging and writing examiner articles for those not able to attend!

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