Memphis Bells to stop

[BobP]

Received this from a friend today. I did get to see her and the wife flew on her.

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/mil...s-belle-2.html

[Naharaht]

It is sad news but it is happening to historic aircraft in many parts of the world.

[Hedeby]

Always a shame when one of these iconic aircraft retires. However better than they crash in a field somewhere when something breaks...

[milcoll73]

sad. so another thing we can blame the collings foundations negligent maintenance practices. while i love seeing these old warbords fly, perhaps its for the best to preserve it for the future. still sad though.

[zenlizard]

Sadly, the rising cost of operations is not limited to this aircraft. I expect more announcements in the future.

[camelbeagle]

Very sad. I remember talking with some of the crew of a restored B-25 and they said keeping this old birds flying is extremely expensive.

Like Zenlizard said, more most likely to come.

[Teaticket]

As all have said, sad she won't be flying any more but good that she will be safe to see in a museum for the forseeable future.

[Future Pilot]

Very sad to hear, I'm really glad that I got to crawl all over the B-17 that later crashed when it visited the airport near me. I took pictures of almost everything.

[Flying Helmut]

Disappointing, but not unexpected.
These grand old warbirds would have had to stop flying at some point - better safe than sorry.