The Yankee Lady has taken to the skies from the Yankee Air Museum Michigan Flight Museum for the last time.
Bought by the museum in 1986 for $250,000 she was allegedly sold for somewhere in the range of $15 million.
She's heading off for an overhaul and then to the new owner apparently in California.
Sold, likely due to the costs involved in keeping her airworthy, and for the announced reason that it was due to the museum's over-reliance on the revenue from rides on the aircraft, which was affected whenever B-17s were grounded by the FAA, the museum decided to sell its centerpiece. The museum, in a separate decision, also rebranded itself as the Michigan Flight Museum, bringing an end to the years of goodwill and recognition as the Yankee Air Museum.
The Yankee Lady has departed its home base Ypsilanti for the last time, and is off for an overhaul and then on to its new but currently undisclosed owner who is apparently in California.
3 comments:
A sad loss, but a fiscal reality...
I miss the B-17 fly ins at the local airport.........
Old NFO: Yep, they really can't afford to keep her flying with their current business model, which is rather sad.
Matthew W: Seeing multiple B-17s in the pattern is and then parked to be admired is quite an amazing sight.
Post a Comment