Living history: the last flying B-29 bomber

[PALADIN85020]

I thought you might like to see this video I took several years ago of the very last flying B-29 bomber.* "Fifi" is carefully restored and maintained by the Commemorative Air Force. This was taken while the big bird was taxiing for takeoff near Chandler, Arizona, at a WWII air show. As you probably know, B-29s dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, effectively causing the Japanese surrender and the end of WWII.

As a side note, I quit taking footage when the prop wash blew off my ball cap and nearly pushed me backwards.

Click on the picture below. This will take you to my Photobucket site - it will take a few seconds to spool up. Best effect is to go to full screen by moving your pointer to the bottom of the screen and clicking on the diagonal arrows at the lower right. Turn up the sound and enjoy a peek into history!

* I understand a second one, "Doc" has been restored to life recently!

John

 

[Telecaster]

Great stuff. There's a second B-29 flying now!

 

[jeffsmith]

FIFI & Doc Met this summer @ EAA Oshkosh 2017

 

[jack the toad]

I've seen FiFi at an airshow some time ago. Awesome machine.
Somewhere (my bro or sis has them), there's a pic of my mom installing instruments in the cockpit of a B29 when she worked for Boeing during WW2.
I remember her telling about them on occasion going up with the crew during test flights.
Thanks for posting.

 

[Targets Guy]

I send FiFi money every year. I've got a high school classmate that donates time to help maintain.

 

[PALADIN85020]

Great stuff. There's a second B-29 flying now!

I was unaware that they got another one up and running! That's great news - these historic bombers need to be commemorated.

John

 

[Texas40]

I know where there is a nice little collection of these era aircraft.
Recent addition to his collection.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[PALADIN85020]

I know where there is a nice little collection of these era aircraft.
Recent addition to his collection.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I that a P-39 Aerocobra? I believe that was the only one of our fighter aircraft that fired through the nose cone of the propeller.

John

 

[jeffsmith]

B-29 Doc – Restoring History

I was unaware that they got another one up and running! That's great news - these historic bombers need to be commemorated.

John

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Was also unaware another B-29 was airborne.
Was surprise to read that Navy was unaware they had B-29s sitting over at China Lake.
Have seen them there a number of times so I feel sure many others also saw them.

 

[jeffsmith]

P-63 Kingcobra
(P-39 with improvements)
Also Fired through the Prop Hub

I that a P-39 Aerocobra? I believe that was the only one of our fighter aircraft that fired through the nose cone of the propeller.

John

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Here's the P-63 over in Tucson.

 

[DECAR]

I saw Fifi years ago at a Little Rock fly in and took a tour through it. Compared to the B-24 and even more so to the B-17, it seemed almost semi-modern with the pressurized crew spaces and radar directed gun mounts. Very cool old war plane.

 

[Abbynormal]

B-29 "Doc" was painstakingly restored by Boeing Wichita employees, retirees and veterans over the past few years. Earlier this year "Doc" took his first flight and is now touring the county.

As said above, Doc and Fifi had flown in formation at the EEA show recently. 1st time in more than 50 years B29's had flown in formation!

 

[427mach1]

Another interesting tidbit.... The B-29's were built at four plants - Boeing Seattle/Renton (1122 produced), Boeing Wichita (now Spirit, 1644 produced), Bell under license to Boeing at Marietta, GA (now Lockheed Martin, 668 produced), and Martin under license at Omaha, NE (536 produced).

Lockheed later built 385 B-47's at the same plant.

 

[i1afli]

I toured FiFi about a month ago. Wanted to hear/see her fly but our schedules just didn't match up.
I often wondered how you could have a pressurized plane with bomb bay doors and gun turrets, so the "tube" and remote-operated guns were an "aahaa" moment for me.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

The B-29 was a very advanced plane in its time.
It was the first pressurized plane made in large numbers.

 

[427mach1]

The B-29 was a very advanced plane in its time.
It was the first pressurized plane made in large numbers.

Yes it was advanced, but being first depends how you define "first". The Boeing 307 (based on the B-17) was the first pressurized airliner with a first flight on 12-31-38 but only 10 were produced (small number). The Lockheed Constellation's first flight was 1-9-43, introduced to the US Army Air Corps in 1943 with 856 produced. The B-29 first flew 9-21-42 (before the Constellation) but its introduction date the the USAAC was 5-8-44, after the Constellation intro.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Let me try this again-
3,970 B-29s were built, 1943-46.
Wartime Constellation build- 22.

The Lockheed C-69 Constellation was a four-engined, propeller-driven transport pressed into military service during World War Two. It was the first military version of the Lockheed Constellation aircraft line. It first flew in 1943, and production of the 22 constructed was shared between the United States Army Air Forces (15) and commercial carriers. Most of the C-69 aircraft built were later converted into civilian airliners under the new designation L-049.

 

[JayFramer]

Very cool but man would I ever be nervous to fly one of these ancient things today! Cannot be that safe, I have read many times of these restored planes crashing and blowing up.