Last flying B29 FIFI Aircraft Grounded

They just replaced the engines because of problems with the old ones! Just too darn expensive to maintain something like that. Hopefully someone wealthy will step up and purchase it.
 
A wealthy donor provided most of the funding for the engine upgrade. But that's a one time fix. How to fund a beast like that is a real challenge over the long term.

It'll be interesting when they find out what happened to the bad engine. Maybe, just maybe, it was a minor problem as opposed to a major problem requiring a full rebuild.
 
Wasn't there a second B-29 that was on the verge of becoming airworthy a couple of years back?
 
write-stuff said:
Wasn't there a second B-29 that was on the verge of becoming airworthy a couple of years back?
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Yeah I remember talk of a second B-29 in the works but can't remember where or who's doing the restoration. Of course you have the one that burned up in Greenland in the early 90's while attempting a take off. I've got the DVD and that documentary just makes you want to cry.
 
A $250k fund-raiser is currently underway for a spare, nor repair the one that was shut down in Midland.
 
Velocity173 said:
Yeah I remember talk of a second B-29 in the works but can't remember where or who's doing the restoration. Of course you have the one that burned up in Greenland in the early 90's while attempting a take off. I've got the DVD and that documentary just makes you want to cry.
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Oh, yeah. I think that was one of Don Brooks' projects. He lives in central Georgia and has done several restorations including one, possibly two, B-17s. He was on the original Glacier Girl team.

Watching that beautiful old girl burn was a tragic experience.
 
That's tough to hear...I was planning on taking a flight on FiFi next year. I have occasionally seen her flying over my house on approach to KADS, what a sight to see.

Jim Cavanaugh has donated a bunch of money toward keeping her flying...I hope they can raise enough donations to keep FiFi in the air for a few more years.

I watched the Kee Bird documentary one time...have avoided it ever since. What those guys did was pretty boneheaded.
 
Fifi has had a really good season and thankfully the engine shelled out on the last stop of the year instead of the first. She is a money maker for the CAF and i'm sure once they get the engine fixed will be back on the circuit.

Doc is a B-29 here in wichita that has had a long interesting history. I'm not sure if there is currently activity on getting it restored but I believe the goal for it was to restore to flight status. Takes a lot of money though...
 
write-stuff said:
Wasn't there a second B-29 that was on the verge of becoming airworthy a couple of years back?
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There was a lot of stuff on verge of being useful a 'couple' of years ago before the money evaporated . . .
 
I snapped a picture of the one shut down as I was leaving Midland

E4543EAF-E615-4F0B-A4F6-28CE92C466AD-1559-000001D335049CF1.jpg
 
3393RP said:
That's tough to hear...I was planning on taking a flight on FiFi next year. I have occasionally seen her flying over my house on approach to KADS, what a sight to see.

Jim Cavanaugh has donated a bunch of money toward keeping her flying...I hope they can raise enough donations to keep FiFi in the air for a few more years.

I watched the Kee Bird documentary one time...have avoided it ever since. What those guys did was pretty boneheaded.
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I had wanted to get a B29 ride back before FIFI was grounded the first time many years ago and when the opportunity came up last spring in Florida I bought a ticket. Now I'm doubly glad I did. I'm particularly interested in the B29 because that's what my dad flew in WWII. I had been in FIFI once a long time ago when it came to St Paul. My dad and I got a private "tour" of the plane by Vic Agather (Battle of Kansas fame) who was the "owner" of FIFI (i.e. the major financial contributor) at the time (FIFI was his wife's nickname). He was a friend of my dad's from his Air Force days and subsequent Bomber Group reunions. AFaIK, in those days giving rides for money in experimental warbirds wasn't allowed.
 
I think I saw Fifi not too long ago (maybe a month ago) landing at Addison...
 
yachtjim said:
Hard to believe there is just one left. There were 4000 built along with 800 of the Russian clones. Can you imagine the sight it would be to see 4000 of them sitting in a space big enough. man. And just 1 left...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_B-29_Superfortress
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Can you imagine 500+ flying overhead (or worse yet flying overhead and dropping bombs on you). That's how big some of the missions over Japan were towards the end of the war.
 
The golf practice facility where I can usually be found if nothing is happening at the airport is about half mile west of the extended centerline of 15/33. I can guarantee than everybody stops to watch the B-29 when Fifi flies in or out.

The only disadvantage of being involved in aviation is that anybody who has a question about any airplane is referred to me for an answer. Not the worst gig, since it leads to many interesting conversations, but occasionally I am actually trying to solve the latest problem that has besieged my swing.

gismo said:
Can you imagine 500+ flying overhead (or worse yet flying overhead and dropping bombs on you). That's how big some of the missions over Japan were towards the end of the war.
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yachtjim said:
Hard to believe there is just one left. There were 4000 built along with 800 of the Russian clones. Can you imagine the sight it would be to see 4000 of them sitting in a space big enough. man. And just 1 left...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_B-29_Superfortress
Click to expand...

One left flying.

Another one (Doc) that could fly with a bit of work. At least one more in private hands (Kermit Weeks) which could be restored for flight, plus about two dozen on static display in museums in the US (and one in the UK).
 
It's pretty clear that as the aircraft became more advanced, bigger and more complicated, keeping the later airplanes flying in civilian hands has proven a real challenge and the B-29 seems to be right at the breaking point. The point being, it and most of the advanced bombers, transports, fighters and airliners that came after this period are likely to be relegated to static displays only.

This gets me to thinking on how to best utilize the artifacts that we do have left. People pay a fair amount to get a ride in an WWII war bird, but it's clear that it's not enough and it won't go on forever. What if we took a few of the remaining airframes and built full motion simulators with them. Imagine not only going for a ride in a B-17, but on a combat mission over Europe! Everything as realistic as possible, except the dead and dying part.

Get the best of the war bird restoration community together with the simulator companies and the folks from Disneyland and you could make a real attraction that could entertain and educate. Maybe even fighter experiences from the other side as well.

Just a thought. Without some seriously wealthy people taking an interest, one by one, all the old birds will either be grounded or crashed. Eventually, this and maybe the next generation will effectively "use up" all the WWII war birds and they will slip into the purgatory of the museum and history books. Perhaps the simulator idea will help keep the sights, sounds and stories of these birds and the birds after WWII alive for generations to come.
 
Dav8or said:
It's pretty clear that as the aircraft became more advanced, bigger and more complicated, keeping the later airplanes flying in civilian hands has proven a real challenge and the B-29 seems to be right at the breaking point. The point being, it and most of the advanced bombers, transports, fighters and airliners that came after this period are likely to be relegated to static displays only.

This gets me to thinking on how to best utilize the artifacts that we do have left. People pay a fair amount to get a ride in an WWII war bird, but it's clear that it's not enough and it won't go on forever. What if we took a few of the remaining airframes and built full motion simulators with them. Imagine not only going for a ride in a B-17, but on a combat mission over Europe! Everything as realistic as possible, except the dead and dying part.

Get the best of the war bird restoration community together with the simulator companies and the folks from Disneyland and you could make a real attraction that could entertain and educate. Maybe even fighter experiences from the other side as well.

Just a thought. Without some seriously wealthy people taking an interest, one by one, all the old birds will either be grounded or crashed. Eventually, this and maybe the next generation will effectively "use up" all the WWII war birds and they will slip into the purgatory of the museum and history books. Perhaps the simulator idea will help keep the sights, sounds and stories of these birds and the birds after WWII alive for generations to come.
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Just a guess but I'd expect that a "full motion" simulator of a fully functional B29 cockpit would would cost upwards of $20Million to build and a fair amount of cost for ongoing maintenance. Might be just as difficult to recoup that investment by charging for "missions" as it is to recover operating expenses by flying the real thing. Interesting idea though.
 
Based on experience in certifying new sims at SFI, the hardware was the cheapest part. Gathering the flight and performance information necessary to program the sim to fly sorta like the airplane was the most expensive part. I somehow doubt if anybody would be willing to pay upwards of $10 mil for a one-off design.

gismo said:
Just a guess but I'd expect that a "full motion" simulator of a fully functional B29 cockpit would would cost upwards of $20Million to build and a fair amount of cost for ongoing maintenance. Might be just as difficult to recoup that investment by charging for "missions" as it is to recover operating expenses by flying the real thing. Interesting idea though.
Click to expand...
 
Sadly time is an enemy to all older technology. How many Handley-Page Type Os are still flying? Static displays, When set in the proper context can be informative, but the sound and feel of big machines and big engines growling through the air is going fast. I would LOVE to see a XB-70 fly-by, but it won't happen. Sadly, the same may be true for Fifi.
 
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