shortliner Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 B-29 Restored with~~New Engines ~~Click on the nose of the B-29 when it comes on the screen....I thought you guys would like to see a short video of the only flyable B-29 in the world. Notice the flight engineer is stillwearing his "Confederate" Air Force patch. To our friends who may not understand the passion we feel for planes and particularly planes from WW11, this is Fifi. It is theonly flying B-29 Strato Fortress in the world. This is one of the combat airplanes that flew from Iwo Jima,Saipan, Tinian islands to bomb Japan and help win the war. It was usually escorted by P-51 Mustangs to protect her fromenemy fighters but many thousands of planes and aircrewswere lost fighting for our country.This happened at a time in history before we had long rangemissiles and electronics. These planes were flown by men from our farms and cities who left their families at home and risked their lives in high altitude gun fights. It was up close, brutal andextremely dangerous but they risked it all to protect our country.Many never came home again. We love, respect and honor allof our veterans. But we also have a love affair with the planes.It is a permanent addiction for us so we preserve these wonderfulaircraft so you can see and experience the marvelous machinesthat preserved our freedom.We have completely rebuilt this aircraft and those powerful prop engines to bring Fifi back to life. It took years to accomplish, manythousands of donated dollars and thousands of hours of work by many unpaid volunteers to make this happen so that everyone canshare this important part of our history. This is a unique flying museum.If you get a chance to see her at an air show, don't pass up the chance. You are watching history and she is the only one left out of thousands.This is truly a rare aircraft. Enjoy the video.Col. Tom Leo, Golden Gate WingSomeone did a nice job of filming Fifi, the only flying B-29. https://vimeo.com/17388627 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozexpatriate Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 Notice the flight engineer is still wearing his "Confederate" Air Force patch. The CAF has a very impressive collection. They changed the name to "Commemorative" in 2002. The original name was humourously intended but is a sensitive topic. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold russ p Posted June 6, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 6, 2016 Apparently many years ago there was a plan to restore a B36 to flight,but unbelievably the US military scuppered it 'in case it got into the wrong hands' ! It's not like it still had a nuclear bomb in it or was state of the art. Real shame as that would have been a worthy addition to the confederate air force. Still it's nice to see the B29 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jamie92208 Posted June 6, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 6, 2016 Apparently many years ago there was a plan to restore a B36 to flight,but unbelievably the US military scuppered it 'in case it got into the wrong hands' ! It's not like it still had a nuclear bomb in it or was state of the art. Real shame as that would have been a worthy addition to the confederate air force. Still it's nice to see the B29 Are there any B36's preserved as static exhibits? It's great to see a B29 flying again. Jamie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozexpatriate Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 Are there any B36's preserved as static exhibits? Yes, the USAF has one in their fantastic museum at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton Ohio - close to the location of the Wright Brothers home. Their B36 page is here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Joseph_Pestell Posted June 6, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 6, 2016 On this side of the "pond", there is just as much enthusiasm for the remaining Lancaster and Spitfires. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Ramblin Rich Posted June 6, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 6, 2016 Nice find, but the video is 6 years old! I'd have preferred more engine noise & less dramatic music.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 Yes, the USAF has one in their fantastic museum at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton Ohio - close to the location of the Wright Brothers home. Their B36 page is here. Apparently, there are five preserved examples:- http://www.air-and-space.com/b-36%20survivors.htm I rather like the idea that the bomb-bays are big enough to store smaller aircraft in until there's a chance to work on them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted June 7, 2016 Share Posted June 7, 2016 I take it the OP is a quote from Col Tom Leo, mentioned at the end? If so I'm surprised he calls it a StratoFortress. Surely the B29 was the SuperFortress, following on from the B17 Flying Fortress. The Strato Fortress was of course the B52.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold russ p Posted June 7, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 7, 2016 I take it the OP is a quote from Col Tom Leo, mentioned at the end? If so I'm surprised he calls it a StratoFortress. Surely the B29 was the SuperFortress, following on from the B17 Flying Fortress. The Strato Fortress was of course the B52.... And just to complicate things further the B50 was also the super fortress and the B47 Stratojet Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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