Only Flying Superfortress Lands at Birmingham Video

BIRMINGHAM AL- Making the first of 19 stops on the 2013  Commemorative Air Force  AirPower History Tour, the National Air Tour of Historic World War II Aircraft, landed the famous "FiFi" in Birmingham, 16-19 May. The old gray lady, the only flying B-29, is a national treasure as a traveling museum. During the BHM stop former B29 crew and even a "Rosie the Riveter" showed up to pay their respects and recall WW II and Korean War memories. A nostalgic stay on the ramp where hundreds of B29s, B25s and Jeeps were prepped for and after the war at the former Bechtel Corp during 1942, the property is now Kaiser Industries Inc. Fans enjoyed other warbirds, a C-45, a BHM based P51 and the Dixie Division Military Vehicle Club assets.

B-29s, which began active service in 1944, could fly higher and longer and carry more bombs than any other warplane during World War II. They provided support for island-hopping troops in the Pacific and in 1945 dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Now just one remains flight worthy, rescued from the desert and saved from military target practice by the nonprofit Commemorative Air Force, which has collected and restored more than 150 vintage planes. FiFi was a late bloomer, she never saw combat.

At 99 feet long and with a wingspan of 141 feet, the plane looms large outside, with four engines (each named after a 1940s movie actress) and massive propellers rising like large arms. But inside, there's a no-frills economy of space. Two people need to choreograph their steps around each other, and crawling through the 33-foot tunnel that runs above the bomb bay between the cockpit and tail feels like squeezing through an empty paper towel roll. However, the view from the bombardier's seat in the nose or the tail gunner's position is like having a window on the world. Fifi flies at about 220 mph at an altitude that rarely exceeds 10,000 feet.

Keeping history flying comes with a price, about $750,000, a lot of money to stay in the air. CAF sells memberships including a ride to pay for expenses and upkeep. Prior to the 2010 season, FiFi was grounded for four years consuming $3 million for a makeover including an engine rebuild.

 

 

Kaiser Aircraft Industries Inc hosted the event with the Birmingham Aero Club sponsoring. Although the weather was less than cooperative before, even at the Addison, TX home base, during and after FiFis visit, the event was successful with two full rides, souvenir sales and hundreds of visitors enjoying the rarest flying museum. FiFi will be part of the Dayton Air Show with Rich's Incredible Pyro on 22-23 June 2013 and you can book a ride now if you want a seat onboard FiFi over Oshkosh during AirVenture in July. -B Meyer