B-29 Fly Over…..

[joelbc1]

Sitting on my 3 season porch watching the Olympics/local news shows on a VR Sunday morning and I heard a loud, deep unfamiliar rumble passing overhead. Looked to the north/west and noted a large 4 engine prop airplane flying above. I checked and yes there is a B-29 WW2 vintage at the airport this weekend…. And I just witnessed it! Wow! It was really impressive.

Made me think of my dad….a WW2 vet and a B-24 Liberator pilot with 50 missions flown in Europe in 1944. He was 24-25 yrs. old at the time.

 

[h-hawk]

We saw it but from a distance, driving back to Des Moines this morning. My wife's photo from the car is fuzzy but you can make out the huge tail fin.

 

[VodkaSam]

They are always so incredibly impressive to see flying.

CAF AirPower History Tour featuring the B-29 Superfortress FIFI

This is a site about the CAF Airpower History Tour -touring coast to coast each year with the B-29 Superfortress, B-24 Liberator and other CAF aircraft.

www.airpowersquadron.org

 

[ferentzin04]

Sitting on my 3 season porch watching the Olympics/local news shows on a VR Sunday morning and I heard a loud, deep unfamiliar rumble passing overhead. Looked to the north/west and noted a large 4 engine prop airplane flying above. I checked and yes there is a B-29 WW2 vintage at the airport this weekend…. And I just witnessed it! Wow! It was really impressive.

Made me think of my dad….a WW2 vet and a B-24 Liberator pilot with 50 missions flown in Europe in 1944. He was 24-25 yrs. old at the time.

My grandpa was a Liberator pilot. Flew 50
missions out of southern Italy. I got to fly on a B-24 for my birthday a few years ago, it was an awesome experience.

 

[The Tradition]

Where do they get parts for those things?

 

[joelbc1]

My grandpa was a Liberator pilot. Flew 50
missions out of southern Italy. I got to fly on a B-24 for my birthday a few years ago, it was an awesome experience.

Dad was flying out of southern Italy (Madura?) too…from 1/1/44 to 5/30/44…a lot of missions in northern Italy, sub pens in Marseilles, fighter plane/ ball bearing factories in Germany and Austria, plus the oil fields in Rumania (Ploesti)…it was a helluva way to make a living…

 

[h-hawk]

An Uncle flew B-25s in the China, Burma, India Theater. Have not been in one but did get to go through a B-17 when we were out in Denver during the 1980s.

 

[Jimmy McGill]

Dad was flying out of southern Italy (Madura?) too…from 1/1/44 to 5/30/44…a lot of missions in northern Italy, sub pens in Marseilles, fighter plane/ ball bearing factories in Germany and Austria, plus the oil fields in Rumania (Ploesti)…it was a helluva way to make a living…

Check out this:




Catch - 22 on HULU

Not B-29, but B-25s flying that same area. I'm sure it is a similar experience that your dad had. It is a really good binge watch

 

[bagdropper]

Where do they get parts for those things?

Many times they make parts for them, but there's possibly still some boneyard pieces in AZ to be had - various types of B-29's were still used into the 1960's (and a few B-50's, a development of the B-29), so the USAF probably kept a lot of them post-Korean War. Parts are where you find them, and if you can't find them you make them. That's why WWII era plane restorations take a very long time. Lots of parts have to be fabricated, and most all of them are completely financed privately, plus the work is VERY specialized.

It appears Fifi is flying because the original engines were worn out in the 00's, so they re-engined it with more modern powerplants. But the airframe itself was rescued in the 70's from an air base in California and then fixed up. And according to wikipedia there's one other model in flying condition currently, plus 12 different ones in various stages of restoration.

It's amazing there's actually flyable B-29's because of the size and complexity (even when brand new in the 40's). P-51's or F4U Corsairs are easy to restore by comparison. I've thought about going on one of those flights the public can get, but quite honestly I've chickened out because it seems like every year you hear about one of these old warbirds crashing.

 

[Jimmy McGill]

Many times they make parts for them, but there's possibly still some boneyard pieces in AZ to be had - various types of B-29's were still used into the 1960's (and a few B-50's, a development of the B-29), so the USAF probably kept a lot of them post-Korean War. Parts are where you find them, and if you can't find them you make them. That's why WWII era plane restorations take a very long time. Lots of parts have to be fabricated, and most all of them are completely financed privately, plus the work is VERY specialized.

It appears Fifi is flying because the original engines were worn out in the 00's, so they re-engined it with more modern powerplants. But the airframe itself was rescued in the 70's from an air base in California and then fixed up. And according to wikipedia there's one other model in flying condition currently, plus 12 different ones in various stages of restoration.

It's amazing there's actually flyable B-29's because of the size and complexity (even when brand new in the 40's). P-51's or F4U Corsairs are easy to restore by comparison. I've thought about going on one of those flights the public can get, but quite honestly I've chickened out because it seems like every year you hear about one of these old warbirds crashing.

That boneyard in Arizona is a sight to see. I never have a reason to go to Tuscan again after the Hawkeye loss, but my brother and I went there. I can't even describe how many planes are down there.

 

[lucas80]

Thanks to the posters who had a relative that strapped themselves in and fought for this country, and freedom.
I will again mention Mission, it’s an excellent read about the war years of Jimmy Stewart, and his return to civilian life. He was a true hero

 

[TheCainer]

They are always so incredibly impressive to see flying.

CAF AirPower History Tour featuring the B-29 Superfortress FIFI

This is a site about the CAF Airpower History Tour -touring coast to coast each year with the B-29 Superfortress, B-24 Liberator and other CAF aircraft.

www.airpowersquadron.org

The CAF brought Fifi and a B-24 to the Tallahassee airport in 1989. The B-24 was the plane that flew Eleanor Roosevelt around the country during WWII. My dad served in a B-29 outfit on Guam during that war and I think he was in heaven when he got to sit in the cockpit of the 29 that weekend. We got to see both planes take off when they left and it was a night-and-day difference between the sounds of the planes heading down the runway. The B-29 was very quiet comparatively speaking.

 

[SolarHawk]

Thanks to the posters who had a relative that strapped themselves in and fought for this country, and freedom.
I will again mention Mission, it’s an excellent read about the war years of Jimmy Stewart, and his return to civilian life. He was a true hero

Not to be a dick, but what exactly are you thanking descendants of WW2 vets for?

 

[lucas80]

Not to be a dick, but what exactly are you thanking descendants of WW2 vets for?

I was going for a thank you to them for sharing, and thanking their kin folk who served.
Being a dick is your natural state, so it’s fine.

 

[DropitlikeitsHawk]

That boneyard in Arizona is a sight to see. I never have a reason to go to Tuscan again after the Hawkeye loss, but my brother and I went there. I can't even describe how many planes are down there.

Coming across it not knowing it was going to appear was a mind fvck.

 

[SolarHawk]

I was going for a thank you to them for sharing, and thanking their kin folk who served.
Being a dick is your natural state, so it’s fine.

 

[ferentzin04]

Dad was flying out of southern Italy (Madura?) too…from 1/1/44 to 5/30/44…a lot of missions in northern Italy, sub pens in Marseilles, fighter plane/ ball bearing factories in Germany and Austria, plus the oil fields in Rumania (Ploesti)…it was a helluva way to make a living…

Grandpa was out of Grottaglie. A lot of missions to Yugoslavia, Austria, and Rumania (including Ploesti like your dad). I don’t remember the exact timeframe of his deployment, but almost exactly the same as your dad.

I highly recommend everyone checks out any of those old aircraft if they are ever close. I know they’ve been to Waterloo more than once (the Collings Foundation has anyways). Typically you can go walk through the planes. It’s awesome. When I had my flight you could pay to just check them out, so we all went and walked through the B-17 and B-24, and they had a P-51 and B-25 there at the same time.

To that point though, it’s definitely dangerous to take the flights. The B-17 for the Collings Foundation (who I flew with) crashed just a couple years after I flew on their B-24. My kids and I walked through that same B-17. That was hard to read about, knowing what that experience is like for everyone involved. You know those people had their whole families there to watch them fly, just like when I did it.

 

[The Tradition]

It took BIG BRASS BALLS to climb into those deathtraps and fly across enemy lines....

 

[joelbc1]

Grandpa was out of Grottaglie. A lot of missions to Yugoslavia, Austria, and Rumania (including Ploesti like your dad). I don’t remember the exact timeframe of his deployment, but almost exactly the same as your dad.

I highly recommend everyone checks out any of those old aircraft if they are ever close. I know they’ve been to Waterloo more than once (the Collings Foundation has anyways). Typically you can go walk through the planes. It’s awesome. When I had my flight you could pay to just check them out, so we all went and walked through the B-17 and B-24, and they had a P-51 and B-25 there at the same time.

To that point though, it’s definitely dangerous to take the flights. The B-17 for the Collings Foundation (who I flew with) crashed just a couple years after I flew on their B-24. My kids and I walked through that same B-17. That was hard to read about, knowing what that experience is like for everyone involved. You know those people had their whole families there to watch them fly, just like when I did it.

My dad’s radio man has “his” flight diary in-line. There’s some pics included. Ckeck-out “Toni Gayle” B-24 via google for the text..you might nite done similarities….
Dad talked about the stinking mud at the air field (ankle to knee deep in the Spring) and the whore house at the end of the runway the Italians working it still had their fair bleached blonde from when the Germans were there. Some of those raids were intense…