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The Brownsville Herald ■ Tuesday, November 6, 1984 ■ Page 5BB'FiFi’ is one bomber that doesn’t know how to give upBy LYNN ROLLINGSShe was left for dead in the middle of the Mojave Desert in the mid-1950s. Her days of usefulness were over. Few people even wanted to think about her anymore.But things have changed for “FiFi. Not only has she become a film star, she also travels around the country making personal appearances. And she has a large following throughout the country.FiFi is now the only one of her kind — a Boeing B-29 “Superfortress World War II bomber.Numerous stories have been written about FiFi, who many say was “brought back from the dead She is treasured because she is so rare; she is preserved for historical purposes — her sister aircraft, the Enola Gay. was the bomber that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima Now FiFi is the only B-29 that is still operationalFiFi has an interesting background. and almost everyone involved with the Confederate Air Force is devoted to her She was one of the CAF’s most intenseprojects — one that came about because of the persistence of a few of the organization’s members.Her history is well known. She and dozens of other aircraft were discarded in the desert at China Lake, Calif., after WW11. Thieves, vandals and the weather stripped the planes of most of their instruments and various other adornments. Furthermore, China Lake was the home of a naval weapons center, and the large B-29s had been donated to be used as targets in ordnance and weapons systems tests.The CAF decided to try to collect at least one example of every American WWII combat aircraft possible in 1955, and began its search for a Boeing B-29 in 1966 It was difficult to locate the B-29s since the Air Force had none remaining in its inventory As word of the search spread, however, a pilot mentioned that he had seen one in the Mojave DesertOnce located, the CAF had to go through a lot of red tape to get a B-29 — including convincing the Air Force that B-29s still existed— but a group of CAF colonels were eventually able to pick from among the group. It was difficult choosing since most were in bad condition, but they finally settled on one that had no major structural damage, little corrosion and some of its glass intact. The CAF maintenance team arrived at China Lake March 31, 1971, to begin work on the once abandoned planeIt took nine months to restore the bomber, including replacing all instruments and controls and checking engines and landing gear CAF members began spending weekends and vacations at China Lake trying to salvage B-29 spare parts from other aircraft on the desert. Finally, the aircraft was ready to be tested The problem. however, was that Navy regulations prevented a test flight On Aug 3. 1971, the aircraft left China Lake after 17 years and headed for Harlingen — 1.250 miles away.The B-29 was christened FiFi (after the wife of CAF Col Victor Agather who sponsored the restoration of the aircraft) in 1974 She then began her tour across thecountry, and has since been featured in two films. Enola Gay and The Right Stuff.FiFi is different from most aircraft in another way, too — she is truly loved by her restorers and her crew, who say they are honored to show her off in air shows around the country. Most crew members are volunteers, each paying his own way.Mike George took 30 days of leave from his Marine Corps base in Cherry Point, N.C., to learn to be a student flight engineer for FiFi He has been in service most of his life and enjoys telling people about the aircraft’s history and function during the war George has been with FiFi for her last three shows in Lynchburg. Va . Denver and Pueblo. Colo“The B-29 was the first fully pressurized bomber in aviation history, George said “She also had radar controlled guns and powerful engines Primarily, she was assigned to the Pacific theater during World War II The bomber brought Japan to its kneesThe B-29 was capable of delivering 10 tons of bombs. George saidShe carried a crew of 11, including six men in the front pressurized compartment, the bombar dier (with the once top-secret Norden bombsighti. pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer, radio operator and navigator. Further back in the plane, the right and left gunners sat in “blisters, and the central fire control gunner sat on a swivel stool i what is also called the “barber chair) below. A radio operator sat behind the gunners. and the tail gunner was in the pressurized rear of the plane “FiFi’s crew is comprised of five people — the pilot, co-pilot, engineer and two scanners.'' George said “At various museums. she’s on display most of the time, but one day in the week she is on static display’ — she s flown around the city George said $2 is charged for touring FiFi. but viewers are given a button that is good for admission as many times as that person wants to come for the rest of his life Thus, viewers who wear FiFi buttons obtained at previous air shows can tour the B-29 at no charge Admission is used to defrav theenormous cost of touring the country. FiFi bums 400 gallons of fuel per hour and eight gallons of oil The total cost of flying for lt;ne hour is $2,500, George said “A lot of the guys do this for the love of it. he said. “We know what the plane represents and remember those who give their lives serving their country Among the crew members are pilot Dick Morkgraf. who has been flying FiFi for four years and his son Dale, who has been a flight engineer for the B-29 for three years Traveling with them is Aura Morkgraf. Dick's wife aod Dale's mother The Morkgrafs said they have lot of memories associated with FiFi “One of our big events w a in Melville. N.J.. Mrs Mork ;r , said There were 5.000 people* waiting for us there and most of them had been there all day I saw the lights below as I flew over and I couldn't figure lt;»u? what it was.' Morkgraf. whlt; i also a pilot for a commert; airline, said 'When we landed i found out what it was All tho people had been taking pictures FiFi _W * 1 «
Newspaper Details
Brownsville Herald
Brownsville, Texas, US
Tue, Nov 06, 1984
Page 38
Full Page
Clipped by
Porter C.
IN, USA 17 Jul 2023
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