FIFI (aircraft)
| FIFI | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| FIFI in flight | |
| Type | Boeing Model 345 Boeing B-29A-60-BN Superfortress |
| Manufacturer | Boeing |
| Construction number | 11547 |
| Manufactured | 1944 |
| Registration | N529B |
| Serial | 44-62070 USAF |
| First flight | 21 September 1942 (first flight of type) |
| Owners and operators | Commemorative Air Force, Addison, Texas |
| Status | Airworthy |
| Preserved at | Commemorative Air Force, Addison, Texas |
FIFI is a surviving Boeing B-29 Superfortress, and one of two that are currently flying. It is owned by the Commemorative Air Force, currently based at the Vintage Flying Museum located at Meacham International Airport, Fort Worth, Texas. FIFI tours the U.S. and Canada, taking part in air shows and offering flight experiences.
Built by Boeing at the Renton factory in Washington, B-29A serial number 44-62070 was delivered to the USAAF in Kansas in 1945. Modified to a TB-29A standard, it served as an administrative aircraft before being placed in "desert storage". It was returned to active duty in 1953.
The airplane was retired in 1958 and placed at the U.S. Navy Naval Weapons Center and bombing range at China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station in California as part of a group of 36 B-29s. The Commemorative Air Force, then known as the Confederate Air Force, acquired it in 1971 and registered it as a civilian aircraft. It was flown to CAF headquarters at Harlingen, Texas on 3 August 1971 and re-registered as N529B in August 1981.
The CAF had been actively searching for a B-29 for their use. Through Vic Agather they had an agreement that should one be found that was owned by the government but not in use, it would be turned over to the CAF.
In 1971, a CAF pilot in the National Guard reported sighting a number of what might be B-29s on the California desert near China Lake. The CAF learned the aircraft were indeed Superfortresses that had been parked at a US Navy weapons center for 17 years. The aircraft had been used for gunnery targets and abused by heat, sand and vandals. After much negotiation (the US Air Force owned the aircraft; the Navy had to agree to release one), much paperwork and a painstaking search for the best survivor, the CAF became the owner of s/n 44-62070, officially acquired title on 23 March 1971, registering it as N4249.
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