Warbird Information Exchange

Hi ; Well I must agree that flying is top priority but really every time I see or hear the name FiFi I automatically think of a french poodle not the historic image of the best built ww2 bomber. We've all debated this topic many times before and to truely represent the whole ww2 airpower theme why would anyone insist that it should remain FiFi? There was never a veteran B-29 with the name FiFi, has anyone ever seen the real FiFi? Who cares about a total repaint, just change the nose art to one of the many famous history making bombers that won the war and leave the name FiFi were it belongs on a dog collar. FiFi . Diamond Lil, Carolyn, Ect. Ect represent nothing as far as ww2 goes but it does remind me of how if your the money guy we will name it after you wife. That would be fine n dandy if this was 1944 and you are the captain of the a/c but 60 years later all your doing is teaching the newer generations that historic correctness is only a passing thought. Just my 2 cents worth. Thanks Mike

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IF YOU CAN FIND IT WE CAN FIX IT

Is there any chance of ever seeing her in bare metal and polished like "Doc" will be? I think this was discussed some time ago, so perhaps it is easier to keep her painted. Does bare metel make it harder to maintain the airframe (other than alot of elbow grease to keep it shiny?)

A few B-29s flew in OD, which is not an unattractive color for the plane either.

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"They done it, they done it, damned if they ain't flew." December 17, 1903

I was adamant about putting FIFI back to a natural metal finish when we were doing all of that airframe work on her recently. However, the original skins on the airplane are so beat up that a natural finish would simply look horrible. "Doc" will no doubt be beautiful if they ever finish it, but remember, many, if not all of the skins on that airplane have been replaced. It's much easier to make an airplane shine like a brand new nickel when you've got fresh metal to start with.

Personally, I very much like the O.D. green B-29's. But they were only painted that way early on in their production. You'd have to confirm this with Jack Cook, BDK, or some of the other more knowledgeable Warbird buffs here on WIX, but I don't think there were actually any of the O.D. green B-29's in service overseas.

This is certainly an interesting topic, but it's frustrating as well (at least for me). I want so badly to improve the overall appearance of both the B-29 and B-24 here I can't stand it. But my hands are tied to the resources that we currently have. We'll get 'em lookin' right eventually.

Gary

I believe most of the fuselage skin on DOC is original and has simply been polished up. The same goes for the NEAM B-29 that sat outside for decades. The same goes for the Enola Gay. I'm pretty sure some B-29's flew in OD green from China and India in the early deployments of the B-29 campaign against Japan. Anyone got any info on this?

FIFI would look awesome polished up, but it would be a huge undertaking. Maybe if it ever gets stripped again, you could test (polish) some areas and see how it looks?..

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"Everyone wants to live here (New Jersey), evidenced by the fact that it has the highest population per capita in the U.S..."

Somewhere I have a pic of FIFI in zinc green.

I could care less what her name is, she will never be "the" Dauntless Dottie or Poison Ivy.

In the world of PC, we will never see her with real cheesecake.
Its a shame, little Bobby can see a tit on tv, but not on a historic aircraft.
I wouldn't mind Joltin' Josie or Double Exposure but am fine with FIFI.

These sponsors pour there heart and soul and a lot of money into these aircraft.
They should name them, and we should enjoy them.

I do think they should be period though, I always hated the airbrushed t-shirt art on Texas Raiders

Gary,

Olive drab B-29s did see combat with the 58th Wing in the CBI-I believe they were all sent home as War Weary due to the lack of the extra center fuel tanks installed on newer birds.

Fifi will always be Fifi, so I'm inclined to keep the name and maybe change the "A" to the 497th Bomb Group style as carried in the Pacific rather than the black box and white letter currently on her.

As to the money issue, we wouldn't be having this discussion if Col. Agather hadn't ponied up to retrieve her originally! If I recall, he was a major at Wright Field and heavily involved in the initial B-29 program in the early forties.

Happy Holidays!
Scott

I'm amazed that anyone would complain about a name on an aircraft that has so much status and name recognition. It would be like asking someone to change the name of their kid. FIFI as others had said, has a great history and the man responsible for putting her back in the air, named her after his wife. He also had a lot to do with B29's in general during WWII. Name branding is important and the name should stay. We have a PT 19 named "Rosalie" after Mr. Cavanaugh's mother. Do you think we should change that when it honors someone? Or is it OK because it's just a PT 19? Goes back to the fact that you can put what ever name you wish on "Your" B-29. Changing paint schemes also causes a few other problems, like brochure, pictures, magazine articles and others things that become obsolete when you make a change. Oh by the way, our C47 is named "Mr. C" after Mr. Cavanaugh's Dad who worked on them as a mechanic during WWII and after. His dad was responsible for getting him into warbirds. I think it's a great honor.

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Blue Skies,
Doug

www.cavanaughflightmuseum.com

APG85 and Second Air Force,

I stand (or sit) corrected. It's obvious that I don't know as much about these airplanes that are entrusted to me as I should.

I will, however, stand by my original thoughts regarding the chances of FIFI ever going back to her natural aluminum finish. The chance of that happening is slim to none. Many, many more skins would have to be replaced for her to shine like she once did.

Oh, and we can't get rid of the "A" on the tail. What most people do know is that the "A" on one side is for Agather to honor Vic. But what most people don't know is the "A" on the other side stands for Austin (yours truly).

Gary

I thought if you put both sides together it stood for AA Something to do with drinking. Not the airline, then it would be lower case. aa. ( ex Braniff employee)

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Blue Skies,
Doug

www.cavanaughflightmuseum.com

FiFi is the Queen of the CAF fleet and the name recoginition is a big part of why the CAF won't change her name. A major change like that would require more then just the General Staff giving the OK, I believe that the decision would end up being an CAF vote like the name change a few years ago.
Like other have said, let Gary get her back in the air and refill the coffers before even thinking about changing FiFi's name.
One point that really like, I read this weekend in FlyPast is that whenever repaint an airplane to a different scheme, they still retain the orginal serial number that belongs to the airframe. The Lancaster is being repainted now but will be out in time for the next season.

Bob

I believe the warbird movement has always been moving forward towards more originality. The 60's were trademarked by stylished paint schemes and functionality. The warbird movement was still in its infancy. As the 70's progressed they went more toward "sport plane" leather upholtery that was a far cry from original...much like everything in the 70's. The 80's were "all about me and my toy" benchmarked by all the chrome and gloss paint. Most were painted in psuedo original schemes usually with the owners initials for squadron codes. The 80s also saw alot more effort put into the restoration versus the "rattle can" restorations of the past. I believe that Kermit Weeks really set the benchmark in restorations with "Cripes a Mighty". The 90s picked up on this trend and the focus on historical accuracy was germinated. As an example, most shops and owners were doing away with the "gloss ghost grey" interiors and going with more original zinc chromate. Over the years new benchmarks are being set in restoration accuracy. It is possible to follow this trend by looking at Oshkosh winners. If the fuel tank is not behind the pilot with a radio stack over top of it in your 1.5 million dollar Mustang...it isn't going to win. The British and the New Zealanders are also huge contributors to this scene with the amount of research and time devoted to making the aircraft as original inside as they are outside.

It will be fun to watch more and more warbirds "shamed" into becoming more representative of their original design and factory presentation. I say shamed because this is very much a business of "one upmanship" in a very tongue and cheek way.

my .02

Jim Harley

This is reference the BBMF aircraft, for those who haven't seen the FlyPast article...

Perhaps the best overall idea is to reduce the size of the FIFI lettering. Actually, if it were up to me, I'd add a pin-up painting to the nose and call her Fifi!

As long as it gets back in the air, I don't care a whole lot.

Okay WIX'ers, get OFF the paint deal. Let them get engines on her and get her back in the air. First things first....

Sod the paint, lets get her back where she belongs!!

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Cheers,
Peter

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