Happened to drive by the famed FiFi engine source today
Sat Oct 27, 2007 7:43 pm
Was in the area today so drove by and the big door was open and cars in the lot, so people doing the over time thing. Must be some fire bomber engines in progress.
Last edited by engguy on Mon Nov 05, 2007 11:04 am, edited 2 times in total.
Sun Oct 28, 2007 3:20 am
What?
Gary
Gary
Sun Oct 28, 2007 4:02 am
Quotes from Gary in other threads.
The place I'm talking about.
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Just a quick update for those of you interested in FIFI's status...
Last Thursday, we planned a test flight. However, while doing engine runs prior to the flight, #1 engine nose case oil pressure became insufficient. We decided to postpone the flight until our warranty engine from Precision showed up. They have had it for over a year now and plan to have it finished by the end of this month. If that happens, we should be in the air by early/mid April and back on tour as soon as we get our flight crews requalified in the airplane.
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But with that being said, our original B-29 engines that we're replacing were even more expensive to overhaul than the ones we're planning to put on it. Our last overhaul came from what we thought was an upstanding overhaul shop in the Warbird community. They charged us $175,00.00 for one engine.....and that was with our own parts! FPRIVATE "TYPE=PICT;ALT=Shocked" To make up for it, our previously overhauled engine from them (which was a bargain at $145,000.00), had only 138 hours on it total time and only 6.6 hours out of their facility from major warranty work before it became full of metal. They informed us, in writing, that they will no longer honor their warranties on their engines they build for us. Needless to say, we've made the decision not to take anymore engines back to them.
I can also tell you that after speaking with the President of another organization who is trying to get a B-29 flying, they spent what I would consider a LARGE sum of money with this same overhaul facility just to tear down and inspect two of their engines.
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The place I'm talking about.
""""-----------------------------------------------------
Just a quick update for those of you interested in FIFI's status...
Last Thursday, we planned a test flight. However, while doing engine runs prior to the flight, #1 engine nose case oil pressure became insufficient. We decided to postpone the flight until our warranty engine from Precision showed up. They have had it for over a year now and plan to have it finished by the end of this month. If that happens, we should be in the air by early/mid April and back on tour as soon as we get our flight crews requalified in the airplane.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"""""
"""""""------------------------------from another thread-----------
But with that being said, our original B-29 engines that we're replacing were even more expensive to overhaul than the ones we're planning to put on it. Our last overhaul came from what we thought was an upstanding overhaul shop in the Warbird community. They charged us $175,00.00 for one engine.....and that was with our own parts! FPRIVATE "TYPE=PICT;ALT=Shocked" To make up for it, our previously overhauled engine from them (which was a bargain at $145,000.00), had only 138 hours on it total time and only 6.6 hours out of their facility from major warranty work before it became full of metal. They informed us, in writing, that they will no longer honor their warranties on their engines they build for us. Needless to say, we've made the decision not to take anymore engines back to them.
I can also tell you that after speaking with the President of another organization who is trying to get a B-29 flying, they spent what I would consider a LARGE sum of money with this same overhaul facility just to tear down and inspect two of their engines.
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Sun Oct 28, 2007 5:03 am
Is it just me or is anyone else sick of all the pathetic political correctness that has to be observed when talking about shoddy workmanship?
I don't see it as revenge motivated when someone tells me to stay away from a certain business because they do shoddy workmanship. I see it as trying to let everyone know that they should take their hard-earned dollars, francs or deutschmarks to a reputable business!
Maybe I am out of the loop here because I am the only person who does not know what company it is that screwed the CAF and their efforts to get FiFi back in the air
I don't see it as revenge motivated when someone tells me to stay away from a certain business because they do shoddy workmanship. I see it as trying to let everyone know that they should take their hard-earned dollars, francs or deutschmarks to a reputable business!
Maybe I am out of the loop here because I am the only person who does not know what company it is that screwed the CAF and their efforts to get FiFi back in the air
Sun Oct 28, 2007 5:50 am
engguy...thanks for clearing that up for me. I just didn't understand what you were talking about at first. 
6trn4brn...Precision Engines.
Oh, and I wasn't necessarily being politically correct in that post that was made around a year and a half ago. I was simply able to conjure up some very rarely found tact inside of me while posting it. I was extremely p*ssed off how we were hosed by them and didn't feel it was appropriate for me to express my true feelings at the time. But now...I don't really care so much.
Gary
6trn4brn...Precision Engines.
Oh, and I wasn't necessarily being politically correct in that post that was made around a year and a half ago. I was simply able to conjure up some very rarely found tact inside of me while posting it. I was extremely p*ssed off how we were hosed by them and didn't feel it was appropriate for me to express my true feelings at the time. But now...I don't really care so much.
Gary
Sun Oct 28, 2007 5:57 am
Sorry if that came out wrong Gary...maybe I am being a bit too PC myself! I am sure you know how all of us feel about the piss poor dealings you guys at the CAF have had with PRECISION (???). 
Sun Oct 28, 2007 6:22 am
No offense was taken on my end. I know how frustrating it must be if you don't know all of the facts in certain stories. Heck, that's why I try to be so blunt in the B-24 updates, so there is no doubt (pronounced "rumors") about what is or isn't being done. 
Gary
Gary
Sun Oct 28, 2007 5:09 pm
I deleted this message, because yesterday thinking about old aircraft and the big old round engines and the folks and outfits that are working to keep them flying. And how unfair it is to talk bad about an outfit that really does have a good track record and strives to do good work and keep these old planes in the air. Alot of things can go wrong working on any mechanical thing, even if you are a top notch mechanic things can still happen. Machines break all the time, and since alot of the parts are close to 65 years old, and built during the war when materials were difficult to get, and I suppose there was substitution of materials then, they had to do the best they could with what they had. This outfit has done firebomber engines throughout the years, so I'm sure their overhauls were in the last big fire in California doing their part.
Its too bad they treated CAF the way they did. They must have had a good reason to, because no one wants bad word of mouth advertizement.
I want to see more old piston planes flying, so I say hats off to them for continuing to overhaul the big round motors. And besides if you need new parts I think they are the only show in town.
Its too bad they treated CAF the way they did. They must have had a good reason to, because no one wants bad word of mouth advertizement.
I want to see more old piston planes flying, so I say hats off to them for continuing to overhaul the big round motors. And besides if you need new parts I think they are the only show in town.