Warbird Information Exchange

I heard the goal was to have the B-29 flying by AIRSHO 2009...

_________________
Taylor Stevenson

That would be fantastic.

This is great news, FiFi has been grounded for too long!

_________________
"They can teach MONKEYS to fly better than that"

http://www.heritageflight.org
http://www.bravo369.org

I am very happy to hear this news. Gary, thanks for filling us all in.

Cheers,

David

Awesome news Gary! What a great gift from Mr. Cavanaugh! A few questions:

1) Is this a permanent relocation to the CFM, or just for a set period of years? If not permanent, then how long is this arrangement?

2) Not including the previous promised donation prior to Mr. Cavanaugh's generous gift, how much short are you guys still on the re-engine project?

3) Are any of the CFM planes going to Midland in exchange?

4) Why is the B-24 going there as well? I'm not complaining, mind you, but is Mr. Cavanaugh donating money to that as well?

Congratulations CAF and Gary! Well done!

As Taylor mentioned, the goal is to have FIFI flying at Airsho '09. It's going to require everything to go well in order for that to happen...but it is feasible.

This isn't necessarily a "permanent" move to the CFM, but the B-29 & B-24 are going to be there for some time.

The money we will be receiving from Mr. Cavanaugh will certainly put us on the road to flying. However, we still need to keep the fundraising going. As far as an exact amount, it's tough for me to say, but it's still substantial. I'll defer to one of the other members of the team to answer that one better.

I don't know of any discussion of CFM's airplanes coming to Midland in exchange. However, if they would like to do so, they'd definitely be welcome to and we'd obviously consider that to be a huge bonus.

The B-24 is going there right now to show our commitment to Mr. C that we seriously appreciate his contribution and that we are serious about the move to the CFM, especially since it'll be a bit before FIFI is flying again and can make it there.

Thanks for the kind words, y'all. This is very exciting news for us. I would assume that most of the people in the CAF are going to be happy with it as well (although it's obvious we'll never make everyone happy). I personally will miss having the airplanes here, particularly after all of the work I've done to them, but this move is without a doubt the best thing to happen to the Squadron in a long time.....waaaay better than anything I could do for them, so I'm definitely excited about it!

Gary

Hat's off to Mr. Cavanaugh for dedication to the warbird cause & to the CAF for being open minded to the venture.

Mac

Will the transformation of the B-24 continue at Adddison? Is the volunteer base closer to her there? Does anyone know the approx. vistor count thru CAM per year?

I sure do hope we bet a new thread when the work begins just like the one on the B-24!

This exciting stuff! (especially for us Metroplexers! ) To have these airplanes in our back yard is cool.

But to have the road opened for FIFI is wonderful!

Thanks Mr. Cavanaugh!

Z

_________________
Zane Adams
There I was at 20,000 ft, upside down and out of ammunition.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Join us for the Texas Warbird Report on WarbirdRadio.com!
http://www.facebook.com/WarbirdRadio
Listen at http://www.warbirdradio.com

This is really great news for the CAF and all warbird wingnuts! Thanks to the generosity of Mr. C and all those involved to make mountains move.
Gary, you will have to go into detail on the engine mods, can't wait for the details...and will you be building a number of spares for back up?

Are the engine mounts going to interchange or is there going to be new ones fabricated? What about attachments for cowlings etc? I'd think those would be the big items.

There's some information about this on CFM's web site, I believe in the Press Room area. Also some info about their expansion plans.

The B24A and B-29 will be living at ADS. . . life is good (if you live in the Dallas area, that is )

Cheers!

_________________
Dean Hemphill, K5DH
Port Charlotte, Florida

The mounts will stay the same. The cowling will look the same but the mounting to the engines may change. The biggest item to change is the exhaust. The new engines have rear discharged exhaust on all cylinders, where as on the old engine the the forward cylinders ehausted to the front and the rear to the rear. The engine baffling will change also.

The B29/B24 squadron staff voted to move the squadron to The Cavanaugh Flight Museum as they were having a hard time getting enough volunteers in Midland. Most of the workers were coming from or through the DFW area. The idea of the B24 coming to the CFM was partially to allow Midland workers to concentrate on FiFi and allow DFW workers to help with the B24. There are plans to start a ride program for the B24 in the DFW area which would have a bigger draw than in Midland. We at CFM are excided because the B24 will be a big draw and add to our display. When it goes on tour a large number of the flight crews are from the area also.

_________________

Blue Skies,
Doug

www.cavanaughflightmuseum.com