Warbird Information Exchange

Question -

I note the Fertlie Meryle thread shows to me a flying B-29 back in 1978, so this raises a point ..

Fifi, Fertle and soon Doc will be the contenders for the post war civil warbird B29 that fly or did fly....

Why was Fertle grounded? Shouldnt she be restored to fly again and maybe a 3 cell flight?

What other B29/s could be restored over long term, sure any static can be given enough $$ to be thrown at them.

The answers to your questions are right here:
http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/p ... sc&start=0

"Why was Fertle grounded? Shouldnt she be restored to fly again and maybe a 3 cell flight?"
Well, you come up with the 2 to 3 million it will take to get Fertle flying and come up with another million for FiFi and another million for Doc. Then your wishes will come true.

Realistically, it's very likely that FiFi will remain the only flying B-29 for quite some time.

Then you will need to contend with the -29 engines on 2 out of the 3 airplanes.

CAF is in the right direction on this, I just wish the other partys would or could join in that endavour and do one big batch. Much like the B-17 guys have done.

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Long Live the N3N-3 "The Last US Military Bi-Plane" 1940-1959
Badmouthing Stearmans on WIX since 2005

wixlova,

You answered your own question in your last sentence. $$$$$$$$$$$$$

That is one expensive machine to restore and maintain in an airworthy condition, even if you have a relatively corrosion-free airframe.

Hello,

Nobody have informations about the Doc's engines ? Gary said that they want to have the original engines on her, but with what solution to have reliable engines and enough spare part ?? It's difficult to understand that they want to use the same engines that create so much problems to Fifi and the CAF...

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Sorry for my bad English:-(

The dilemma,
original and accurate..versus reliable...There's the rub... how deeply are you committed???...$$$$... ?

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He bowls overhand...He is the most interesting man in the world.
"In Peace Japan Breeds War", Eckstein, Harper and Bros., 3rd ed. 1943(1927, 1928,1942)
"Leave it to ol' Slim. I got ideas...and they're all vile, baby." South Dakota Slim
"Ahh..."The Deuce", 28,000 pounds of motherly love." quote from some Mojave Grunt
DBF

Kermit's in on the deal at least partially. Remember, he loaned Ezell the nacelle to do the mock-ups. I will garuntee you that he will be in on all the engineering data and will make sure that Jason & whomever does the other 3350s for Fifi keeps the information around or provides a copy for when he's ready. While I do agree that sometimes quantity is better, with engines, you don't want to get too far ahead of the game because you'll end up having to overhaul the engine to get it yellow tagged if you have them built too far out. You're better just to acquire the parts now and only build the engine when you're actually ready to start using it.

I have a question ....
The B29 at Duxford flew over from the States , did they take off the serviceable engines once it got to Duxford or are they still on it .
Second if the engines are still on it how much trouble would it be to get them into an airworthy condition ?
I know they have been sat for a good few years now .
And if this is a stupid question sorry , im not a mechanic in fact im about as technical as a flip flop

Not a stupid question. As far as I know, the engines it flew over on are still the ones on the aircraft. Could they be made airworthy again? Probably. I don't know if they have been preserved properly or what has been done to them. Certainly all of the hoses, etc. would need replacing. The plane did sit outside at Duxford for a period of time before it was moved indoors (not sure how long). What effect this has had...? Duxford is a pretty high speed operation and they take pretty good care of their planes. It wouldn't surprise me if those engines were good candidates for overhaul...

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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..."

Here is a link to Taigh's Website that gives an account of the ferry trip of "It's Hawg Wild" to England. Notice two things: they changed an outer wing panel due to corrosion on the original, and they had engine issues. The airplane looks fantastic in her new home.
http://www.twinbeech.com/B-29HawgWild.htm

Scott

There's a fourth B-29 with Aero Trader that's being offered for sale and restoration as well, so there's a potential for having up to four B-29's made airworthy in the US.

$1.5 million will get you in the game, with maybe another four million to get you on the air show circuit.

http://www.aerotrader.net/b29.html

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Rob Mears
'Surviving Corsairs' Historian
robcmears@yahoo.com
http://www.robmears.com

Some assembly required! It looks like an ambitious project. Not undo-able, but certainly a lot of work.

How did they get their hands on them (obviously from China Lake)?

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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..."

I visited with Doc two weeks ago and was told by one of the volunteers that they intend to use later Connie engines on Doc, although I don't remember which series number. What I remember was that the engines will have smaller piston barrels that allow better airflow and cooling. I didn't ask if the engine sitting outdoors under the wing will be used for flight, but from looking at it, it appears to be a static model with a number of missing parts.

Also, I was told that fund raising goals for the enclosure are nearly met and major work on Doc will resume when the shelter is completed.

I will try to post pictures of my Doc walk around when I can get them uploaded.

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

Good news

Tanks in advance

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Sorry for my bad English:-(