A B-29 just overflew my house
 

OK, technically is was last Friday.
The Commemorative Air Force is 'in town' (Paine Field Everett) - and will be here through July 6. I first saw these guys July 4, 1976 in Colorado Springs as part of the USA bi-centennial celebration (it was called the Confederate Air Force back then - before political correctness apparently forced them to change it :rolleyes:). Simply fantastic :D. At the time I was in college, and had a "Press Pass" in my wallet because I'd written a few articles for the college engineering magazine - that press pass got me a press kit (which included several brochures and such that I'd wanted to buy but couldn't afford), free food and drink, and a seat 50 yards closer to the action during the air show :ok:.

They are selling rides on the B-29 on July 6 - after if flew over the house I mentioned I'd like to do that to the wife but she immediately vetoed the idea, pointing out I'd "already done that". I objected that it hadn't been on a B-29, it had been on a Collins Foundation B-17 about seven years ago, but she said 'same thing' and stood by the veto :{

She can't stop me from stopping by after work and checking everything out though :E.

Being as, guessing from your location, you work(ed) for the company that built it, I'd go for it anyway and risk a bit of nagging!

I second the suggestion. You only live once. :ok: Nagging eventually wears off, until the next one, which can be counted upon to occur over something utterly pointless.

A B-29 ride is not pointless, eh? :ok:

Just don't tell her ("honey, I'm just goin' out fishing/golfing/drinking for a few hours").

Would that the CAF could ferry the B-29 over to the UK for a month or so, as they did the B-24 a couple of decades ago.

Sometimes it is easier and better to simply seek forgiveness than permission. :E

After a few Years of Married Life it would seem you would have figured that out already!:ugh:

Some years ago, when the RAF could still afford such things, we were on a States Trainer in the VC10K FunBus, which included a weekend static display at a major airshow in Texas.

Courtesy cars were used to shuttle us from our hotel to the show; during the drive one morning, the Air Engineer and I were discussing the CAF and its amazing fleet of aircraft. I happened to mention what a shame it was that the CAF B-26 Carolyn had crashed a little while earlier - only for one of the other passengers in the car to reveal that one of those who'd died in Carolyn had been a close relative of hers.

Naturally we very sympathetic (the Air Eng particularly so, later that night....:E), so she invited us to come and meet the CAF. An excellent occasion, we had a lengthy and complete tour of the B-29 and were later invited to stay on board during start-up - they apologised and said that, due to the B-26 crash, the FAA was rather concerned at that time about other passengers flying in CAF aircraft.....:* Otherwise they'd happily have taken us flying.

Nevertheless, the start-up was pretty amazing. The flight engineer was working like a one-armed paper hanger and the sound and general fury of 4 big pistons starting up was something to behold! Once everything was running, we disembarked as briefed by walking directly forward from under the nose to the crew chief. Those propellers are massive - and the sight of them thrashing about behind us as we climbed out ensured that we did as we'd been told.

So if you get the chance, take it! Buy your good lady something nice (probably just a little more than a box of choccies) and to heck with it - chances like that are very rare indeed!

Do it.

I flew on it out of Appleton during Oshkosh week two years ago, an unforgettable experience.

I took this on my climb-over in Fifi when it was Confederate Air Force.thehttp://i213.photobucket.com/albums/c...porus/B292.jpg

BB - Your post #5.... YEP !

I am reminded of what purported to be the final episode of "the Archers" as performed on "I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue" as part of the famous last words round.


In your best Joe Grundy voice: "Ooo Arrrrh. I didn't know that they used B-29s for crop spraying".


(Another was: "I'd keep your eye on that one, Harold".




Edited to add:


Beagle, I nearly got a ride in "Sally B", but unfortunately our Shackleton display take-off was before the landing time of "Sally B" at the Coventry air show some time in the early 80s. I also missed out on a Lancaster ride when having been promised one I had to go on a course. (The BBMF pilots used to bring the Lanc up to Lossie to practise circuits in another Avro tail dragger to save wear and tear. They gave passenger rides at the end of the week to say thank you).

Turns out taking a ride may be a mute question (regardless of what the wife says) - checked the CAF website and it appears the B-29 flights at Paine are sold out. :(:(

This week is out, but I'm going to skip out of work a bit early one day next week and stop by - if nothing else I'd like to do the walk-through tour. I'll check - maybe some opportunity will open up.

Young lad (29YO) now flies in command. Imbued with passion, and a desire to pass the passion on.

Well I stopped by after work - Fifi is parked at the "Historic Flight" at Paine Field (Historic Flight), which I somehow didn't even know existed even though I live just a few miles away.:sad:
I got there about 4:45 and was immediately dismayed to see the museum hours as "9 to 5", but when I walked in I was informed that the hours were extended to 6pm while Fifi was there :ok:. Paid my $15, and was told to just walk out to the airplane, one of the volunteers would give me a tour.:D
Sure enough, got out there and was looking up at one of the engines (I am a propulsion engineer after all) and a nice fellow named Al came up and asked if I wanted the tour. Took me up in the airplane and around the forward 'half' of the airplane (everything forward of the bomb bays), then I was allowed to climb up the ladder and 'look around' the back half (but not actually climb inside).
After we were done with the B-29, he took me inside the museum's B-25 (Grumpy) and DC-3, before we went back inside and we checked out the F7F, F8F, P-51, and Spitfire airplanes (all part of the Historic Flight collection - only the B-29 belong to CAF). Oh, and all of the Historic Flight's airplanes are flight worthy and fly on a semi-regular basis (I'd seen a couple of them flying around at various times in the recent past). All really, really cool...:ok:

They'd added a few flights for Fifi and had a few openings on Saturday, but I have a prior commitment (ironically with the Seattle Museum of Flight) so that's still out.

As an aside, Historic Flight makes a total of 4 air museum facilities at Paine Field - Museum of Flight Restoration Center, Future of Flight (where the Boeing tours originate), and Paul Allen's Flying Heritage Collection (most of the FHC collection is flight worthy as well). :ok:

Very few know that the Manhattan Project cost $2 billion, and the B-29 to drop it cost $3 billion.

The plant so important to the area is no more. Oddly enough it's last inhabitants were The Museum of Flight's B-17 and B-29!


"The dilapidated factory that helped make Seattle a high-tech town is being demolished after 75 years, a casualty of time, technology and tails that grew too tall.

Boeing Co.'s Plant 2, a sprawling but long outdated building between Boeing Field and south Seattle's Duwamish River, gave birth to some of the world's most significant aircraft. It was the site of Seattle's biggest disappearing act and a home to "Rosie the Riveter," women who built thousands of World War II planes.

It's also where the mostly unskilled workers of a fish-and-timber town first learned the art of assembling aluminum, engines and electronics into sophisticated flying machines.

As the danger of global conflict grew, Boeing opened the factory in 1936 to build the prototype for the B-17 Flying Fortress. Eventually, nearly 13,000 of the bombers would be built, half of them at Plant 2.

Gemini Twin, if I recall my Boeing history correctly, Plant II was used to build B-17s (and the Minute Man ICBM, among other things), but the Renton plant was constructed to build the B-29.

It was rather bittersweet to see Plant II go down...

While the Renton plant is has contracted a bit over the last 20 years, it's still where all 737s are currently built (and will be built for the foreseeable future). Currently at 2/Mday :ok:

You are absolutely correct tdracer. I should have looked closer at IGh's photo.

Man, are all US men wimps?:ouch:

Tell her it's either the B-29 or you are cruising for hookers that day, her choice!

Train carrying parts to Boeing derails in Montana | KING5.com Seattle




'Parts' is a bit of an understatement.

That's 3 fuselages for scrap.