"Fifi" Grounded For Engine Woes

There will be no "Fifi" at Oshkosh this year. For the second year in a row, mechanical problems have put the Commemorative Air Force's B-29 Superfortress "Fifi" back in the hangar, cutting short the big World War II bomber's airshow appearance schedule and forcing CAF to cancel its scheduled flight to EAA AirVenture 2006.

After corrosion in the giant aircraft's wing structure sidelined "Fifi" last year, this time around it appears engine problems are the cause for the no-show.

CAF maintenance personnel have examined the problem and the repair timeline, and regretfully informed EAA that the airplane would not be able to be part of the "Big Bomber Reunion" at EAA AirVenture 2006, a once-in-a-generation gathering of the Allied Forces' heavy bombers of World War II.

The B-29 Superfortress -- the aircraft type that dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki -- was the first American pressurized bomber to entire service. The complex aircraft had a reputation for being prone to trouble when they were new off the Boeing line... so you can imagine how 60 years of service add to that.

"We're disappointed, of course, that 'Fifi' will not join us for AirVenture 2006, but EAA certainly understands the complexities of flying and maintaining historic warbird aircraft, especially one as valuable as the CAF's B-29," said Tom Poberezny, EAA president and AirVenture chairman.

"We are pleased that the CAF will be bringing its B-24 'Diamond Lil' to be part of the Big Bomber Reunion, which is still a gathering of aircraft that you'll see no place else but Oshkosh," Poberezny added.

According to the CAF, "Diamond Lil" is the world's oldest flying four-engine aircraft, having been in continual service since before World War II. It will join the British Lancaster bomber and a significant number of B-17s and B-25 on the AirVenture flight line.

FMI: www.airventure.org, www.commemorativeairforce.org